About the Office of the Provost
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Student Government Association
Center for Teaching, Learning, & Technology (CTLT)
Illinois State University seeks not only to support continuing growth in teaching and learning in its own faculty, but to be among the national leading institutions in the development of these practices.
The American Democracy Project (ADP) is a multi-campus initiative that seeks to create an intellectual and experiential understanding of civic engagement for undergraduates enrolled at institutions that are members of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU).
The American Democracy Project at Illinois State is a cooperative effort by students, faculty, staff, and administration. The goal of the Project is to promote civic engagement, in many different forms, on the part of undergraduates, now and in the future. The Project embraces all organized activity designed to promote constructive civic engagement on the part of undergraduates while they are on campus, and after they graduate.
The FOCUS Initiative (Faculty Opportunities for Creating Civic & Community Understanding among Students) is a faculty development program designed to emphasize the value of civic and community engagement at Illinois State University. FOCUS, funded through an enhancement funds request, compliments the First Year Experience and General Education. It also supplements efforts to incorporate civic and community engagement in individual degree programs.
Illinois State University was selected as one of eight institutions to participate in a national American Democracy Project initiative, the Political Engagement Project (PEP). The Political Engagement Project, directed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, addresses the serious problem of political disengagement in young people and advocates a dramatic increase in college and university efforts to strengthen student interest in politics.
The Faculty Excellence Initiative coordinates guest speakers, a summer fellowships program and a variety of other development opportunities for faculty.
Illinois State University was recognized for excellence in first-year education by being named one of the "Founding Institutions” selected to participate in a national project known as the Foundations of Excellence ® in the First College Year Project. The Project is a comprehensive, guided self-study and improvement process for the first year that enhances an institution’s ability to realize its goals for student learning, success, and persistence. An outcome of Illinois State's involvement with the project was the creation of the Council for the First-Year Experience in May of 2005. The Council will continually review processes related to the learning and development of first-year students.
Illinois State University has been involved in national programs to advance the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) since at least 1998. This includes work in the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (CASTL) Campus Program and with the American Association of Higher Education (AAHE).
In addition, Illinois State was selected as one of 12 national SoTL Cluster Leaders and is working with nine other institutions around the nation to organize to support SoTL. Illinois State University and The Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology (formerly the Center for the Advancement of Teaching) support the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). Dr. K. Patricia Cross, a well-known scholar in the field of higher education, has generously endowed the Cross Chair in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) at Illinois State University. In 2002 and 2004 Illinois State University hosted a national conference - Mission, Values and Identity: Conference for Carnegie Doctoral/Research Intensive Institutions.
