What are HIPs and why use them?

High Impact Practices (HIPs) are learning experiences that are supported by research on their educational benefits. The 11 HIPs defined by AAC&U include:

• ePortfolios
• Undergraduate Research
• Writing
• Learning Communities
• Collaborative Assignments
• First-Year Experiences
• Service Learning
• Capstone Experiences
• Internships
• Diversity/Global Learning
• Common Intellectual Experiences

HIPs should have eight key characteristics: 

• Expectations set at appropriately high levels
• Significant amount of time and effort over an extended period of time
• Interactions with faculty and peers about substantive matters
• Experiences with diversity
• Frequent, timely, and constructive feedback
• Periodic, structured opportunities to reflect
• Real world applications
• Public demonstration of competence

While the 11 HIPs listed here are the educational experiences explicitly defined by AAC&U as high-impact practices, other learning opportunities can have similar positive effects on student learning (e.g., campus employment).

Not all 11 HIPs are embedded within the General Education program. Instead, General Education instructors are encouraged to incorporate many of the characteristics of HIPs within the experiences they create for students.  

Organizations, educators, and scholars at institutions around the world use HIPs to support student learning. Here are a few examples:

• Here at UA, the General Education program has structurally integrated many HIPs. Visit the General Education HIP Tips webpage to see which HIPs are currently integrated into the General Education curriculum. 
• The National Society of System Heads (NASH) uses research on HIPs to provide recommendations on how to implement and scale high quality learning experiences for students.
• Indiana University showcases how evidence on the effectiveness of HIPs is gathered and how faculty and staff are involved in HIPs in an annual conference.
• Educators and scholars incorporate HIPs into varied student learning experiences to ensure equity and fidelity. 
• The College System of Tennessee provides taxonomies for HIPs, including minimum definitions of practice and milestones for each HIP.

HIPs can help students develop a sense of belonging in college, support their connections with peers and instructors, increase their reflection on learning, facilitate appreciation for diverse perspectives, and much more! 

Here are some examples that apply to General Education:

• Engaging students in high-impact First Year Experiences fosters development of learning goals and formation of relationships with instructors and peers, in turn, building a strong foundation for learning.
• Meaning-making, interacting with instructors, students, and peers, sustained engagement, and metacognition all contribute to the high-impact nature of writing.
• If a collaborative assignment is complex and challenging, engages students with diverse perspectives, and incorporates individual accountability and autonomy, it is likely to have greater impacts on student learning.
• The potential benefits of undergraduate research for student learning are practicing skills of their discipline, learning to work independently, building tolerance for learning challenges, transforming the student/teacher relationship, and clarifying career goals. 
• Experiential learning (e.g., service learning, internships, and diversity/global learning) integrates learning in the classroom with authentic experiences outside of the classroom. These opportunities for students to apply and transfer what they learn to their lives, careers, and personal experiences makes experiential learning high-impact.
• ePortfolios promote ownership of learning, engagement with learning over time, practice being metacognitive, and authentic application of learning.

Interested in learning more? The General Education HIP Tips webpage provides much more detail on these HIPs, including tangible tips to get you started with incorporating HIPs into your courses.