CGS Wins Exemplary Program Award

By Chelsea Feinstein

The College of General Studies has won the Association for General and Liberal Studies’ (AGLS) Exemplary Program Award, recognizing the college’s Boston-London Experience for its focus on outstanding cocurricular general education.

The Boston-London Experience is the only program at BU with a study abroad experience built into the first two semesters. Students in the program complete a gap semester in the fall, spend the spring semester taking courses on the BU campus, and then travel to London for summer study to complete their first year. As part of the Boston-London curriculum, students learn in and outside the classroom, visiting historical and cultural sites.

Megan Sullivan, associate dean for faculty research and development and director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching & Learning, traveled with several faculty members to Orlando, Fla., in September 2019 to accept the national award. The AGLS is a national organization that aims to support and promote general studies in higher education. Its annual awards recognize institutions that have shown outstanding results in implementing improved general education curriculums.

Sullivan says the Boston-London program has all the hallmarks of a CGS education.

“We recognized from the beginning that we could infuse a new program with what over 50 years of general education has taught us: students benefit from cohorts of learners, a team of faculty, an interdisciplinary focus with cocurricular or experiential opportunities, and a global component,” she says.

As part of the application process, Sullivan and team submitted data comparing performance between students who participated in an early iteration of the Boston-London Experience versus those who had a more traditional freshman year experience. According to their analysis, students who studied in London demonstrated a higher level of cocurricular learning.

“Our several-year assessment and the fact that we could compare September and January students was huge. We had the data to support that one of our key learning rubrics—integrated learning—is strengthened as a result of cocurricular experiences.”

Sullivan says the award, which is on display on the second floor of CGS, is a way of recognizing the work of all those involved with the program.

“I was especially pleased because I am first and foremost a faculty member; I have taught many students in my decades at CGS, and I feel that this award recognizes these students and their hard work.”