The Undergraduate Experience: Focusing Institutions on What Matters Most

Abstract

The authors of The Undergraduate Experience approach the need for change in higher education by highlighting six themes that enable institutions to focus on what is most important in undergraduate education. Their principles include focusing on student learning, structuring meaningful relationships for students, maintaining high expectations, fostering alignment of mission and resources, establishing a culture of improvement, and ensuring that leadership facilitates collaboration across campus. They offer numerous examples of best practices from diverse institutions to indicate the potential that all colleges and universities have to achieve excellent undergraduate education. By connecting their principles to representative cases, and adding questions to encourage reflection by readers, the authors provide a useful resource for higher education professionals to consider how their institutions can best educate undergraduates and meet their missions to develop individuals who are committed to and capable of contributing to the world they inhabit.