Macaulay’s 2020–2025 strategic plan balances a recognition of our college’s existing strengths with a commitment to growth, development, and innovation. Building on their interdisciplinary expertise in both technology and pedagogy, our TLC fellows and postdocs carry out the implementation of Macaulay’s strategic plan by focusing on high-impact practices and campus-focused innovation.
This page is an annotated version of the strategic plan: in the left column, we highlight the themes and goals that we directly support; in the right, we describe how, and point to ways that we are expanding our services in line with institutional goals.
High-Impact Practices
High-impact practices, as outlined by the American Association of Colleges & Universities, are a major part of the strategic plan. They are also at the very core of the TLC.
1. STUDENT SUCCESS
Goal 2: Strengthen experiential high-impact learning opportunities.
- Ensure that high-impact practices (such as capstone projects, internships, research opportunities for students, study abroad, and community-based learning) are of the highest quality and accessible to all undergraduates.
2. ACADEMIC INNOVATION AND EXCELLENCE
Goal 1: Leverage our position as an established honors college to promote pedagogical experimentation, training, and instructional design.
- Engage students in high-impact educational experiences.
Support
Each postdoc and TLC fellow is a trained expert in both developing and delivering the following high-impact practices, as listed by the AACU.
- Collaborative Assignments and Projects
The TLC supports students in developing collaborative projects through all four seminars by conducting in-class workshops, leveraging technology to allow for asynchronous collaboration, and facilitating common events at which these projects are presented to their peers from across Macaulay’s eight campuses. - Common Intellectual Experiences
The TLC is a key component of Macaulay’s four common seminars, where TLC fellows help faculty with course development, build and run class-based ePortfolios, provide in-class workshops on everything from research methods to scientific poster design, and aid in the development of student projects. - ePortfolios
Forming a key part of the Macaulay experience since 2008, there are over 4,500 public ePortfolios as of February 2023. The TLC guides students through creating their ePortfolio accounts during their first visit to the Macaulay Building on IDEA Day. With TLC guidance, ePortfolios are used for innovative student projects and course sites, and students create personal ePortfolios to showcase their creativity and passions. - First-Year Seminars and Experiences
The AACU write that “[t]he highest-quality first-year experiences place a strong emphasis on critical inquiry, frequent writing, information literacy, collaborative learning, and other skills that develop students’ intellectual and practical competencies.” All of these are baked into each of our four seminars, which run throughout students’ first and second years. TLC fellows play a key role throughout the seminars, carrying out workshops and providing bespoke support for major student projects involving all of the above skills, as well as providing a human throughline for students. - Learning Communities
The AACU notes that “[t]he key goals for learning communities are to encourage integration of learning across courses and to involve students with ‘big questions’ that matter beyond the classroom.” As noted above, TLC fellows play a major role in these seminars. But we also typically work with the same cohort of students as they wend their way through the seminars, helping to create a common thread and reinforce the connections that exist across the seminars. - Undergraduate Research
Students conduct original research in all four seminars and present their findings at common events like the STEAM Festival and Futures of New York conference, and the TLC offers support and collaboration at each step. TLC Fellows are doctoral candidates with research interests running the gamut from art history to geography. We share these research skills with Macaulay students through in-class workshops and at skills-focused common events, like SPACE and IDEA Day.
Expanding Services
- Capstone Courses and Projects
Beginning in the Spring 2023 semester, the TLC is expanding direct support and guidance for Macaulay seniors as they work on their capstones, defined by the AACU as “culminating experiences [that] require students nearing the end of their college years to create a project of some sort that integrates and applies what they’ve learned.” TLC fellows are being trained in delivering this support by Lisa Brundage, the Director of Academic Affairs, and are newly taking an active role in the Springboard development course.
Campus-Focused Innovation
The TLC is Macaulay Central’s primary mechanism for supporting our core seminar series on each consortial campus. We work extensively with campus-based classes, both in person and virtually, delivering workshops and building relationships with faculty and students. Throughout this process, we facilitate communication between the campuses and Macaulay Central, ensuring that great ideas from any given campus are shared across the Macaulay ecosystem.
1. STUDENT SUCCESS
Goal 2: Strengthen experiential high-impact learning opportunities.
- Collaborate with partner campuses to create and support experiential learning opportunities.
2. ACADEMIC INNOVATION AND EXCELLENCE
Goal 2: Expand learning opportunities.
- Design and promote cross-campus coursework.
3. COMMUNITY
Goal 1: Foster and strengthen the sense of community and inclusivity at Macaulay Central, within each campus, and across the consortial campuses.
- Improve communication at Macaulay, with each campus and across the campuses.
Support
TLC Fellows play a unique role in the Macaulay ecosystem by working with the core seminar classes across all eight campuses, directly supporting the promotion of cross-campus coursework through our involvement in everything from syllabus development to class ePortfolio creation. In doing this, we also facilitate the germination of good ideas throughout the College.
By being present on the campuses to deliver in-class workshops and one-on-one help, we serve as ambassadors from Macaulay Central in building strong relationships with both students and faculty. We ensure that communications between the campuses and Macaulay Central are efficient and clear, and share campus-based concerns and questions with the broader Macaulay community to ensure that they are addressed productively.
Expanding Services
We are increasing the number of campus-based learning experiences to supplement Macaulay’s standout cross-campus events.
- Campus-Driven Experiential Learning
In the traditional Common Event model, Macaulay Central and the TLC have developed programming that students from all campuses participate in. While not abandoning this model, we are experimenting with a decentralized approach, where we provide TLC support for developing and implementing programming that is born on the campuses.
