Students need to develop a variety of critical thinking and interpersonal skills in order to contribute successfully to today's increasingly globalized world. The Office of the Provost at the University of Michigan has implemented a plan known as Transforming Learning for a Third Century (TLTC) as part of its broader Third Century Initiative. This plan aims to foster development of such skills, with special emphasis on five distinct learning goals: (1) creativity; (2) intercultural engagement; (3) social/civic responsibility and ethical reasoning; (4) communication, collaboration and teamwork; and (5) self-agency, and the ability to innovate and take risks. The TLTC learning goal, Creativity, focuses on developing educational opportunities to foster students' creative processes and capacities to create new works and ideas. This goal also seeks to promote an understanding that creativity is not a rare gift to the few, but a fundamental human trait that can be developed and expanded. This paper begins with a review of the various ways in which creativity has been conceptualized and a discussion of the importance of creativity. It then goes on to briefly summarize different approaches to fostering creativity among students and ends with a discussion on how to assess creativity, with an emphasis on choosing appropriate measures.