As the second full year of implementation in Arts & Sciences classrooms concludes, the Literacies for Life and Career (LLC) initiative has won a grant to expand the scope of its work.

The $45,955 grant, provided by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) through its NetVUE Program Development Grants, will deepen opportunities for students and advisors participating in the Literacies program.

An initiative of the Arts & Sciences Strategic Plan, LLC aims to make the full value of an Arts & Sciences education more tangible to students, help them develop awareness of the skills and competencies they’re gaining in their coursework, and foster a sense of meaning and purpose among all undergraduates. The program collaborates with faculty to highlight 11 core literacies in throughout undergraduate courses. 

As part of the next phase of the program’s implementation, the grant will support structured, reflective training opportunities for advisors to explore concepts of meaning and purpose with students, enrichment of Arts & Sciences’ nationally recognized four-year advising curriculum, and development of a signature event for students centered on the LLC initiative.

“While the Literacies initiative is well underway on the pedagogical side, we’re excited to develop the advising curriculum,” said Michelle DeLair, Director of Curricular Innovation. “The grant will help us strengthen our Literacies-based advising approach, which we hope will provide students with opportunities to slow down and more deeply consider not just their curricular choices, but the why behind what they are learning and the person they are becoming through their education.”

In addition to the CIC grant, LLC has also launched a new web portal designed to support faculty with course planning. The portal features a literacies quick start guide, classroom resources, and a series of workshops to assist faculty as they integrate the Literacies into their teaching.

“The Early Adopters of Literacies for Life and Career have developed a treasure trove of materials, tips, and strategies that instructors new to the initiative can use to integrate the Literacies into their undergraduate courses in ways that are authentic to their course goals and to their teaching,” said Erin McGlothlin, Vice Dean of Undergraduate Affairs and the Gloria M. Goldstein Professor of Holocaust Studies. “We want to make sure that faculty are able to enter into the LLC initiative at the level of intensity that is most comfortable for them, and the materials in the portal provide different access points that allow for light, medium, and in-depth engagement.”

Faculty interested in learning more about LLC can attend a Literacies Info Session or register for an interactive workshop like Literacies 101, with dates available throughout the spring and summer.