Teaching the Humanities Online - A Report by the Council of Independent Colleges - July 2019

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jacob

A July 2019 report from the Council of Independent Colleges examines consortium-based online humanities instruction and distills outcomes for students, teaching staff, and institutions. It sets the initiative in the changing landscape of U.S. higher education amid economic disruption, enrollment shifts, policy pressures, and technology-driven expectations. The report synthesizes lessons on learning and satisfaction, teaching outcomes and faculty perceptions, and administration and institutional impact, while outlining how consortia can be sustained over time.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages68

Reading Time2 h 51 min

AccessFree to download

Foreword by Bryan Alexander

Background and Overview of the Consortia for Online Humanities Instruction

Lessons Learned: Student Learning and Satisfaction

Lessons Learned: Teaching Outcomes and Faculty Perceptions

Lessons Learned: Administration and Institutional Impact

Sustaining a Consortium

Afterword: A Focus on Learning

Appendix A: Overview of Evaluation Design

Appendix B: List of Courses Offered through the Consortia

A REPORT BY Teaching the Humanities Online Lessons from a Consortium of Liberal Arts Colleges © 2019 by the Council of Independent Colleges The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) is an association of 768 nonprofit independent colleges and universities, state-based councils of independent colleges, and other higher education affiliates, that works to support college and university leadership, advance institutional excellence, and enhance public understanding of independent higher education’s contributions to society. CIC is the major national organization that focuses on services to leaders of independent colleges and universities and state-based councils. CIC offers conferences, seminars, publications, and other programs and services that help institutions improve educational quality, administrative and financial performance, student outcomes, and institutional visibility. CIC conducts the largest annual conferences of college and university presidents and of chief academic officers in the United States. Founded in 1956, CIC is headquartered at One Dupont Circle in Washington, DC. For more information, [visit](visit www.cic.edu)[ www.cic.edu](visit www.cic.edu). Acknowledgement The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation provided generous support for the Consortium for Online Humanities Instruction. About the Authors The principal authors of this report are Barbara Hetrick, CIC senior advisor and former CIC senior vice president, and Deanna Marcum, senior advisor to Ithaka S+R’s program areas in Educational Transformation and Libraries and Scholarly Communication and previously Ithaka S+R managing director. Additional contributions were made by Philip M. Katz, CIC director of projects. Teaching the Humanities Online Lessons from a Consortium of Liberal Arts Colleges A Report by the Council of Independent Colleges July 2019 TEACHING THE HUMANITIES ONLINE Table of Contents Foreword by Bryan Alexander ................................................................ 2 Background and Overview of the Consortia for Online Humanities Instruction .............................................................. 6 A Brief History................................................................................... 6 Consortium I .................................................................................... 9 Consortium II ................................................................................... 10 Lessons Learned: Student Learning and Satisfaction ..................................... 15 Lessons Learned: Teaching Outcomes and Faculty Perceptions ........................ 25 Lessons Learned: Administration and Institutional Impact ............................. 33 Sustaining a Consortium ...................................................................... 43 Afterword: A Focus on Learning by Richard Ekman ..................................... 51 Appendix A: Overview of Evaluation Design .............................................. 53 Appendix B: List of Courses Offered through the Consortia ............................ 56 Foreword These are challenging times for American higher education, and that represents a significant break from most of the nation’s post-World War II history. The postsecondary world has been greatly enhanced over the past generations. As others have observed, from the 1970s onward colleges and universities expanded their curricula. The professoriate, staff, and students became gradually more diverse. American research output led and helped change the world. Partly in response, more international students traveled to the United States while total enrollment surged to the highest levels in history.1 Yet this institutional ascent ran into 21st-century obstacles. The 2008 financial panic, the resulting economic downturn, and the slow, uneven recovery process therefrom dealt many institutions severe blows, requiring years of painful adjustments. The expansio

FAQs

What context does the report describe for U.S. higher education around the initiative?

The report describes major pressures on American higher education, including the 2008 financial crisis, enrollment changes after 2012, policy and social tensions, and technology-driven expectations that affect institutional decisions.

What kinds of lessons does the report extract from the online humanities consortia?

It summarizes lessons on student learning and satisfaction, teaching outcomes and faculty perceptions, and administration and institutional impact.

How does the report address sustaining a consortium after initial implementation?

It includes a dedicated section on sustaining a consortium, focusing on ongoing considerations for maintaining consortium structures and practices over time.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jacob