Press Room

AAC&U is the leading national association concerned with the quality, vitality, and public standing of undergraduate liberal education. AAC&U is an excellent source of information on undergraduate curricular change, how colleges are changing to meet the needs of the new global economy, general education reform, student learning outcomes assessment, diversity and equity in higher education, and global issues in higher education.

AAC&U champions a contemporary vision of liberal education and sponsors a campaign called Liberal Education and America's Promise to expand public and student understanding of what really matters in college—the kinds of learning that will truly empower students to succeed and make a difference in the 21st century.

Recent Press Releases

AAC&U Announces Five-Year Strategic Plan to Reclaim Higher Education's Civic Mission of Educating for Democracy

January 25, 2018

Washington, DC—The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) released today its 2018–22 strategic plan outlining goals and aspirations that will guide the association’s work over the next five years. The plan, We ASPIRE: Advancing Student Performance through Integration, Research, and Excellence, was presented at AAC&U’s Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.

We ASPIRE reclaims higher education’s civic mission of educating for democracy and reaffirms a commitment to demonstrating...Read more

AAC&U Presents 2018 Frederic W. Ness Book Award to Beyond the Skills Gap: Preparing College Students for Life and Work

January 24, 2018

Washington, DC­­—The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) announced today the winner of its Frederic W. Ness Book Award, Beyond the Skills Gap: Preparing College Students for Life and Work, published by Harvard Education Press. The Ness Award is given for the book that best contributes to the understanding and improvement of liberal education, and it will be formally presented to the author, Matthew T. Hora, at AAC&U’s Annual Meeting on January 25, 2018, in Washington, DC. Matthew T. Hora is an assistant...Read more

A Call to Colleges and Universities: National Day of Racial Healing on January 16

January 9, 2018

Washington, DC­­—To mark the second annual National Day of Racial Healing on January 16, the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) calls on colleges and universities across the country to engage in activities, events, or strategies that promote healing and foster engagement around the issues of racism, bias, inequity, and injustice in our society. The National Day of Racial Healing (NDORH) is an opportunity for people and organizations to come together in their common humanity and take collective action to...Read more

Seven Graduate Students Honored with K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders Award

January 8, 2018

Washington, DC—The Association of American Colleges and Universities announced today the 2018 recipients of the annual K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders Award. This award recognizes graduate students who show exemplary promise as future leaders of higher education; who demonstrate a commitment to developing academic and civic responsibility in themselves and in others; and whose work reflects a strong emphasis on teaching and learning. The awards honor the work of K. Patricia Cross, professor of higher education, emerita,...Read more

2,000 Expected in Washington, DC, to Explore Higher Education’s Democratic Purpose and Student Success in Work and Life

January 4, 2018

The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) will hold its Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, from January 24–27, 2018. AAC&U’s 2018 Annual Meeting, “Can Higher Education Recapture the Elusive American Dream?,” will address higher education’s role in the American Dream in the face of a public narrative that argues the two have become disconnected. Read more

AAC&U Receives $1.7M Grant from Lumina Foundation to Support the Launch of the VALUE Institute

December 20, 2017

Washington, DC—The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) announced today that it has received $1,725,000 from Lumina Foundation to support the creation of the VALUE Institute, which enables postsecondary institutions to leverage learning outcomes evidence to improve student success and ensure quality and equity in student learning. The grant will support the development of a systems-level approach to assessing and improving student learning across a range of competencies important for all disciplines, students, and...Read more

AAC&U Announces New Interdisciplinary Approach to STEM Higher Education Reform

December 6, 2017

Washington, DC—The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) announced today that it has received $4.8 million from the National Science Foundation to implement a new interdisciplinary approach to STEM higher education reform. AAC&U’s Project Kaleidoscope will lead a five-year-long professional development experience for disciplinary STEM faculty and STEM education researchers to develop and more precisely pinpoint metrics for accurately and easily documenting quality undergraduate STEM teaching that broadens the participation of...Read more

The VALUE Institute Launches as Higher Education’s Most Comprehensive Resource for Student Learning Assessment

November 15, 2017

Washington, DC—The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and Indiana University’s Center for Postsecondary Research (IU CPR) announced today the launch of the VALUE Institute, a continuing resource for higher education institutions to document, report, and use learning outcomes evidence to improve student success in college. The VALUE Institute takes to a nationwide scale the initial work done in collaboration with the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) association’s Multi-State Collaborative to...Read more

AAC&U Selects Twenty-Two Institutions to Highlight Departments that Integrate Civic Responsibility by Design in Majors

October 25, 2017

Washington, DC—The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) announced today twenty-two departments from institutions across the country that are providing models for how to make civic learning and democratic engagement an expectation for all students who major in a given discipline. Nine departments listed below were singled out for special recognition and will be featured in an upcoming issue of Peer Review, AAC&U’s quarterly publication on emerging trends and key debates in undergraduate...Read more

Five AAC&U Member Institutions Named as 2017 Excellence in Assessment Designees

August 21, 2017

Five exemplary institutions, all AAC&U members, have received an Excellence in Assessment (EIA) designation recognizing their commitment to the comprehensive assessment of student learning outcomes as a means to drive internal improvement and advance student success. Read more

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About AAC&U

AAC&U is the leading national association concerned with the quality, vitality, and public standing of undergraduate liberal education. It's 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 nearly 1,400 member institutions — including accredited public and private colleges, community colleges, research universities, and comprehensive 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. It's mission is to reinforce the collective commitment to liberal education and inclusive excellence at both the national and local levels, and to help institutions to keep the quality of student learning at the core of their work as they evolve to meet new economic and social challenges.