The National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education (NITLE) was a "community-based, non-profit initiative" to "help liberal arts colleges and universities integrate inquiry, pedagogy, and technology".
It was established in September 2001.
[
Its stated mission was to catalyze "innovative teaching in order to enrich and advance ]liberal education
A liberal education is a system or course of education suitable for the cultivation of a free (Latin: ''liber'') human being. It is based on the medieval concept of the liberal arts or, more commonly now, the liberalism of the Age of Enlightenment. ...
in the digital age." The initiative provided programs and services that promote inter-institutional collaboration
Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...
and innovative uses of technology at small, undergraduate-centered, residential colleges and universities.
History
NITLE was established in September 2001, through a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City in the United States, simply known as Mellon Foundation, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, and endowed with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pit ...
. The original charge of this grant-funded initiative was to stimulate collaboration
Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...
between selected liberal arts college
A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in liberal arts and sciences. Such colleges aim to impart a broad general knowledge and develop general intellectual capac ...
s and to act as a catalyst for the effective integration of emerging and newer digital
Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits.
Technology and computing Hardware
*Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals
**Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...
technologies into teaching, learning, scholarship, and information management at those colleges.
In January, 2006, NITLE reorganized under Ithaka, bringing together and merging with three other Mellon-funded instructional technology initiatives: the Center for Educational Technology
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
at Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...
, the Associated Colleges of the South The Associated Colleges of the South (ACS) is a consortium of 16 liberal arts colleges in the southern United States. It was formed in 1991. Its mission is to champion and enhance residential liberal arts education through collaborative projects am ...
Technology Center, and the Midwest Instructional Technology Center (associated with the Great Lakes Colleges Association
The Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA) is a consortium of 13 liberal arts colleges located in the states around the Great Lakes. The GLCA's offices are located in Ann Arbor, Michigan and its 13 schools are located in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsyl ...
and the Associated Colleges of the Midwest Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) is a consortium of 14 private liberal arts colleges, primarily in the Midwestern United States. The 14 colleges are located in five states (Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Colorado). The ACM was ...
). The reorganization merged NITLE and the three regional technology centers into a unified, national initiative for providing instructional technology programs for providers of liberal education
A liberal education is a system or course of education suitable for the cultivation of a free (Latin: ''liber'') human being. It is based on the medieval concept of the liberal arts or, more commonly now, the liberalism of the Age of Enlightenment. ...
in the United States. The reformed organization continued to receive grant support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City in the United States, simply known as Mellon Foundation, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, and endowed with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pit ...
.
Location
From 2009 to 2015 NITLE was hosted at Southwestern University
Southwestern University (Southwestern or SU) is a private liberal arts college in Georgetown, Texas. Formed in 1873 from a revival of collegiate charters granted in 1840, Southwestern is the oldest college or university in Texas. Southwester ...
br>
a small, private liberal arts college
A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in liberal arts and sciences. Such colleges aim to impart a broad general knowledge and develop general intellectual capac ...
in Georgetown, Texas
Georgetown is a city in Texas and the county seat of Williamson County, Texas, United States. The population was 67,176 at the 2020 census. It is 30 miles (48 km) north of Austin.
Founded in 1875 from four existing colleges, the oldest of ...
. Staff was distributed across several states. In 2015, NITLE migrated its operations to the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR), headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Institute closed in 2018.
Core program areas
The organization delivered a methodology that provided colleges and institutions with the traction they needed to move forward to meet stated strategic collaboration objectives. The program engaged targeted groups of institutions that had already identified – or were actively in the process of identifying—shared needs and objectives, and complementary strengths. The methodology guided participants through the process of identifying how to maximize the benefits of partnerships by using collaborative processes and tools to achieve specifically defined common objectives.
See also
* Al-Musharaka, an NITLE program to promote university Arab studies
Arab studies or Arabic studies is an academic discipline centered on the study of Arabs and Arab World. It consists of several disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, linguistics, historiography, archaeology, cultural studies, economics, geo ...
References
"What we Do"
External links
National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education
{{Font color, gray, (archived)
Academic Commons
ITHAKA
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Institutes based in the United States
Defunct organizations based in the United States
Organizations established in 2001
Organizations disestablished in 2018
2001 establishments in the United States
2018 disestablishments in the United States