With the rising costs of participating in higher education; uncertain economies buffeted by technological, structural, and political forces; and shifting perceptions of the usefulness of credentials once obtained, the purpose of college has become a popular topic for everything from sound bites and screeds to serious studies. In our contemporary…

Because of the move toward automation and a more knowledge-based economy, it is imperative that colleges and universities develop graduates who have the capacity for continued growth--graduates with a foundation of skills and knowledge that can be built upon for future employment. A liberal arts education can expose students to depth in an area…

Just over fifty years ago, the author began his senior year on the bucolic campus of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. By the time of his graduation in 1969, he had been affiliated with the university for seven years, having studied cello there since the age of fourteen. Yet this familiarity did little to quell the profound alienation that he felt…

When considering the current state of public discourse about diversity, inclusion, and free speech, Pareena G. Lawrence begins this article on two hopeful notes: First, Americans celebrate diversity more fervently than their peers in other countries, and second, we've gotten through divisive times in our national history before. In the hope that…

Providing effective leadership and mentorship to students often requires an understanding of power systems and a focus on amplifying marginalized voices. The author, who identifies as a queer white woman, in her years as a graduate student, has found that attention to voice is essential, but also messy. As Donna M. Lanclos reminds,…

The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) has embarked on a sustained program to enhance the quality of student learning on campuses, while also supporting AAC&U members' efforts to bring liberal education to all sectors of society. This commitment to quality and equity in service to democracy forms the basis for…

Generally speaking, whenever teachers are mentioned, so too are teachers' unions. However, that is not the case in "right-to-work" states. Teachers in North Carolina, for example, do not have a collective voice to represent them in local or state political arenas, where politicians are usually not well versed in educational practices. As…

Certain widely tested educational practices have been shown to have a significantly beneficial impact on student learning and success in college. These "high-impact practices" include first-year experiences, common intellectual experiences, learning communities, writing-intensive courses, collaborative assignments and projects,…

Passionate about making interfaith cooperation the social norm in a highly diverse religious world landscape, Eboo Patel is founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core. The organization brings together young people of different religious and moral traditions for cooperative service and dialogue around shared values. In this article, which is…

High-impact educational practices support student and faculty learning and achievement. By creating an alternative structure through which students have access to these practices, and by investing resources to make that structure available to all students, Bryn Mawr College has been able to ensure that participation in high-impact practices occurs…

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga recently updated their general education curriculum with an eye toward the essential learning outcomes identified by the Association of American Colleges and Universities through its Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP) initiative. Like many other campuses across the country, money is tight,…

It is notoriously difficult to change a core curriculum. As credit hours and course requirements are revised, politics quickly come into play and turf battles arise to create obstacles. The author writes that, in her experience, there are two default approaches to curricular change. The first is simply to "tweak" an existing…

Introductory biology courses are supposed to serve as gateways for many majors, but too often they serve instead as gatekeepers. Reliance on lectures, large classes, and multiple-choice tests results in high drop and failure rates. Critiques of undergraduate science education are clear about the problems with conventional introductory science…

At the University System of Maryland (USM), researchers have taken a close look at a recent series of initiatives piloting course redesign (2006-2014). The courses targeted were multi-section developmental and gateway courses with a history of high DFW rates (i.e., a high rate of students receiving a D, fail, or withdraw). The strategy was to…

The religious dynamics of higher education are changing rapidly. College campuses have become prime sites for conflicts involving religious identity. Few issues touch more broadly or more deeply on complexity, diversity, and change in the twenty-first-century world than those related to how people who orient differently around religion interact…