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Many institutions now build into the curriculum first-year seminars or other programs that bring small groups of students together with faculty or staff on a regular basis. The highest-quality first-year experiences place a strong emphasis on critical inquiry, frequent writing, information literacy, collaborative learning, and other skills that develop students鈥� intellectual and practical competencies. First-year seminars can also involve students with cutting-edge questions in scholarship and with faculty members鈥� own research. 

The older idea of a 鈥渃ore鈥� curriculum has evolved into a variety of modern forms, such as a set of required common courses or a vertically organized general education program that includes advanced integrative studies and/or required participation in a learning community. These programs often combine broad themes鈥攅.g., technology and society, global interdependence鈥攚ith a variety of curricular and cocurricular options for students. 

The key goals for learning communities are to encourage integration of learning across courses and to involve students with 鈥渂ig questions鈥� that matter beyond the classroom. Students take two or more linked courses as a group and work closely with one another and with their professors. Many learning communities explore a common topic and/or common readings through the lenses of different disciplines. Some deliberately link 鈥渓iberal arts鈥� and 鈥減rofessional courses鈥�; others feature service learning.

These courses emphasize writing at all levels of instruction and across the curriculum, including final-year projects. Students are encouraged to produce and revise various forms of writing for different audiences in different disciplines. The effectiveness of this repeated practice 鈥渁cross the curriculum鈥� has led to parallel efforts in such areas as quantitative reasoning, oral communication, information literacy, and, on some campuses, ethical inquiry.

Collaborative learning combines two key goals: learning to work and solve problems in the company of others and sharpening one鈥檚 own understanding by listening seriously to the insights of others, especially those with different backgrounds and life experiences. Approaches range from study groups within a course, to team-based assignments and writing, to cooperative projects and research.

Many colleges and universities are now providing research experiences for students in all disciplines. Undergraduate research, however, has been most prominently used in science disciplines. With strong support from the National Science Foundation and the research community, scientists are reshaping their courses to connect key concepts and questions with students鈥� early and active involvement in systematic investigation and research. The goal is to involve students with actively contested questions, empirical observation, cutting-edge technologies, and the sense of excitement that comes from working to answer important questions.

Many colleges and universities now emphasize courses and programs that help students explore cultures, life experiences, and worldviews different from their own. These studies鈥攚hich may address US diversity, world cultures, or both鈥攐ften explore 鈥渄ifficult differences鈥� such as racial, ethnic, and gender inequality, or continuing struggles around the globe for human rights, freedom, and power. Frequently, intercultural studies are augmented by experiential learning in the community and/or by study abroad.

ePortfolios can be implemented in a variety of ways for teaching and learning, programmatic assessment, and career development. ePortfolios enable students to electronically collect their work over time, reflect upon their personal and academic growth, and then share selected items with others, including professors, advisors, and potential employers. Because collection over time is a key element of the ePortfolio process, employing ePortfolios in collaboration with other high-impact practices provides opportunities for students to make connections between various educational experiences. 

In these programs, field-based 鈥渆xperiential learning鈥� with community partners is an instructional strategy鈥攁nd often a required part of the course. The idea is to give students direct experience with issues they are studying in the curriculum and with ongoing efforts to analyze and solve problems in the community. A key element in these programs is the opportunity students have to both apply what they are learning in real-world settings and reflect in a classroom setting on their service experiences. These programs model the idea that giving something back to the community is an important college outcome, and that working with community partners is good preparation for citizenship, work, and life.

Internships are an increasingly common form of experiential learning. The idea is to provide students with direct experience in a work setting鈥攗sually related to their career interests鈥攁nd to give them the benefit of supervision and coaching from professionals in the field. If the internship is taken for course credit, students complete a project or paper that is approved by a faculty member.

Whether they鈥檙e called 鈥渟enior capstones鈥� or some other name, these culminating experiences require students nearing the end of their college years to create a project of some sort that integrates and applies what they鈥檝e learned. The project might be a research paper, a performance, a portfolio of 鈥渂est work,鈥� or an exhibit of artwork. Capstones are offered both in departmental programs and, increasingly, in general education as well.