There is increasing evidence that students learn best when their instruction is integrated with other academic programs and with experiences outside the classroom. Diminishing support from our traditional resources-state appropriations and tuition-require us to be creative in designing partnerships to give our students academic opportunities we can no longer afford to provide solely on our own. Millersville has developed many progressive partnerships to foster the intellectual skills emphasized in our mission and vision.

These partnerships have been developed through a culture of cooperation and collective action among faculty, students, and administrators rather than through a formal University infrastructure. Resources for these initiatives often come from a combination of outside and internal funding. An increasing emphasis on scholarship and a decreasing emphasis on service in the faculty reward system of tenure and promotion (see Chapter 4) may affect the number of partnerships in the future, or it may simply change the nature of these partnerships.

Partnerships chiefly intended to benefit our students' academic experience are described in this section. Partnerships designed to benefit our region are described in Chapter 9; partnerships that strengthen our technology resources are described in Chapter 7; and partnerships to generate new revenue streams are discussed in Chapter 11.

Partnerships among University Programs

Faculty and staff in academic programs collaborate in many ways to enhance students' learning opportunities. Recognizing that not all students need or want a degree to achieve their goals, we have initiated interdisciplinary certificate programs in International Business and Health Care Management. Millersville University is a member of the Renaissance Group, a national effort to strengthen teacher education programs. Millersville's nationally recognized pedagogy seminars, developed through Project 30, another national effort, pair faculty from teacher education programs and academic disciplines to teach the pedagogy of the discipline. The students and the professors address the pedagogy of teaching in the discipline throughout the semester, influencing both student learning in the content area and faculty teaching methods.

According to annual reports, over 236 faculty members participate in student life programs as advisors, guest lecturers, liaisons, task force and committee members, and trainers. Our MU Journeys orientation program, EXCEL and MU Getaway leadership programs, and Wellness programs (see Chapter 5) are successful collaborations between academic and student life programs.

Partnerships with Other Schools, Colleges, and Universities

Millersville University's affiliations with other colleges offer additional educational opportunities for our students. Many are described on page 38 of the 1998-2000 undergraduate catalog; others are described in Appendix 3-4.

Partnerships with Area Businesses, Agencies, and Organizations

Millersville's many partnerships with area businesses, agencies, and organizations aim to provide service learning and "real world" experiences for our students. Extensive partnerships with public schools give our teacher education students direct experience in the classroom. The Nursing department's formal affiliations with clinical sites give our students vital "hands on" experience. The Industrial Technology program's partnerships with businesses and industries give our students internship opportunities and strengthen the curriculum through advisory committees. Through partnerships with a broad range of social and government agencies, the Psychology, Social Work, and Sociology/Anthropology departments provide dozens of internships and field experiences. Other partnerships are discussed in Chapter 9.

One of our oldest collaborations is the Cooperative Education program, which gives students structured, credit-bearing internships related to their academic programs. The number of students in the program has doubled in the last decade to 385 students in 1997-1998. Employers have consistently rated their satisfaction with "co-op" students an average of nine on a ten-point scale.