Re-designing large courses: the NCAT model

For many years, the National Center for Academic Transformation, under the leadership of Carol Twigg, has been working with US universities on the re-design of large undergraduate courses, using technology to increase interaction, improve learning outcomes and reduce costs. If you are interested in knowing how this is done, NCAT is organising a conference in Orlando, Florida, in March on this topic:

‘There is a way to deal with the budget constraints facing all of us without sacrificing the quality of our academic programs. The Redesign Alliance Third Annual Conference to be held March 22 – 24, 2009, in Orlando, FL, can show you how to do it. Participation in this conference is open to the higher education community.

The final conference agenda is now available. Highlights include:

Presentations from more than 30 institutions that have fully implemented large-scale course redesigns, all of which improved student learning outcomes while generating cost savings.

Roundtable discussions with NCAT Redesign Scholars and 30 additional institutions that are in the midst of implementing course redesigns in disciplines as diverse as history, economics, developmental math, technical writing and physics about getting started and meeting implementation challenges.

A keynote address by Philip J. Parsons, director, Sasaki Strategies, on cost-effective learning space design.

Opportunities to interact with higher education’s major publishers and technology companies whose products and services support course redesign.

Networking with 400 colleagues all of whom are finding ways to increase academic quality in difficult financial times.

The registration deadline is March 13, 2009. To register, visit the conference web site. Register before February 19th and save $100. The hotel reservation deadline is February 19, 2009.’