2020 — (What a) Year in Review (!)

The resilient educators behind every resilient student.

What’s left to say? 2020 was unprecedented. Time and again our partners persevered, got creative, worked tirelessly, and were fonts of inspiration. Among them all, we’re so proud of:

Equity

Our partners redoubled efforts to create inclusive and equitable learning environments, to ensure every student, including Black, Latinx, and Indigenous students, have the opportunities necessary to succeed. For example:

Impact 

We all know that quality instruction leads to stronger, more equitable student outcomes. We also know how important it is to make the proof plain, with compelling evidence. This year,

  • A study with Broward College found that students were more likely to complete and pass courses when taught by ACUE-credentialed faculty, with the impact significantly larger on outcomes for Black and Pell-eligible students,
  • Broward’s Provost, Marielena DeSanctis, discussed these findings to a national audience on ACE Engage,
  • Laurell Malone, NC Central University’s coordinator of faculty development, emphasized the value of impact data on institutional decision-making,
  • The University of Texas System’s Rebecca Karoff discussed with the American Council on Education how the system prioritized quality teaching and faculty development to meet student success goals during a crisis,
  • Change magazine featured six years of ACUE research on the links between effective teaching, improved academic achievement, and closed equity gaps, among students taught by ACUE-credentialed educators, and
  • EdWeek’s Rick Hess discussed the importance of demonstrable impact, and why investment in faculty matters, with ACUE’s Jonathan Gyurko and with historian Jon Zimmerman.

Scale

Plus, our partners won’t rest until every faculty member has the support they seek, to deliver the evidence-based instruction that every student deserves, in person or online.

  • CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez penned a forceful opinion about the need for effective pedagogy and practice, across CUNY, now and beyond the pandemic. He emphasized his vision in a talk with ACE and the importance of funders like the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
  • Strong Start to Finish helped to bring support to developmental education faculty across Arkansas and Ohio
  • Every Learner Everywhere partnered with Jobs for the Future, ACUE, and ATD to support faculty and strengthen online instruction delivered by faculty across North Carolina and Ohio, and
  • The National Association of Systems Heads (NASH) is leading “Scaling Instructional Excellence for Student Success,” through generous support from the Charles Koch Foundation. System and campus leaders have embraced this opportunity, and the program is empowering nearly 1,500 professors with the evidence-based teaching skills they need and want to be more effective educators—in person and online. Their students are receiving a better education, with particular benefits for first-generation, low-income, and underserved students. 

Our 2021 Resolution

As an unfathomable year ends, we’re so proud to share that nearly 15,000 ACUE faculty members across more than 200 colleges are making a difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of students.

Our catalog of offerings continues to expand, with courses in online teaching and career guidance, delivered through full and microcredential courses to cohorts at institutions and through open enrollments to individual faculty.

And more is on the way, with new courses focused on guided pathways, equitable learning, and digital courseware.

Your passion and commitment invigorates our work, and we promise to remain steadfast in our pursuit of student success and equity.

 

Happy holidays, from all of us at the ACUE team.

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