The ALA is WSCUC’s signature educational program, designed to build leadership skills that address contemporary challenges in higher education. Through the application of both theoretical and practical frames, the ALA considers the intersections and implications of:

• The assurance of equity and the importance of inclusion and diversity in higher education culture and practice
• The role of evidence in promoting institutional understanding, quality, and improvement
• The need for effective leadership, systems, and evidence to achieve quality

The ALA is both a literal and figurative container of the work that each cohort of the ALA creates based on the themes of Equity, Evidence, and Effectiveness (EEE). These three pillars of the ALA are brought together in a collaborative learning environment to develop living and practice-ready models for understanding and promoting equity efforts, capacity for uses of evidence in informing decision, and institutional (especially educational) effectiveness.

The methodology used to create the ALA is collaborative by nature and founded in the principles of Inquiry-Based Learning. By cultivating a professional learning network within each cohort and throughout the ALA community, opportunities for ongoing learning and growth in practice will be available to ALA participants.

The flexible, empowering, and authentic nature of inductive learning will allow ALA participants to make connections and to get support and ideas for developing their craft in meaningful ways. This connected, social approach to research and learning will foster innovative ideas and solutions to the challenges of integrating Equity, Evidence and Effectiveness into professional practice and resources for accreditation.

The ALA will be delivered in a blended/hybrid learning environment. It will include primarily in-person group meetings as well as online components, and focus on the creation of multimedia artifacts to meet diverse learning needs and access to information. The multimedia artifacts may manifest as, but are not limited to: research papers, blogs, YouTube videos, podcasts, white papers, an academic action plan, website, story map, animated or digitally published text, etc. To ensure effective and engaging multimedia products, we will provide participants with:

• Clear and measurable learning outcomes for the assignment.
• Help in determining the type of media to use based on the learning outcomes of the assignment and the required time to accomplish it.
• The deliverable required for the project and relevance to the ALA framework.
• A provided structure for the assignment that requires revisions: an outline, pitch, or proposal, a first draft, and a final version, with feedback to guide each stage.
• Predetermined assessments and rubrics.
• Help in determining the type of training, scaffolding, and technical support needed.
• An adequate/fair workload for the assignment.

Fees for the 2023-2024 ALA are $5,500 per participant. In addition, each participant will be responsible for travel and hotel costs for each meeting (rooms will be offered at a special rate). All meals are included in the ALA fees.

The August and October 2023 meetings and the January 2024 meeting will be 3 day and 2-night meetings at hotels alternating between Northern and Southern California. Participants can elect to attend the WSCUC ARC annual meeting for a community gathering of ALA alumni. Participants will receive information about locations and lodging following admission to the ALA.