Are you a new general education leader at your institution? This includes administrators, deans, dept heads, committee chairs, and anyone else tasked with facilitating the day-to-day nuts-and-bolts work of gen ed. If so, you’ve come to the right place!
Welcome to AGLS! This is where you will find the resources and people to make your gen ed position great! The best, most supportive people and the professional development that will give you the best resources to tackle the challenges and celebrate the successes of doing the daily hard work of improving general education on your campus.
This page will be updated as resources are updated or new items become available.
Don’t worry, you are not alone in supporting general education! Join us at one of the several opportunities for those who administer, oversee, or teach in general education.
Live Chats are virtual, informal discussions, simulations, or crowd-sourcing opportunities on topics of interest to those who do gen ed work. Sessions are virtual and last one hour. We offer Live Chats approximately every 4 to 6 weeks from September through May. See what is being offered now, HERE
The Gen Ed Reformers Support Group are virtual events that offers AGLS members the opportunity to gather in a safe and supportive ‘cone-of-silence’ environment with like-minded colleagues from all over to discuss and tackle all things gen ed. In the past, we have explored broad issues of transfer, assessment, messaging, etc… and we will again dig into topics decided by the group as we go along. During GERSG ‘meetings’ is where we laugh, cry, complain, and find we are not alone in the challenges of general education and can learn from our colleagues as we celebrate their successes. See when the next meetings are scheduled, HERE
The AGLS Annual Constitute (our version of half conference/half institute) is the perfect place to share and commiserate with, learn from, and get inspired by gen ed leaders just like you from all over the U.S., Canada, and beyond. This annual meeeting offers general and liberal education facilitators, administrators, instructors, and leaders the unique opportunity to gather and explore the nuts and bolts of the development, reform, assessment, philosophy, and delivery of high-quality student-centered programs. This signature event allows higher education professionals from colleges and university of all sizes and types, from across the nation and beyond, the time and space to expand and strengthen a strong network of colleagues with shared passions, responsibilities, and goals. None of us need perform this challenging and rewarding work in isolation, so let’s get together, work together, and improve general and liberal education for our students together. The 2025 Constitute will be held in Louisville. Find out more about this year’s meeting, HERE
We also offer the occasional workshop. Every year, the day before the opening of our annual Constitute, we offer at least two workshops. Topics might include assessment, reform challenges, leadership, and many other topics. We also offer virtual or in-person workshops specifically for those who are new to general education work. Our ‘boot camp’ introduces you to the various models of general education programs, reform models, and what to expect (based on experiences of seasoned gen edders) during your time as a gen ed leader. Watch for offerings on our upcoming event page, HERE
The AGLS Gen Ed Bibliography A list of books and articles that will give you an excellent foundation for the work in your new role.
The AGLS Gen Ed Must Reads A list of books that are essential reading to understand the history, evolution, and current perspectives on general education.
Playbook for Gen Ed Administrators Congratulations, you just found out you are a gen ed leader…now what? We have you covered!
A coach needs a variety of plays to call upon as the game unfolds. There simply is not one right play to run at any given time in any given game against any given team. Similarly, there is no single right response for key general education questions. It depends on who is asking and why and where. With the playbook chapters, our goal is to provide general education instructors, curriculum committee members, administrators, and any campus academic leader with a variety of tools and perspectives to address the tough questions as they arise. This is meant to be more than a simple FAQ, because how you respond will vary depending on who is asking, where, in what context, and in what tone. Obviously, no resource like this can be comprehensive, so some improvisation, trial-and-error, and live-and-learn will be inevitable. Currently, there are five chapters available for free download. More are being developed and will be posted as they become available.
The Guide to Program Review ‘The Guide’ as it is referred to, invites an institution to review its commitment to the principles of a student-centered, outcomes-and-assessment approach to general and liberal education. The Guide’s comprehensive set of continuous-quality-improvement questions and its supporting materials are intended to promote program coherence. The questions center on fundamental issues such as the connection between mission and general and liberal learning, and then ask users to consider how they actualize, judge, and improve their programs. These questions are sure to enable campus leaders to focus discussion on the essential principles and practices of quality programs. Download a free copy and share with your team during your next reform effort.
Judgements of Quality This 64-page report highlights the work of nine AGLS institutions. Project participants wrestled with the issue of how to do assessment of liberal learning at the highest (about-to-graduate students) undergraduate levels that did not involve any lowering of expectations simply in order to produce data, perhaps even quantitative, for accountability purposes. The idea was to exert intelligence and ingenuity, in order to keep student learning primary to any other concerns from administrators or accreditors. Download a free copy.
What is the current state of your program… and how do you know? Check out the AGLS Guide to Program Review, which is chock full of questions, prompts, and guidance for evaluating your gen ed program.
Want guidance on conducting an external program review? We can help! Check out our process for matching you up with experienced, knowledgeable reviewers with our Gen Ed Connect service — External Reviewer matching.
If you think you’re ready to dive into the world of gen ed reform, we recommend attending AACU’s Institute on Gen Ed and Assessment (IGEA) where you and your team will receive expert help in planning and executing your reform.
AGLS is the only association that celebrates the faculty, administrators, directors, or support staff that do the daily hard work of improving general education — on the local campus and national levels. Click on the graphic to go to web page of award.
Each year, we recognize a gen ed champion. We alternate between recognizing ‘outstanding teachers’ on odd years and emerging campus general education leaders on even years.
Call for nominations are made available in late January/early February.
On even years, we recognize someone who has made an impact on general education on a national level. This impact could include publications, offering professional development opportunities, or consultation work. Their impact should demonstrate significant contributions to the practice or theory of general education and liberal studies on a national level.
Cal for nominations are made available in late February of the award year.
On odd years, we recognized institutions that have undergone general education reform efforts and have shown not only significant positive improvements to their program, but also can serve as a model for other institutions about to undergo reform efforts.
Applications are made available in late February of the award year.
We welcome all levels of administrators, program directors, committee members, and faculty who are involved with general education on their campus.
If you attend the annual Constitute, your registration fees include membership for the current term. Our membership terms run from September 1 to August 31st.
If you are unable to attend the Constitute, join us as an individual for $40 per year.
We also welcome institutional members. Fees are $350 per year. An institutional benefit includes discounts on any registrations from that campus for our Constitute, AGLS hosted workshops, and any special virtual events that have a fee.
All members and persons from an institutional member are welcome to sign up for any of our free virtual events.
Membership (individual or institutional) also includes discounts on the Journal of General Education and many other Pennsylvania State University Press journals. Visit our membership page for more information and links to join.