Initiative

Advancing Public Trust in Higher Education (APT)

APT promotes and implements a framework for building trusted and trustworthy higher education institutions, charting a way forward for the sector in challenging times by strengthening connections between colleges and the communities they serve.

Higher education is in a moment of crisis in the United States and around the globe. It has become a flashpoint in political discourse; its curricula have been scrutinized, its values questioned, its funding reduced, and its autonomy circumscribed. Alongside these escalating challenges, public trust in higher education has plummeted.

Since our nation’s inception, colleges and universities have played a distinctive role in fostering democratic learning, civic education, community engagement, and efforts to broaden perspectives, bridge divides, and open minds. But these democratic purposes are increasingly being called into question.

To survive and thrive, colleges and universities must adapt to a new reality in which the social contract between colleges and the communities they serve is not guaranteed, but something higher education leaders and advocates must work continuously to demonstrate, advocate for, and renew.

The APT Solution

Advancing Public Trust in Higher Education, or APT, generates a new solidarity of purpose within the higher education sector and across business, civil society, and other sectors; communicates the value of a college education in compelling ways; and positions a dynamic, innovative, and integrative vision of liberal education as the centerpiece of what makes college worthwhile and necessary for a healthy democracy. It looks beyond the current crisis toward a brighter future, aiming to rebuild public trust in higher education and restore faith in its democratic purposes.

APT is an AAC&U initiative drawing on the resources of the entire association. Those resources include our innovative research on liberal education, our events that convene educators and leaders from across the diversity of institutions, our public communications efforts, and most of all our human capital—the presidents, partners, and other leaders within AAC&U’s broad membership, along with AAC&U staff, scholars, and fellows.

Advancing Public Trust in Higher Education is supported in part by grants from the Mellon Foundation, the Open Society Foundations, and the Higher Education Forward Fund.

AAC&U Launches Initiative to Restore Public Trust in Higher Education

APT aims to unite higher education, business, and civil society around a shared purpose, communicate the value of a college education in compelling ways, and highlight liberal education as central to preparing students for a healthy democracy.

APT Strategies

APT is built around leaders and the work of leadership. That work includes providing support, training, and resources for college presidents and senior administrators to guide their institutions through today’s uniquely challenging landscape; crafting messages and opportunities to convey higher education’s value to a skeptical public; and organizing efforts and spaces, such as the Call for Constructive Engagement, that promote and defend liberal education.
The defense of higher education requires a broad cross-sector coalition of supporters. Drawing on AAC&U’s connections and those of its members—including through partnership with the Presidents’ Trust—APT builds coalitions, coordinates actions, and organizes events with leaders in business, civil society, and other sectors, and helps AAC&U members carry out similar collaborations locally, recruiting and equipping trusted messengers for the value of liberal education.
APT persuades the public of the value of higher education and furthers public trust in the sector. It does so by conducting research and analysis to better understand the value college brings to society; communicating effectively about that value in order to change the national conversation about higher education; and equipping AAC&U members and partners with tools to further that communication at the local level.