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A new report from the Civic Learning and Democracy Engagement Coalition reveals from students a waning confidence in democracy and an acute shortfall in opportunities for students to talk with people whose experiences are different from their own.
“Every Student, Every Degree: College Civic Learning for Today’s Students and Tomorrow’s Democracy” highlights research showing employers are significantly more likely to hire graduates with the skills and experiences that college civic learning would provide.
“Civic purpose should always have been included in the meanings of student success. And going forward, it will be,” said Dr. Yolanda Watson Spiva, president of Complete College America (CCA).
Watson Spiva spoke Sept. 4 in a national webinar publicizing the report, which is supported by Endeavor Foundation. The report comes from the Civic Learning and Democracy Engagement Coalition, led by the American Association of Colleges and Universities, Campus Compact, College Promise, CCA, and the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association.
The report concludes that civic inquiry and projects should be woven into students’ major fields of study. It includes an action agenda providing that higher education and policy leaders should act to make civic learning and democracy engagement part of all students’ degree requirements. It also suggests that policymakers should broaden the meanings of “student success” to include students’ gains in civic purpose, bridge-building across differences, and career-related work on public good issues and problem-solving.