A science department on the campus of the University of Illinois has received numerous national awards for excellence in undergraduate teaching. The secret to their success? For nearly two decades, they have collaboratively used evidence-based instructional practices (EBIP) in their introductory level courses. Despite these successes and efforts…

During the most recent decade, interdisciplinary instruction at the undergraduate level has increased rapidly. Independent colleges and universities are both innovators in developing new approaches to interdisciplinary education and strong supporters of traditional liberal arts disciplines. Some observers argue that interdisciplinary approaches…

There have been many attempts over the years to identify the features of a good education school, but none is like the effort here, a comprehensive examination of the 53 institutions in Illinois. The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has undertaken this outsized effort because it is desperately needed. Well over a century after formal…

The goal of this paper is to show how one political science department at a small midwestern university (Millikin University, Decatur, Illinois) used good assessment practices identified by the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) and others to effect improvement. The paper argues that these principles can be followed and produce…

An evaluation was conducted of the implementation by public universities and community colleges in Illinois of state policies on student scholarship and achievement in undergraduate education. The policies were proposed in 1986 and revised in 1990 by the Illinois State Board of Higher Education in the context of state and national education…