Initiative
Institute for Democracy & Higher Education
IDHE is a nonpartisan applied research and resource center that studies and works to improve student learning for, and institutional commitment to, US democracy.
Trending Topic
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
Research
The Effects of Community-Based and Civic Engagement in Higher Education
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.
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.
Coalition
Civic Learning and Democracy Engagement
Led by AAC&U, Campus Compact, College Promise, Complete College America, and SHEEO, the Coalition partners with higher education and student success organizations, state systems, and institutional accreditors.
Additional Resources
Magazine
Hope for a Better Way
The ruling against the use of race in admissions will increase barriers to educational opportunity
Magazine
The Ways Americans Value Higher Ed
We asked US adults what colleges and universities have to offer individuals, the economy, and the nation. Here are the results.
Magazine
Priority of Purpose
A focus on the very foundation of a liberal education can help restore public trust
On-Demand Webinar\
Advancing Civic Learning for an Engaged Democracy through the Institute on Engaged and Integrative Learning
Learn how you and your campus could benefit from participating in the 2023 Institute on Engaged and Integrative Learning.