With the rising costs of participating in higher education; uncertain economies buffeted by technological, structural, and political forces; and shifting perceptions of the usefulness of credentials once obtained, the purpose of college has become a popular topic for everything from sound bites and screeds to serious studies. In our contemporary…

Colleges and universities have become practiced in articulating the value of diversity in relation to their institutional missions. Though the missions of these various institutions of higher education may be distinctive, they are united by the shared goals of educating students and advancing knowledge. AAC&U's membership comprises a range of…

Despite generations of evidence that a liberal education is one of the most powerful engines of progress, for individuals and for our society, there is growing dismissal and even distrust of what liberal arts colleges do. Recent survey data from the American Council on Education show that the public's perception of the value and quality of a…

It is not a surprise that presidents of American colleges formed an association. What is cause for wonder is why it took them so long. By 1869, there were 563 colleges in this nation. Yet not until 1914 did a handful of presidents feel the need to band together and found the Association of American Colleges (AAC). The Association of American…

In this article, the author presents an interview with two former and the current president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities: John W. Chandler, Paula P. Brownlee, and Carol Geary Schneider. John W. Chandler was president of the association from 1985 to 1990, Paula P. Brownlee was president from 1990 to 1998, and Carol Geary…

The United States Air Force Academy, United States Naval Academy, and United States Military Academy are America's three largest service academies. They are "the" primary undergraduate institutions and commissioning sources that educate and develop the officers who are expected to lead this nation's armed forces. They are special places that have…

The "Degree Qualifications Profile (DQP)" is a postsecondary learning outcomes framework that specifies what students should be expected to know and be able to do at the associate's, bachelor's, and master's levels. First introduced at the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) 2011 annual meeting, over four…

The ninetieth anniversary of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) offers an opportunity for reflection. Where is higher education now in the shared commitment to the values and practices of liberal education, and where do they need to go, within the academy as a whole and within AAC&U itself? This article provides…

In this article, Jose Antonio Bowen, president of Goucher College, writes that a new technological society inclusive of all students and graduates, a new model of education geared toward the learning economy, where more--maybe even most--content learning takes place after graduation may be required. Bowen believes that in order to prepare students…

Considering the heritage Americans been given, they have both the resources and the responsibility to meet the challenges faced as the United States struggles to regain--or sustain--its world leadership in postsecondary education. The growing importance of education has led to a lot of public attention and churning, almost chaotic policy…

Although the author has been teaching for over a quarter century, he was never trained in, nor truly understood, "outcomes assessment." He regarded it as a task to be completed for an outside accreditor that had little relation to his real "liberal arts" goals for students. Those goals include teaching critical self-awareness, developing…

As the leader of the nation's only campus dedicated exclusively to early college, the author heads an institution that ensures students graduate sooner than the national average. As an academic who pursued her graduate work at Oxford University--an institution that confers most of its undergraduate degrees in three years--the author has had direct…

"The Quality Imperative" was approved by the Board of Directors of the Association of American Colleges and Universities in December 2009. This statement focuses on the core issue of educational quality. Both employers and educators know that the higher education quality shortfall is just as urgent as the attainment shortfall. Today's employers…

The diversity of a student body may call for new structures to meet their learning needs. The traditional college organization (the course unit of instruction, the academic department, and the lack of easy interdepartmental cooperation) may hinder both the articulation of common educational problems and the solutions to them. (Author/MLW)

The major dilemma in educational planning today is not an inability to analyze nor a lack of cost analysis data but an inability to use this data for decision making. (Author/KE)