Leveling the Learning Landscape

What is Leveling the Learning Landscape (L3)?

Leveling the Learning Landscape (L3) is a multi-year strategic effort to equalize educational access and opportunity for all Stanford undergraduates through curricular innovation and institutional reform. L3 aims to ensure students begin their Stanford education with the tools they need to succeed and develop a sense of belonging. Further, through grants and professional development, L3 supports faculty ingenuity to reshape curriculum and teaching strategies that will support Stanford’s increasingly diverse student population.

L3 is supported by the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (VPUE) as well as a generous five-year gift by an anonymous donor. L3 is managed by VPUE, with participation of colleagues across the university from the three undergraduate schools (School of Humanities and Sciences, School of Engineering, and Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability), Institutional Research & Design Support (IR&DS), the Vice Provost for Student Affairs, and Stanford Continuing Studies and Summer Session.

Curriculum Equity and Innovation
Improving Summer Impact
L3 Leadership and Partners
L3 Resources
L3 in the News

Curriculum Equity and Innovation

Engaging with the community to better support all students through more equitable and accessible courses requires a multi-pronged approach. Professional development and grants offered through L3’s Curriculum Equity and Innovation initiatives provide Stanford faculty and academic departments with new opportunities to access guidance and funding to put their transformative curricular ideas into action.

Mary Beth Mudgett, Senior Associate Dean for the Natural Sciences (H&S), Susan B. Ford Professor of Biology is the Faculty Director of L3's Curriculum Equity and Innovation efforts.

The Curriculum Transformation Project

The Curriculum Transformation Project is a seed funding opportunity, currently spanning the three undergraduate schools, supported by VPUE and the Deans of the Schools, and led by CTL. The Project enables instructional teams to work efficiently with education professionals to make substantive and sustainable improvements to existing or new curricula. Faculty are encouraged to propose projects focused on making introductory courses more equitable and accessible for all students.

Curriculum Transformation Institute & Seed Grants

As projects are proposed, faculty are invited to attend the Curriculum Transformation Institute (CTI), where they receive guidance in developing their proposed curriculum. CTI is an intensive three-day workshop that helps participants identify course challenges, and potential solutions, formulate goals; determine the strategies and materials required to support goals; and develop assessments and deliverables to measure project outcomes.

Explore past and present examples of Curriculum Transformation Projects

Improving Summer Impact

L3’s Improving Summer Impact initiatives leverage summers to foster early academic success, confidence, and belonging.

Rafe Mazzeo, Cassius Lamb Kirk Professor of the Natural Sciences and Professor of Mathematics, is the Faculty Director of L3's Improving Summer Impact programs.

Pre-Frosh Summer

L3 supports the design and development of a new, coordinated approach to academic bridge programming to ensure students feel confident and knowledgeable about their transition to Stanford.

History: In recent years Stanford developed several bridge programs, including VPUE’s Leland Scholars Program (LSP), the THRIVE program operated by Student Affairs, and the Stanford Online Academic Readiness (SOAR) program led by the Math Department, joining the long-standing Stanford Summer Engineering Academy (SSEA) offered by the School of Engineering. Each of these programs made lasting contributions to building community and skills for our students.

The proliferation of programs aiming to serve the same or similar populations presented obvious opportunities to combine forces in the service of more transparent pathways for incoming students, as well as greater efficiency in order to ultimately serve more students overall. Over the last few years, L3 convened several working groups of key stakeholders, faculty, and staff from across the university to study the best way forward.

New Program: Building upon the achievements of prior programs, a single new academic bridge program with in-person and online options will replace LSP, SSEA, SOAR and THRIVE in summer 2025. At the heart of this model is the continued commitment to addressing the needs of FLI students and others who arrive at Stanford with differential preparation, so that they are prepared to take full advantage of the academic opportunities Stanford has to offer.

The in-person component will be six weeks long, with the sixth week including an intensive and intentional introduction to a wide array of Stanford community and academic resources. VPUE will work in close collaboration with colleagues in FLISSC for FLI-specific programming. On-line courses will be offered in two different sessions for five weeks each. Many of the online students will also have the option to come to campus and participate in these enhanced orientation activities during the sixth week. Enhanced advising support for participating students will result in appropriate placements in academic year programs. The cohort communities forged by the bridge program will continue to be supported during the academic year.

Learn more about the Summer Bridge Program

Pre-Soph Summer

L3 aims to identify and provide research, academic, and experiential opportunities for students the summer before their sophomore year to reduce barriers to later engagements and allow time to focus on a key course outside of the academic year.

Stanford Summer Fellows Program (SSFP)

SSFP brings first-generation and low-income students together on campus for eight weeks during the summer between their first and second year at Stanford. During the program, participants take a course for full credit and, depending on the course, they may get ahead on satisfying a requirement, explore a potential major, or expand on an academic interest. Additionally, participants gain exposure to mentored research through an eight-week research placement.

All costs are covered by the program, including summer tuition for one course, on-campus room and board, and program-related expenses. In addition, each student receives a $3,000 stipend.

Learn more about the Stanford Summer Fellows Program (SSFP)

L3 Leadership and Partners

L3 Leadership

James Hamilton, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Hearst Professor of Communication, Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, L3 Chair
Rafe Mazzeo, Cassius Lamb Kirk Professor of the Natural Sciences and Professor of Mathematics, L3 Faculty Director
Mary Beth Mudgett, Senior Associate Dean for the Natural Sciences (H&S), Susan B. Ford Professor of Biology, L3 Faculty Director
Rebecca Katz, Senior Director, Strategic Initiatives (VPUE), L3 Director

L3 Faculty Advisory Committee

Mary Beth Mudgett, Senior Associate Dean for the Natural Sciences (H&S) and Susan B. Ford Professor of Biology, (Committee Chair)
Lynn Hildemann, Senior Associate Vice Provost (VPUE), Senior Associate Dean for Education (SDSS), Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Otis Chodosh, Associate Professor of Mathematics
James Hamilton, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Hearst Professor of Communication, Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
Héctor Hoyos, Professor of Iberian and Latin American Cultures
Thomas Kenny, Senior Associate Dean for Education and Student Affairs (SoE), Richard W. Weiland Professor and Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Rafe Mazzeo, Cassius Lamb Kirk Professor of the Natural Sciences and Professor of Mathematics

L3 Steering Committee

James Hamilton, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Hearst Professor of Communication, Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, (Committee Chair)
Lynn Hildemann, Senior Associate Vice Provost (VPUE), Senior Associate Dean for Education (SDSS), Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Cassandra Volpe Horii, Associate Vice Provost for Education and Director of CTL
Rebecca Katz, Senior Director, Strategic Initiatives (VPUE), L3 Initiative Staff Director
Rafe Mazzeo, Cassius Lamb Kirk Professor of the Natural Sciences and Professor of Mathematics
Mary Beth Mudgett, Senior Associate Dean for the Natural Sciences (H&S), Susan B. Ford Professor of Biology
Shari Palmer, Senior Associate Vice Provost (VPUE)
Deb Stevenson, Associate Vice Provost and Dean of Academic Advising (VPUE)