The Trust Agenda
Read The Trust Agenda
The Trust Agenda presents a framework for leaders of colleges and universities to advance public trust in higher education and strengthen the social contract between campuses and the communities they serve.
Colleges and universities face a moment of crisis, with their missions, funding, and operations under threat. At the same time, US public opinion surveys show that support for higher education is at historic lows. The Trust Agenda outlines a response to these challenges that can build public trust, make campuses more trustworthy, and enable colleges and universities to defend their missions successfully.
The report’s recommendations include a combination of internal reforms, external communications, and collaborative defense strategies. The unifying theme of The Trust Agenda is a need for increased and meaningful connection in higher education—between campuses and their communities; among faculty, staff, students, and administrators; across institutions; and with society as a whole.
Key Findings
Break down internal barriers to change and improvement, showing that colleges can solve their own problems without external pressure and can develop new and effective initiatives to advance their missions.
Develop trusted and mutually beneficial relationships with community partners, improving the quality of life for all—those who attend college and those who do not.
Build a campus that is student-centered, where learners from all walks of life feel welcomed and supported toward success.
Deploy public communications that tie higher education’s role as an engine of social and economic mobility to popular civic values like freedom, fairness, and strength.
Collaborate within and across institutions to defend the mission of higher education against government overreach.
Read The Trust Agenda
The Trust Agenda presents a framework for leaders of colleges and universities to advance public trust in higher education and strengthen the social contract between campuses and the communities they serve.
Download Narrative Guidance
Drawing from their ongoing research on higher education and democracy narratives, Spitfire Strategies and Metropolitan Group have prepared this communications brief for AAC&U. It is intended to help campus leaders communicate in ways that advance public trust in their institutions and in colleges and universities as a whole.