Mission & Values

Founded in 2022, the mission of the Teaching and Learning Commons (TLC) is to support the academic success, teaching excellence, and lifelong learning of Swarthmore students, faculty, instructors, and staff.

It supports community members' teaching and learning goals at three levels:

Connecting community members to existing programs and resources
Collaborating with instructional support partners on program development
Creating TLC-led initiatives in response to community needs and interests

The TLC thus actively supports President Smith’s vision for the future of the College through programs that increase access and inclusion inside and out of the classroom, strengthen academics in ways that “respect tradition while responding to contemporary challenges,” and provide tools for “educating the whole person.”

TLC Core Values

The TLC aims to be responsive, inclusive, asset-oriented, collaborative, and holistic in all of its activities. As such, its programs:

Are developed in response to student, faculty, and staff interests and needs;
Include offerings for all members of our campus community (staff, students, faculty, and instructors);
Develop collective capacity to meet the varied needs of all of our students;
Build upon the myriad strengths of our community members;
Model community-building and cooperation;
Create opportunities for reciprocal teaching and learning; and
Support the professional well-being of all our community members.

Mission & Values

TLC Core Values

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