AAC&U Report on Civic Learninga nd Democratic Engagement

Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement:
An Interim Report to the Field

In fall 2010, the Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education awarded a contract to GPI (Global Perspective Institute, Inc.) with a subcontract to the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) to assess the state of civic learning and democratic engagement in two and four year U.S. colleges and universities and provide suggestions for strengthening it. The project, initiated by Dr. Martha J. Kanter, Under Secretary of Education, is charged to produce a paper that includes a national plan of action with recommendations, through which multiple stakeholders (including post-secondary institutions) could significantly increase the number of informed and engaged people prepared for civic and democratic participation in an intensely inter-connected world. Through the initiative and with implementation of its recommendations, we seek to make civic learning and engagement with others to achieve shared goals expected for every college student rather than optional for a few.

Activities and Accomplishments to Date
Under the leadership of GPI’s President Larry Braskamp and AAC&U’s Senior Vice President Caryn McTighe Musil, the following activities have occurred since October 2010:

* Established an oversight Coordinating Committee of national leaders which has convened four times;
* Commissioned a survey of literature on the research about the impact of existing civic educational efforts on college students’ civic learning and agency;
* Drafted a policy paper that assesses the state of the field and recommends a national plan of action to enhance civic learning and the arts of democracy;
* Convened five national roundtables involving 125 participants representing 60 community colleges, four-year colleges, and universities; 28 civic organizations; 11 private and government foundations; 14 higher education associations; and 12 disciplinary societies. In these meetings, feedback on the literature review and policy paper with its recommendations has been solicited from civic leaders, college presidents, students, faculty, student affairs staff, policy makers, researchers, community leaders, and heads of civic entities on and off campuses;
* Created a project website at www.civiclearning.org.

What Happens Next
Based on these discussions and feedback, both the literature review of research as well as the policy paper with its national action plan will be revised and submitted to the Department of Education in September 2011. With many partners aligned to advance its implementation, the goal is to launch a nationwide effort to promote civic learning as a priority for all students’ college learning.
Look for opportunities to discuss the national action plan:

* AAC&U’s conferences, Educating for Personal and Social Responsibility, October 13-15, 2011, and Arts & Humanities, November 3-5, 2011
* AAC&U’s Diversity and Democracy Fall 2011 issue, Civic Learning for Democratic Engagement
* AAC&U’s Pre-Meeting Symposium and Annual Meeting, January 25-28, 2012
* Discussions of the Lumina Foundation’s Proposed Degree Qualifications where civic learning is named as one of five necessary components in a postsecondary degree

For links to more resources and to follow this and other AAC&U projects related to civic learning and personal and social responsibility, see the project website and the civic learning resources web page.



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