AAC&U in the News

• AAC&U Board Member, Robert Sternberg, Gives Advice in Inside Higher Ed Op-Ed to President Obama on New Accountability Proposals
  
  In his “Open Letter to President Obama,” Robert Sternberg, provost of Oklahoma State University and member of the executive committee of AAC&U’s board of directors, responds to President Obama’s proposals about higher education funding and holding institutions accountable for keeping tuition increases reasonable and sketches out “10 hopes for the new program.”  Among other things, Sternberg implores the president and his advisors to create policies in which “considerations of completion do not overshadow considerations of quality.”
  
  
• Selected Media Coverage of AAC&U’s 2012 Annual Meeting (Jan 25-28, 2012)

-"Beyond Tolerance" (Inside Higher Ed, January 31, 2012)

-“A Call to Action” (Inside Higher Ed, January 30, 2012)

-“Academically Adrift’s Testing Suggestions Spawn Resistance” (Inside Higher Ed, January 27, 2012)

-“Searching for Civics” (Inside Higher Ed, January 26, 2012)

-“Liberal Arts Education Lends an Edge in Down Economy” (USA Today, January 25, 2012)

-“Adrift in Adulthood: Students Who Struggled in College Find Life Harsher After Graduation” (Chronicle of Higher Education, January 25, 2012)

-“Next Phase of Academically Adrift Research Links Low CLA Scores to Unemployment” (Inside Higher Ed, January 25, 2012)

• AAC&U President Carol Schneider Comments on New Guidelines for Assessment and Accountability  on NPR Marketplace Morning Report

In an interview with Amy Scott, Schneider noted that, “Employers are telling us we're not doing a good enough job on critical thinking, communication skills, problem-solving skills. That we need to get students out there in the real world actually applying their knowledge to real problems.”  See the full transcript of the story that aired on January 24, 2012.

• January 23, 2012–AAC&U President Carol Geary Schneider commented on opportunities presented by technology to support high-quality learning in an article published in the Hechinger Report. The author of the article, Jon Marcus, notes that, "Several new companies and organizations with impressive pedigrees are harnessing the Internet to provide college courses for free, or for next to nothing." In response, AAC&U President Carol Geary Schneider states, "The key to quality is not the set of courses that you took, or even how many courses you took. The key to quality is what you were asked to do in that course, what kind of assignments you were asked to do. It is one thing to read and listen. It’s another to do and apply. I want to know what they can actually do with their knowledge. For that, you have to go beneath the course title to the question, what kinds of activities went on in this course. Somebody has to be confirming that you are capable of doing something with your knowledge."
  
  
• Media Coverage of Release of The Crucible Moment
  January 10, 2012–On January 10, AAC&U participated in a national convening at the White House that brought together educational and civic leaders from across the country, and launched a movement to make civic learning a priority for all students. The White House convening, “For Democracy’s Future: Higher Education Reclaims Our Civic Mission” included remarks by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Under Secretary of Education Martha Kanter, and AAC&U President Carol Geary Schneider, and featured the release of a new report, A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy’s Future. Media covering the announcement of the new report included:
  
  
• National Journal
• Education Next
• Peter Levine
• Boston University Daily Free Press
• Washington Post.com College, Inc. Blog
• Inside Higher Ed
• Chronicle of Higher Education
• Diverse: Issues in Higher Education
• The Christian Science Monitor
• Hechinger Institute Community College Spotlight
• Huffington Post
• Community College Times
  
  
• September 30, 2011 – AAC&U's survey of employers was mentioned in an opinion piece in the Washington Post. The piece is titled, " Our Unprepared Graduates," and it was written by Kathleen Parker. The author notes, " A 2010 study published by the Association of American Colleges and Universities found that 87 percent of employers believe that higher-education institutions have to raise student achievement if the United States is to be competitive in the global market. Sixty-three percent say that recent college grads don’t have the skills they need to succeed. And, according to a separate survey, more than a quarter of employers say entry-level writing skills are deficient.”
  
  
• September 25, 2011 - Debra Humphreys, AAC&U vice president for communications and public affairs, was quoted extensively in an article written by Dan Berrett the Chronicle of Higher Education titled, "Which Core Matters More? Differences in Definitions of Quality Lead to New Debates Over the Importance of Teaching Practical Skills Versus Specific Knowledge." Mr. Berrett notes, “Debra Humphreys, vice president for communications at the Association of American Colleges and Universities, which touts the merits of both liberal education and a set of core skills, says it is legitimate to examine what every student should know, but she contends that the council's focus on curriculum alone doesn't go far enough. Teaching classic literature is vital, she says, but just as important is that students learn how to transfer the skills learned in those classes. Asking students to read Shakespeare without explicitly developing their core skills, she says, ‘just seems to only educate someone halfway.’ An approach that blends content and skills may be emerging as a good way to make sure that transferable skills are married to rich content, says Ms. Humphreys, of the Association of American Colleges and Universities. After all, she says, it's impossible to learn a skill, such as writing, without knowing what you are writing about. ‘If you focus exclusively on skills and drain out any content,’ Ms. Humphreys says, ‘you run the risk of missing some important aspects of education.’"
  
  
• September 18, 2011 – The success of AAC&U’s VALUE Rubrics were the focus of an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education titled, “Spellings Panel Spurred Progress in Some Key Areas but Failed to Remake American Higher Education: Five Years After Release of a Report on the Future of Colleges, Experts Note Improvements in Access and Accountability.” The author notes, “In 2007 the Education Department awarded $2.45-million to three higher-education associations to develop measures for assessing learning by undergraduates. One group, the Association of American Colleges and Universities, developed a set of fifteen VALUE rubrics through which institutions could evaluate student learning. More than 2,000 institutions now use the rubrics. Two associations that represent the nation's public colleges developed a voluntary accountability system that includes an assessment of student learning. More than 60 percent of the groups' member colleges—319 institutions—have signed up to use it.”
  
  
• May 23, 2011 – Carol Geary Schneider, president of AAC&U, was quoted in the Washington Post article, “On Path to Riches, No Sign of Fluffy Majors.” The author notes, “President of Pomona College David Oxtoby noted that a person who majors in English might be less interested in making a lot of money and that the disparate salaries might reflect the preferences of an individual rather than the value of a major. Others said that the American ideal of a ‘liberal education’ — one that offers a broad knowledge of science, cultures and society and high-level analytical and communication skills — is being copied internationally. A quality liberal education ‘is the most powerful form of learning we offer in this country, and even today, Asian universities and Middle Eastern leaders are trying to import it,’ Carol Schneider, president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, said by e-mail. ‘The major itself (whatever it is) is only a part of a strong liberal education.’”
  
  
• May 1, 2011 – Carol Geary Schneider, president of AAC&U, wrote a commentary for the Chronicle of Higher Education titled, “’Degrees For What Jobs?’ Wrong Question, Wrong Answers.” Schneider notes, “To ensure that higher education effectively serves both the economy and democracy, the nation's governors should seek assurance that all degree programs—including those tied to new economic opportunities—provide rich learning in the arts and sciences and a strong emphasis on such things as inquiry and analysis; critical and creative thinking; integrative learning; and written and oral communication.”
  
  
• January 27, 2011 -- Carol Geary Schneider, president of AAC&U, wrote a guest blog post for The Washington Post College, Inc. blog. Schneider notes, "Lumina's proposed ‘Degree Qualifications Profile’ provides students, the public and faculty alike with a roadmap for essential learning. Drawing from hundreds of on-campus discussions across the US, the profile outlines the competencies students should develop and demonstrate through their specialized studies (the major), through broad, integrative studies (general education redefined) and by constant practice of intellectual skills such as analytical inquiry, use of information resources, engaging diverse perspectives, quantitative analysis and communication to different audiences.”
  
  
• January 25, 2011 -- Sean Decatur, a member of the AAC&U board of directors and dean of the arts and sciences and professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Oberlin College, wrote a commentary titled, "The Winner: A Liberal Education" for the New York Times Room for Debate blog. Decatur notes, “Strikingly, liberal education is not only effective at enhancing student learning, but also in producing college graduates well-equipped for the challenges of the twenty-first-century economy. Studies in AAC&U’s Liberal Education and America’s Promise initiative have shown that the essential learning outcomes of a liberal education are aligned with the skills most desired in prospective workers by private sector employers.”
  
  
• October 26, 2010 -- Linda Suskie, vice president of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, wrote an op-ed titled, "Why Are We Assessing?" for Inside Higher Ed. Suskie notes that, "A decade ago books on student learning assessment were relatively scarce, but today there’s a wealth of excellent resources [from several organizations - including AAC&U.] The work of the Association of American Colleges and Universities has advanced us light-years in our capacity to understand and assess our general education and liberal education curriculums. The Greater Expectations report, LEAP goals, and VALUE rubrics have been particularly noteworthy achievements."
  
  
• July 22, 2010 -- Michael T. Benson and Bradley J. Cook make a compelling case for why “Students Need a Liberal Education” in the Deseret News. They note that “the best career preparation is one that positions the graduate with a set of transferable intellectual and practical skills, applicable in a variety of contexts.” They describe how Southern Utah University, a LEAP Campus Action Network member, “has crafted a contemporary design for liberal education” that will, among other things “strategically integrat[e] general education courses, experiential learning and student life with in-depth work in program-specific curriculum.” They end by calling for sensitivity to this vision in state educational and fiscal policy, noting that, “Unless we support high-impact educational practices such as those outlined by a broad, liberal education, our state’s potential for sustainable economic progress will be forever challenged.” Utah is one of several LEAP partner states. See LEAP Utah for more information.
  
  
• May 15, 2010 -- AAC&U President Carol Geary Schneider was a featured speaker and recipient of an honorary doctorate in humanities at the May 9 commencement exercises at Keene State College in Keene, New Hampshire, for her efforts to transform liberal education and equip students for success in a rapidly changing world. Learn more in articles published by Keene State College and The Keene State College Equinox. The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh recognized Schneider with a Doctor of Humane Letters degree during the institution’s May 15 commencement ceremonies. Following the ceremonies, Schneider made a community presentation on the economic value of liberal education during a luncheon at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. Learn more about these events in articles published in The Oshkosh Northwestern, The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Today (May 5), and The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Today (May 15).
  
  
• May 4, 2010 -- AAC&U Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs Debra Humphreys was interviewed by a reporter and a producer from the ABC-TV affiliate in Philadelphia for the news story, "College in three years instead of 4!" Reporter Brian Taff stated, “The more affordable 3-year option has many students and parents excited, but some experts say it isn’t the right road.” AAC&U Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs Debra Humphreys notes, “If our goal is to provide a quality education to every student then I think saving some money and compressing it all into a few years is extremely short-sighted. Employers that AAC&U surveyed are requiring their employees to do more and more tasks, which means students need a broader education. It also says that reform needs to begin at the high school level. A lot of people don’t realize that a majority of students who go to college today are not academically ready for college-level work.”
  
  
• April 14, 2010 -- AAC&U hosted a LEAP Forum in Utah on April 14, 2010. Raising the Bar: Preparing Utah College Students for Life, Work and Responsibility was attended by policymakers - including the Governor of Utah and the State Superintendent - as well as leaders in higher education and business from across the state of Utah. Salt Lake City's KSL Newsradio was among the media outlets that covered the day-long event. AAC&U Vice President for Communications and Debra Humphreys was among those interviewed. Humphreys stated, "Students now need a broader skill set, and a broader set of knowledge areas that they are studying, than ever before. There is pressure on graduates to, not only know one field, but have very solid skills that transfer across fields." Click here to listen to more of Debra's interview on KSL Newsradio. The Utah LEAP Forum was also featured on Utah Public Radio's Access Utah program on April 9. Debra Humphreys joined Utah State University History Professor Norm Jones to discuss ways to prepare Utah college students for higher education and and employment in the twenty-first century. Click here to listen to the program, "Preparation for the Twenty-First Century." Read other perspectives on the Utah LEAP Forum from Utah State University and Westminster College.
  
  
• January 25, 2010 -- AAC&U’s 2010 annual meeting was covered by several media outlets. See stories on such topics as connecting liberal and professional education, new approaches to sustainability, motivating faculty to improve teaching and learning, among others in articles in Inside Higher Ed and the Chronicle of Higher Education. See: Educators Mull How to Motivate Professors to Improve Teaching; Business Curricula Need a Strong Dose of the Liberal Arts, Scholars Say; The New Sustainability U.; Students' 'Episodic' Engagement, and Assessment Disconnect.
  
  
• January 20, 2010 -- Findings from a new survey of employers (pdf) commissioned as part of AAC&U’s LEAP initiative were released on January 20th at AAC&U's 2010 annual meeting in Washington, DC.  More than 90 percent of employers are asking employees to use a broader set of skills and have higher levels of learning than in the past.  Only one in four believe that colleges and universities are doing a good job of preparing graduates for the demands of the global economy.  See the news release and full results of this and other LEAP-sponsored surveys. See news stories in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Community College Times, USA Today, and Inside Higher Ed.

• January 3, 2010 -- A story in the January 3 New York Times by Kate Zernike, “Career U: Making College ‘Relevant’,” featured public opinion research from AAC&U’s LEAP initiative, noting that employers “don’t want students specializing too soon.” The article quotes AAC&U VP Debra Humphreys noting that, “no matter what you major in, you need good writing skills and good speaking skills.” The findings cited are from a new survey conducted in fall 2009. Watch for the full report on findings from this study scheduled for release on January 20. See selected findings from the forthcoming study and earlier public opinion research sponsored by LEAP.
  
  
• Selected Media Clips: 2006-2009