Support NITLE Shared Academics

Changes in technology are opening new possibilities for engaging undergraduate students in meaningful intellectual inquiry and transformative learning experiences. NITLE helps liberal arts colleges and universities take strategic advantage of these opportunities for students’ benefit, breaking new ground for teaching and learning in higher education.

NITLE’s Shared Academics program places students, faculty, and staff at NITLE member campuses in dialogue with well-known leaders from a variety of fields. Using telepresence technologies, it connects these audiences with the world’s leading thinkers and doers, allowing them to discuss real and relevant questions, problems, and knowledge with experts who would otherwise be inaccessible due to cost and logistics. Speakers stimulate interaction and dialogue about various fields of study and the future of liberal education, exposing audiences to fresh insights on critical issues.

Program Objectives

• Create access to renowned academicians and transformative thought leaders
• Increase opportunities for student learning
• Promote campus discussion of trends in higher education
• Promote the use of shared resources to realize economies of scale
• Model the use of telepresence as a viable method for program delivery 

Audience

• Topics in the arts, history, philosophy, and sciences will attract students, faculty, and others.
• Topics related to the future of liberal education—including the digital humanities, libraries and scholarly communication, and new learning resources—will attract campus administrators, faculty, librarians, technologists, and others.

Timeframe and Cost

This signature program will begin in 2012, with colloquies taking place as often as weekly. Frequency will depend upon available support in the form of gifts and grants. Each colloquy will cost $5,000 on average, including production (e.g., equipment set-up and operation, audio/video streaming, archiving) and speaker’s expenses.

Methodology/Background

The NITLE Shared Academics program uses high-definition technologies to promote close interaction between speakers and audience. Colloquies are recorded and archived for ongoing use by NITLE member institutions. In 2011, NITLE tested the shared academics concept, hosting a colloquy led by Anya Kamenetz, the well-known author of Generation Debt (2006) and DIY U (2010). This successful pilot event attracted participation from 11 campuses, with audience numbers conservatively estimated at 300, and was overwhelmingly well-received.