Responding to Academically Adrift: What Colleges Can Do

The book Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses has set off a national debate on rigor and the college curriculum. Tracking 2,300 undergraduates at a range of four-year institutions, the research behind the book found that large numbers of students learn little if anything in college, face minimal course requirements … and yet graduate. The findings are based on student scores on the Collegiate Learning Assessment, as well as student surveys and transcript analysis. The book calls for colleges to be more demanding of students and more consistent in their requirements.

On Friday, February 18, at 1 p.m. Eastern, Richard Arum, one of the authors of the book, will lead an Inside Higher Ed audio conference in which he will present the findings and advise colleges on the steps they can take to respond to the issues raised.

The presentation (like the book) will be relevant a wide range of colleges and universities -- highly competitive on admissions, open admissions and everything in between.

Among the topics he will cover:

• An overview of the study and its results.
• Steps colleges can take to promote rigor – policies at the faculty, departmental, institutional and sector levels.
• Ideas on how to communicate about issues of rigor with students, parents and the public.

The program will be ideal for:

• Academic affairs
• Academic advising
• Admissions
• Student affairs
• Deans
• Department chairs
• Faculty members