Press Release

Contact: Debra Humphreys
Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs
202.387-3760 ext. 422
humphreys@aacu.org

Leading Researchers Explore How to Measure the Impact of College on Personal and Social Responsibility

Association of American Colleges and Universities Receives Support from
the John Templeton Foundation for Project on "Educating for Personal and Social Responsibility"

Washington, DC—May 14, 2004—The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) announced today the launch of a new project on "Educating for Personal and Social Responsibility." With support from the John Templeton Foundation, AAC&U will gather together leading researchers from across the country to develop credible ways to measure the impact of college on personal and social responsibility.

"It is clear that American higher education needs to do a better job of taking seriously ethical and personal responsibility as core outcomes of a quality college education," said Richard Hersh, project director and AAC&U board member. "On campus we have seen a significant rise in troubling student behaviors, including cheating, alcohol and other drug abuse, violence, and theft, as well as racist, anti-Semitic, and homophobic behavior. It is important that the national research community take a hard look at how colleges and universities can influence these types of behaviors, and how we might document the value added of the college experience in these areas."

This project builds on the work of AAC&U's national initiative, Greater Expectations: The Commitment to Quality as a Nation Goes to College. This project's recently released report, Greater Expectations: A New Vision for Learning as a Nation Goes to College, suggests that a twenty-first century liberal education should create learners who are "empowered through intellectual and practical skills, informed by knowledge and ways of knowing, and responsible for personal actions and civic values."

AAC&U has called on colleges and universities to intentionally foster in students a robust set of skills and capacities including, among others:

• Intellectual honesty and engagement in ongoing learning
• Responsibility for society's moral health and for social justice
• Active participation as a citizen of a diverse democracy
• Discernment of consequences, including ethical consequences, of decisions and actions
• Deep understanding of one's self and one's multiple identities that connect habits of mind, heart, and body

This project seeks to discover ways to identify the best indicators of achievement of these outcomes. It will explore such questions as:

• What might be the best indicators of personal and social responsibility, character, and moral development in college?
• What do institutions of higher education say they are purposely doing to affect personal responsibility?
• How might colleges and universities assess the impact of particular curricula and teaching strategies intended to promote personal and social responsibility during and after college?

Leading researchers will be gathered by the project to discuss how different perspectives on these complex topics can be integrated. Ultimately, AAC&U hopes to develop practical ways to frame and assess curriculum and pedagogy intended to promote personal and social responsibility.

The project will produce an annotated online bibliography of existing research and a special issue of AAC&U's award-winning journal, Liberal Education, on the topic. This is the first in a planned series of AAC&U projects designed to gather evidence about preparation for, and achievement of, liberal education outcomes widely believed to be essential for success in life, work, and citizenship in a diverse democracy and an increasingly interconnected world.

For information about the project, or about other AAC&U projects, meetings, and resources, see www.aacu.org.

The mission of the John Templeton Foundation is to pursue new insights at the boundary between theology and science through a rigorous, open-minded, and empirically focused methodology, drawing together talented representatives from a wide spectrum of fields of expertise. Using "the humble approach," the Foundation typically seeks to focus the methods and resources of scientific inquiry on topical areas which have spiritual and theological significance ranging across the disciplines from cosmology to healthcare. Recognizing the importance of character and virtue in a free society, the Foundation supports a broad spectrum of programs, publications, and studies that promote character education from childhood through young adulthood. The goal is to encourage schools and colleges to reinforce such positive values as honesty, compassion, self-discipline, and respect, and to foster widespread conversations about character development and values.

Information about the John Templeton Foundation can be found at www.templeton.org.

AAC&U is the leading national association concerned with the quality, vitality, and public standing of undergraduate liberal education. Its members are committed to extending the advantages of a liberal education to all students, regardless of academic specialization or intended career. Founded in 1915, AAC&U now comprises more than 1,150 accredited public and private colleges and universities of every type and size.

AAC&U functions as a catalyst and facilitator, forging links among presidents, administrators, and faculty members who are engaged in institutional and curricular planning. Its mission is to reinforce the collective commitment to liberal education at both the national and local levels and to help individual institutions keep the quality of student learning at the core of their work as they evolve to meet new economic and social challenges.

Information about AAC&U membership, programs, and publications can be found on the AAC&U Web site.