Recent Events

  • Complete College America Annual Meeting, November 18-20, 2024
    Degrees of Democracy: Rebuilding Confidence in the Value of a College Degree
    SESSION RECORDING

    This session will explore the vital connections between college completion and a thriving democracy. Dr. Yolanda Watson Spiva, CCA President, will kick off the session with updates on the college completion movement. A distinguished panel will then discuss strategies for rebuilding public confidence in the value of a college degree.

    Panelists:

  • Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities Annual Conference, November 20-22, 2024

  • New England Commission of Higher Education, December 4-6, 2024

  • American Association of Colleges and Universities Annual Meeting, January 22-24, 2025
    Every Student, Every Degree: From Vision to Full Participation—How Campus Leaders Are Making Civic Learning Both Inclusive and Transformative
    AAC&U and other national organizations in the CLDE Coalition are calling on higher education to move civic learning from "neglected to expected" for every student in every degree pathway. Grounded in the CLDE Coalition's newly released report, Every Student, Every Degree (September 2024). This extended session will begin with a panel of campus leaders from "full participation institutions" who have already made civic learning part of their degree requirements. Following that, a panel of students will offer their candid reflections on their own meaningful civic learning. The panel will discuss how their programs relate to the new Civic Learning and Democracy (CLDE) Framework for college civic learning that includes Democracy Knowledge and Levers for Change, Bridge-Building and Problem-Solving Skills, Practical Experience and Projects, and Career-Related Civic and Ethical Learning.

    Thursday, January 23, 9:30-10:45 am

    Moderators: Nancy Shapiro – Senior Advisor, Civic Learning and Democracy Engagement (CLDE) and Dawn Michele Whitehead, Vice President – AAC&U

    Panelists:

    • Maggie Atherton – Student, Salisbury University

    • Nicola Blake – Senior Fellow for Strategic Initiatives and Student Success Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost, City University of New York (CUNY)

    • Taylor Easter – Student, Widener University

    • David Kirkpatrick – Vice President and Chief of Staff, Office of the President; Secretary to the Board of Visitors; Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy and Religion, James Madison University

    • Liora Petter-Lipstein – Student, University of Maryland

    • Alexander Pope – Associate Professor, Department of Secondary and Physical Education and Director, Institute for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement, Salisbury University

    • Dylan Rexroth – Graduate, George Washington University

Launch Events for Every Student, Every Degree:  
College Civic Learning for Today’s Students and Tomorrow’s Democracy

Part 1: September 4, 2024, 3:30 - 5:30 PM Eastern
Every Student, Every Degree: Committing to College Civic Learning for a Democracy in Need of Repair

Resources: Event Recording, PowerPoint Slides

Part 2: October 1, 2024, 3:30 - 5:30 PM Eastern
For Today’s Students and Tomorrow’s Democracy: How Can Educators Inspire High-Impact Civic and Democracy Learning Across the College Curriculum? 

Resources: Event Recordings, Links to Featured Programs and Resources

This two-part launch event explored our new report, Every Student, Every Degree: College Civic Learning for Today's Students and Tomorrow's Democracy.

This new report recommends that educators make college civic learning and democracy engagement a norm for all students, rather than an available option for some students. Over this two-part virtual event, you will discover what today’s diverse students gain from CLDE-related studies and what students themselves see as the best ways to make civic and democracy learning compelling, empowering, and inclusive.

2022-2023 Convenings

  • Virtual Forum

    December 13-14, 2022

    College Civic Learning for an Engaged Democracy: New Urgency, New Vision, New Educator-Policy Leader Alliances

    Explore Virtual Forum Recordings at Campus Compact

  • Virtual Forum

    February 6-7, 2023

    Bridging the Divides, Including All College Students: Diversity, Equity, and High Impact Civic Learning Pathways

    Explore Virtual Forum Recordings at Campus Compact

  • Invitational Forum

    March 13-15, 2023

    Leadership Forum on Democracy, Civic Learning, and Student Success: Evidence, Equity, and Collective Impact

    Recommendations Forthcoming

  • Virtual Forum

    July 18-21, 2023

    AAC&U’s Institute on Engaged and Integrative Learning (IEIL)

    Participants in the CLDE Coalition National Forums on College Civic Learning for an Engaged Democracy were encouraged to apply to the IEIL to develop institutional action plans to prioritize and make college civic learning expected and empowering.

    Learn More About this Past Virtual Event

  • Plenary & Gathering

    August 7-10, 2023

    2023 SHEEO Policy Conference

    For a Shared Democracy: How State Leaders are Revitalizing College Civic Learning and Building Bridges Across Our Divides

    View the Presentation Slide Deck

  • In Person Forum

    October 19-20, 2023

    Democracy360, hosted by the University of Virginia's Karsh Institute of Democracy

    The sessions hosted by the CLDE Coalition explore the renewed determination—supported across postsecondary education—to energize and redesign college civic and democracy learning, and align the college civic learning movement with major K-12 reforms in history and civics.

    Explore Sessions and Resources