Education
Higher Education
Do American universities have an obligation to educate their students to be the next generation of citizens and civic leaders? What does it mean for a university “to offer students an education that will promote their flourishing as human beings, their judgment as moral agents, and their participation in society as democratic citizens”? Join a workshop with leaders from th...
With students learning in more places and different ways than we have ever seen, the pace of change in education is dizzying. Join our panel of education experts in a discussion about what the classroom of the future will look like, how educational innovation can bridge divides, and how we can work together to get there. Presented by the Walton Family Foundation
In this new Aspen Ideas format, all attendees gather each morning to kick off the day by exploring a current issue of deep complexity. This year, the Supreme Court is once again considering the constitutionality of race-based affirmative action programs, and its ruling may have a profound impact on the makeup of America’s most selective colleges and universities. How sh...
Why is there resistance to the idea that public funds should be used for art? What does it mean for the stewardship of cultural and educational organizations and the support of individual artists? And how does the relationship between non-profit and commercial culture impact how we value the creative sector?
Higher education was once one of our most trusted sectors in American society. But today, colleges and universities are struggling to hold onto that trust. Accused of being educationally ineffective, too expensive, obsessed with their own elitism, inept at dealing well with the explosion of depression and anxiety among their students — the list of criticisms is long. Many...
The nursing crisis is a healthcare crisis. Reports across the country are ominous –70% of nurses are reporting burnout, 32% are considering leaving the profession, hospital RN vacancy rates are 19% and accelerating. And the pipeline for new nurses is choked – nursing educators are leaving in droves, resulting in 80,000 highly-qualified prospective students being turned awa...
Schools of nursing, medicine, and public health are attracting applicants in record numbers and admiration for these professionals has never been higher. At the same time, many workers—burned out, burdened by debt, and facing mental health challenges—are fleeing the field. Given the appeal, the stress, and the vital nature of healthcare jobs, we need to understand how best...
The American Dream says hard work will lead to a better life. But Harvard professor Micheal Sandel says climbing the ladder of success is getting harder in the United States, because the rungs on the ladder are growing further apart.
Paying for college is becoming more difficult. So is justifying the full-freight cost of some private institutions.
Americans now owe a staggering $1.5 trillion in student loan debt, according to Forbes. With growing online opportunities catered to self-taught learners and the ever-evolving digital nature of work in the modern world, do we still need to sit in classrooms to get a college education? Are companies and government institutions rethinking the long-standing requirement of a f...
US higher education is challenged by several dynamic forces: Americans are less likely than in the past to attend college, but those who do are more diverse. Costs and debt are rising — as is mistrust of higher education. And the skills needed to succeed in the workforce are evolving rapidly as technology advances. Can the nation’s 4,000 colleges and universities succeed b...
Last month the University of Chicago started the first School of Molecular Engineering in the United States. If the university world had the equivalent of a venture backed unicorn, this might well be the role model. Starting with an idea, Bob Zimmer worked with his faculty to conceptualize an effort around designing and building from the molecular level up. Starting at...
So many kids these days can be outspoken and inspiring, with world-changing ideas they’re ready to put into action. But in truth, we’ve not been great to the youth of today, leaving many of the most vulnerable behind and leaving the majority ill-prepared for the travails that are coming their way. Though it’s tempting to leave them the job of building the future, we first...
Carl and Marilynn Thoma Provostial Professor in the Arts and Humanities, Stanford University; Author, Summoning Pearl Harbor
How do we make college more affordable and accessible for everyone?
How can colleges better address students' mental health issues?
The University of Chicago has just announced new funding to expand access to a broader talent pool of well-deserving applicants, ending requirements to send in scores for ACT and SAT tests. The College Board has revised the SAT to emphasize classroom study and offers free practice tests through top online-ed site Khan Academy, to give every student the opportunity to prepa...
Far too many students in the United States and around the world face challenges when seeking a quality education; this untapped potential is a waste of societal and economic resources. In this session, education and civil society leaders will talk about their efforts to engage underserved and refugee youth, and their successes and failures in helping those youth overcome b...
What is a university if not a true marketplace of ideas — a place where scholarly pursuits in history, science, literature, philosophy, art, and mathematics can be nurtured and questioned, where crosscurrents of diverse thought and perspectives can co-exist? Today, students are challenged by the notion of an open society, tested on the one hand by values of free expressio...
The Aspen College Excellence Program aims to expand the number of excellent community colleges, to increase opportunity at elite colleges, and to strengthen the college presidency. Get to know the Aspen Institute’s higher education strategy through a fireside chat between two experts who are well-versed in this field. Q&A moderated by Tania LaViolet.