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Alverno and the Media


Click on the following links to learn more about Alverno College

  • Alverno's internship program featured in The New York Times EducationLife section, January 6, 2008 details

  • Alverno named as one of the nation's 10 leading schools for teacher preparation, Edutopia magazine - details

    Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article details
  • Alverno College releases 2007 Status of Girls in Wisconsin Report in conjunction with Alverno Debates' first event of the season focused on this same subject.  Read the report summary.

  • New charter school integrates Alverno's abilities-based educational model to help achieve its mission, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 10, 2007 details
  • Alverno professor authors article on assessment for Inside Higher Education's August 14, 2007 edition details and retorts to its responses in the publication's Sept. 28 edition details

  • Alverno College and Concordia University combine forces on music therapy program. Read Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article, February 6, 2007 (pdf)

  • The Chronicle of Higher Education highlights Alverno's assessment methods. details
  • Atlantic Monthly magazine article "What Does College Teach?" recognizes Alverno College for the innovative way it assesses overall student performance (November 2005). Read article (pdf).
  • Alverno Scores Big on National Survey details
  • Fast Company magazine features article about Alverno's approach to education details
  • Alverno College Wins National Award details

Read Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article, "Hearing a Call for Help," January 5, 2007.



U.S.News & World Report gives high ranks to Alverno
Alverno outperforms many other Wisconsin schools in U.S.News & World Report's 2008 edition, America's Best Colleges.
Best Universities - Master's
Programs to Look For


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he New

A few previous mentions:

Study Shows Alverno Outpaces 90% of Nation’s Colleges in Student Engagement and in Learning
More than 185,000 students from 649 colleges and universities nationwide participated in 2003 National Survey of Student Engagement

Milwaukee – “Parents are worried so much about getting their kids into college and paying for it; they should be worried about whether or not they’re actually learning anything once they’re there,” says Alverno professor Donna Engelmann, one of the Alverno faculty instrumental in the college’s involvement with the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). With that statement, Engelmann summed up the focus of NSSE: are students engaged in meaningful learning experiences in the college classroom? At Alverno, they are – and the proof is in.

NSSE Explained
NSSE annually assesses the extent to which undergraduate students are involved in educational practices linked to high levels of learning and development. “Engagement is a critical factor in the educational process because the more time and energy students devote to desired activities, the more likely they are to develop the habits of the mind that are key to success after college,” says George Kuh, the NSSE director and professor of education at Indiana University – Bloomington.

NSSE is being viewed nationally as a more accurate, effective means of measuring the impact the institutions are having on the actual educational experiences of the students. In other words, instead of emphasizing prestige and selectivity as many college rankings do, it measures the effectiveness and quality of student learning.

The study looks at five benchmarks of effective practices to determine the quality of a college’s contributions to the learning process: 1) Level of Academic Challenge, 2) Active and Collaborative Learning, 3) Student Interactions with Faculty, 4) Enriching Educational Experiences, and 5) Supportive Campus Environment. Raw scores of colleges are tabulated, adjusted for student and institutional characteristics, and noted in percentile format for comparative purposes. Though agreements with participating schools prohibit NSSE from releasing individual school information, schools are permitted to release their own data.

Alverno Leads the Pack
Alverno scored beyond the 94th percentile overall for freshman, and beyond the 91st percentile for seniors, far outpacing the nation’s colleges. These very positive results reflect consistent ability to set high standards and assist students in meeting them. “We’re continuously looking for ways to improve the Alverno experience,” said Kathleen O’Brien, Interim President and Senior V.P. of Academic Affairs. “We’re in the business of learning here, and the NSSE results have shown us precisely where we need to work. Alverno scored higher than the national average by a considerable margin in most categories, but I know we can do even better. The goal for Alverno is to continue fostering each student’s unique pathways to success.” Across the board, Alverno College far outpaced predicted performance based on NSSE’s calculations and the institution’s characteristics.

What Does This Mean to Students and Parents?
In short, when weighing decisions on attending a college, prospective students and their parents should be asking the right questions at admissions offices nationwide. One right question is “How did your school perform on the National Survey of Student Engagement?” “College is one of the biggest investments a student will make in her life,” says O’Brien, “by taking the time to make sure a particular school is delivering on its promise to educate at the level it should be, a student will help ensure a learning experience that will benefit her well throughout her entire life.”

What’s Next for Alverno?
Alverno College was asked to participate in a special study of NSSE participants. This project, called NSSE DEEP, explored in great detail the practices on 20 top performing campuses across the U.S. in an ongoing effort to help define educational practices that work. By participating in this study, Alverno not only served as an exemplary school for others, but also gained even more insight into its own practices, helping to ensure growth and even more future success for students.

Additional information on the National Survey of Student Engagement can be found on their Web site. The site contains links to articles written by The Christian Science Monitor, The New York Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and National Public Radio.
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Fast Company Magazine - "Think for a Change"
The March 2002 issue of Fast Company magazine features an article about Alverno's ability-based approach to education and assessment and how the college prepares students to relate their experiences to life. The article is "Think for a Change: What can executives learn from a women's liberal arts college in Milwaukee?" by Curtis Sittenfeld.

http://www.fastcompany.com/online/56/think.html

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Alverno College Received National Honors for its
Experiential Learning Programs

Innovative, future-facing internships, hands-on educational style and abilities-based curriculum all cited as tops in field

Alverno College received the prestigious 2001 Experiential Education Program of the Year award from the National Society for Experiential Education (NSEE). The award recognizes an outstanding K-12 or higher education institution that has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to experiential education in their classrooms, on their campuses and in their communities.

During the award ceremony, Alverno was recognized as "The Mother of Higher Education's Experiential Learning Programs." The award comes on the heels of the New York Times selecting Alverno College as "one of the five higher education institutions on the cutting edge of serving the needs of students in the new millennium."

In January of 2001, Alverno's internship department and then Alverno President Joel Read organized a consortium of local colleges and universities to formally organize the internship experience in Milwaukee. Armed with nearly 30 years of experience, Alverno has now achieved national notoriety for their innovative program work, which includes mentor training programs, helping students find professional hands-on experiences themselves, a required internship off-campus for all students, and a growing network of some of the most coveted opportunities in the country.
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