Dean of Engaged Learning

According to Inside Higher Ed...

As more and more evidence makes the case for "engaging" students -- that is, involving them deeply in the process of learning -- colleges continue trying to determine how to do just that. For its part, Robert Morris University may be the first to have a dean dedicated exclusively to the idea.

Last month, Shari Payne became the first dean of engaged learning of the 5,000-student private university, located in Pittsburgh. Previously, as director of academic operations, she oversaw the pilot phase of the Student Engagement Transcript -- a program that tracks and certifies a student's participation in faculty-sponsored extracurricular and co-curricular activities. Activities must fall in one of seven areas: arts, culture and creativity; "transcultural/global" experiences, which include studying abroad; research; community service; leadership; professional experience; and independent study projects. Starting in the fall, the university will require incoming freshmen to demonstrate participation in at least two of the seven categories to graduate, on top of completing traditional requirements based on majors.

As dean of engaged learning, Payne said her main duty is to make the now-mandatory program as efficient as possible by coordinating between all the de-centralized offices involved and approving new activities that fulfill the requirements

And now, for the rest of the story...