Reinventing the American University

View full event video at http://www.aei.org/event/100218.

The need for innovation in American higher education has never been more urgent. With President Barack Obama's call for a significant increase in postsecondary degrees, colleges and universities are under greater pressure than ever to increase their student enrollment and graduation rates. These institutions must find new ways to serve historically underserved populations and improve educational outcomes, even under today's intense financial constraints. While top U.S. universities are often at the forefront of innovation in research and development, they typically educate students much as they did fifty years ago. In spite of a steady increase in the enrollment of nontraditional students, a steep decline in tenured faculty positions, and revolutionary developments in technology that have touched nearly every other part of society, universities have not spent much time rethinking the traditional model of teaching and learning. Policy barriers such as restrictive university accreditation requirements have stymied change, while current legislative efforts have focused more on funding than on reforming the way that schools operate.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• AEI
• Conference
• Kevin Carey
• Ben Wildavsky
• Kauffman Foundation
• Suzanne Walsh
• Benchstrength
• Dominic Brewer
• Frederick Hess