ACS Course Design Institute: Taking the Leap into Specifications Grading

Click below to expand each item and learn more about the Course Design Institute. To register, complete the form located at the bottom of the page.

What is the Course Design Institute?

What is the Course Design Institute?
In Grading for Growth (2023), Clark and Talbert ask, “What if there was a way to think about grades built on growth over game-playing, learning over letters and numbers, and productive relationships over adversarial ones? What if we could address, if not entirely repair, so many of these problems, through a quiet revolution in the everyday task of grading?” (3).

This course design institute takes up that question by exploring one alternative grading approach–specifications grading–which, like other alternate grading systems, can create more inclusive and equitable learning experiences for students by mitigating some negative outcomes associated with traditional grading (see for example: Covington et al., 2017; Feldman, 2019; Kohn, 2011; Malouff & Thorsteinsson, 2016). 

What Happens in the Course Design Institute?

What Happens in the Course Design Institute?
Informed by Specifications Grading (Nilson, 2015) and Grading for Growth (Clark & Talbert, 2023), this virtual institute will provide faculty and instructional staff with the structure, support, and resources they need to design or redesign their course for specifications grading.

The institute will run from Tuesday, June 9 through Friday, June 12 with the following schedule (EST):

Workshop 1: June 9, 9:00am – 12:15pm
Workshop 2: June 10, 9:00am – 12:15pm
Workshop 3: June 12, 9:00am – 12:15pm

Who Facilitates the Course Design Institute?

Who Facilitates the Course Design Institute?

Nancy Chick is now Executive Director of Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship and Professor of English at Texas Woman’s University–but worked at Rollins College from July 2018 through July 2025.  Her interests include the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), signature pedagogies (i.e., disciplinary ways of teaching), and having meaningful conversations with faculty.  She enjoys walking to and from work, frequenting farmers markets, playing in her yard, and the humidity levels of Denton, TX (vs Orlando, FL).

Nisha Gupta is the Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Centre College.  At Centre, her goal is to support faculty developing their pedagogy, transforming their classrooms, and thriving in the vocation of teaching.  She teaches classes in gender studies, philosophy, and education and spends her spare time reading fiction, doing yoga, and community organizing.

Kylie Korsnack is the Associate Director of Pedagogical Practice in the Faculty Hub at the University of Richmond. She leads initiatives related to inclusive and equitable teaching and also teaches courses in science fiction/fantasy, climate fiction, and first-year writing. She enjoys board games, running, and playing ultimate frisbee.

Kitty Maynard is the Director of the Faculty Hub at the University of Richmond where she works with faculty members on topics related to teaching, writing productivity, and career development. She is a scholar of French Early Modern studies, and she loves being in the classroom. She enjoys riding bikes, baking, watching birds, and hanging out with her cat Franky.

We look forward to your participation in these community-driven conversations and learning opportunities. Contact swilliams@acsouth.edu with questions.

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