What is "great teaching?"

It’s getting to really know students and knowing them by name. It’s working to engage everyone to the fullest. It’s developing new and exciting academic programs, learning centers, and other cutting-edge educational opportunities.

These colleges encourage an atmosphere of exciting thought and action, led by professors who care about helping students learn to think for themselves. At the Colleges of Distinction, academic innovation goes hand-in-hand with personalized learning.

Why does it matter?

Studies show that students learn best in an atmosphere where there is lots of feedback and encouragement. Faculty interaction is crucial to learning; students who get meaningful comments on their papers and who feel comfortable talking to their professors outside of class are getting more out of their education. Students lose out on these interactions when they have to sit in big, impersonal classes, or when their professors are encouraged to pursue research above teaching, or when they are taught primarily by graduate students.