Students

Over the three years of the Transformative Learning in the Humanities, over seven thousand undergraduate and graduate students have been impacted by the courses taught by our Faculty Fellows across 21 of CUNY’s two- and four-year colleges in every borough of New York City.

The original goal of incorporating students into grant activities was to improve student engagement and learning outcomes (course retention and performance) for all students, not just those with the most educationally advantaged backgrounds. Improved student learning outcomes will result in better academic and life prospects for students – better college retention and graduation rates, more common entry into graduate work, better first jobs and better careers, more civic and cultural engagement, lives of more meaning and purpose.

• Improved retention rates in humanities courses that use Transformative Learning in the Humanities (TLH) pedagogical approaches
• Improved retention rates in non-humanities courses (“spillover effects”) achieved by applying skills learned through TLH courses
• Higher probability of going on for graduate study in the humanities, greater post-graduate success and likelihood of working in field of study
• Reduced achievement gaps across all outcomes

TLH incorporated and engaged students in a variety of ways. TLH faculty fellows collaborated with students on their public knowledge projects and events. We surveyed students taking courses with TLH fellows. These students were called “Mellon Student Scholars,” which we invited them to list on their CV/resume as leadership and collaborative experience. We formed Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 student advisory boards. We hosted a Student Summit. Student contributions were honored with TLH-Mellon scholarships (advisory board members and Summit participants also received technology to help them with their coursework) and we mentored students on how to use their TLH experience on their resumes, CVs, and in job interviews to help give them a leg up in their careers.

Top Row, From Top to Bottom, Left to Right: Fall 2022 Student Advisory Board member Tahisha Fields holding a TLH annual report with Christina Katopodis; Spring 2023 Student Advisory Board members Fatima Javid and Vincent Hadwin Tanujaya standing in front of some greenery outside; Fall 2022 Student Advisory Board member Vibodha Gallage Dona stands in front of CUNY logo at the 42nd Street Central Office next to Noshin Amed, who presented at our TLH Student Summit; Christina Katopodis stands with Fall 2022 Student Advisory Board Members Tahisha Fields and Holliday Senquiz in front of a CUNY logo at the 42nd street Central Office; Transformative Speaker Tracie Morris stands with several CUNY undergraduate and graduate students at the CUNY Graduate Center outside Proshansky Auditorium; Zoom Screenshot of Students in Student Advisory Meeting