Educating for Democracy

A liberal education provides the foundational knowledge and skills that empower students to advance the common good through responsible and engaged citizenship in local, national, and global contexts.

Components of Educating for Democracy

The AAC&U Presidents’ Trust is a global network of higher education leaders who are committed to advocating for the vision, values, and practices that connect liberal education with the needs of an increasingly diverse student body, a global workforce, and thriving communities. Membership in the Presidents’ Trust is open to chief executive officers of colleges, universities, foundations, and associations.
AAC&U offers an array of programming to support campus efforts to advance students’ global learning, civic and community-based outcomes, and engagement across all forms of community—local, national, and international. This work is intended to align multiple areas of campus programming, both academic and cocurricular, to realize more wholly integrated campus initiatives that prepare students for life, work, and citizenship.
A true investment in educating for democracy demands that words and actions be coupled with commitments to accountability and improvement. AAC&U’s VALUE initiative provides helpful tools (e.g., rubrics) for campuses to use in advancing their efforts to improve student success, learning, and equity in service to democracy.

Featured Resources

Publication

New Digital Resource on Civic Learning for All Students

Co-published by AAC&U and Campus Compact, this free toolkit offers practical approaches and strategies for developing students’ capacity to engage in collaborative, public problem solving.

Resource

College Civic Learning

AAC&U, State Higher Education Executive Officers, Complete College America, and College Promise invite you to join in making Civic Learning and Democracy Engagement part of every student's postsecondary learning.

On-Demand Webinar

Presidents' Trust Town Hall: Cultivating a Just & Inclusive Democracy

As political polarization and intolerance for difference continue to grow and thrive in the United States, colleges and universities have an essential role in supporting a healthy democracy.

Research

The Effects of Community-Based and Civic Engagement in Higher Education: What We Know and Questions that Remain

This report assesses the state of research on high-impact practices in higher education and synthesizes research on the efficacy of community-based and civic engagement, specifically.