The theme of this year’s retreat is “Breaking Down the Garden Walls: A Promise of Access to Success.”

Our university, as well as many others, measures success by how well our students continuously improve their learning and development. Success is often defined as academic achievement, but we can and should include other outcomes, such as a growth mindset, self and social awareness, confidence, and grit. Now imagine your course as a bountiful garden full of beautiful things to behold or delicious fruits to experience by our students. Have we unintentionally placed walls around this garden? We welcome the rich diversity of our students, but do we provide fair and equal access to success? What hurdles do our students face? Are they met with positive expectations from faculty, as well as their peers?

In this year’s retreat, we will explore principles and approaches by which we can provide a campus culture that focuses on student success. In addition to listening to student voices and experiencing aspects of their lives, you will learn from faculty colleagues who will describe practices that can be implemented by all campus community members. There will be multiple opportunities to share ideas with your colleagues, in addition to interactive activities and resources.  Are we ready to break down the garden walls?

Goals of the Retreat

The goals for the Annual Faculty Retreat are to build on our collective knowledge about teaching and learning, to share innovative ideas and approaches, and to promote partnerships within and beyond the campus community.