The cover of this Fall’s Change magazine features a clarion call for student success and equity through quality instruction. Authored by ACUE’s Meghan Snow, executive director of analytics, and Jonathan Gyurko, president and co-founder, the piece summarizes six years of ACUE’s research on effective teaching and program evaluations with partner colleges and universities. Studies use a research-based methodology and show improved academic achievement and closed equity gaps among students taught by ACUE-credentialed educators. One analysis further estimates the sizable financial return to an institution based on greater student completion and anticipated retention.
The 14 reviewed studies examine data from more than 700 ACUE-credentialed faculty and more than 69,000 students enrolled in their courses. Studies compared their student outcomes to achievement data for more than 75,000 student enrollments from courses taught by over 5,300 colleagues who have not yet participated in an ACUE program (or to student outcomes prior to the faculty member’s participation), with statistically significant differences. Independent reviewers noted that, collectively, this constitutes one of the largest bodies of research reinforcing the link between faculty development, changes in teaching practices, and the consequent impact on student outcomes.
