Mission Statement

The mission of the Claremont Colleges Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is to support faculty in their pursuit of teaching excellence so as to promote the intellectual and personal growth of all students at the Claremont Colleges.

Click on the links in our goals below to see how we are realizing this mission!

The mission of the CTL is embodied in these goals:

  1. Promote a faculty culture of life-long learning and commitment to effective and excellent teaching,
  2. Enable and support faculty to learn about, implement and advance evidence-based, student-centered, inclusive teaching and learning practices and technologies in every stage of their careers, and
  3. Build institutional capacity for supporting excellence in teaching and learning.

To pursue these goals, the CTL

  1. Develops and programs opportunities for faculty to learn about evidence-based, student-centered, inclusive teaching and learning practices and technologies and to support each other in that learning,
  2. Provides personalized and confidential support to faculty and instructional staff on their teaching,
  3. Catalyzes collaboration across the Claremont Colleges on matters relating to teaching and learning by supporting the work that our institutions are already doing, connecting faculty to needed expertise, advancing of the scholarship of teaching and learning, and supporting departmental and institutional initiatives.

Why is this mission important?

The Claremont Colleges are known for their rigorous curricula, small classes, personalized instruction, and intensive interactions between its dedicated faculty and talented students. To continue to provide these kinds of experiences for our students we must innovate to embrace the many opportunities and challenges facing higher education today: persistent inequitable outcomes and experiences at our campuses, primarily with regards to race, gender, and class; the ever-increasing cost of higher education; and deepening questions in American society about the value and relevance of higher education, just to name a few.

Across the United States, institutions of higher education are experiencing and realizing the urgency of matters relating to equity, diversity, and inclusion at their own campuses. These matters are particularly urgent at highly selective colleges and universities, which have made great efforts to diversify their student bodies and take pride in the excellence of their academic programs but have been criticized for failing to create and maintain truly inclusive campus climates. The CTL will help the Claremont Colleges address the value of inclusiveness and the persistent realities of exclusivity in the most direct way: by helping faculty become more equity-minded and create welcoming learning environments through inclusive pedagogy and curricula.

Formalized support for educational development through teaching and learning centers has grown considerably since the 1990s. These teaching and learning centers have become places for faculty to learn from one another, become more effective instructors, and elevate the study of teaching and learning. The Claremont Colleges have been able to accomplish a great deal, and the creation of a new center for teaching and learning will accelerate the consortium’s growth and innovation.