Education Now How College Has Changed — and Should Change Shining a light on a pathway to rediscovering and embracing the unique mission of higher education — and how that applies to the world today’s graduates will inherit. Posted May 4, 2022 By News editor College Access and Success Families and Community Higher Education Leadership A conversation with Howard Gardner and Wendy Fischman about their comprehensive 8-year study of higher education institutions across the United States. As reported in their book The Real World of College, the campus experience today can be filled with surprising levels of alienation and a too-narrow focus on grades and piecemeal deliverables. Today, as colleges re-set after major pandemic disruptions, we step back to ask: What should college be — today and going forward? What should it teach? Gardner and Fischman shine light on a pathway to rediscovering and embracing the unique mission of higher education — and we’ll talk about how that applies to the world today’s graduates will inherit. Speakers:Howard Gardner, Hobbs Research Professor of Cognition and Education, Harvard Graduate School of EducationWendy Fischman, Project Director, Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of EducationHost: Francesca Purcell, Senior Lecturer on Education, Harvard Graduate School of EducationKey takeaways and prompts for action:Colleges have many missions and are taking on too much — offering students too many pathways, too many choices.This “mission sprawl” tends to dilute the core purpose of college: intellectual development.Students often identify “transactional” purposes for college — misaligned with faculty and administrators, who see identify a “transformational” purpose.Higher education capital: One’s ability to attend to, analyze, reflect, connect, and communicate new information and new knowledge. Education Now A webinar and newsletter series to shape new approaches to challenges in education Explore All Articles Related Articles Education Now Making College Attainable What higher education institutions and policymakers can do to open the doors and put more students on the path to college and a degree Education Now Transition from High School to College for the Pandemic Generation With the disruption of the last two years, what should counselors, educators, and parents be considering when preparing students for college? Education Now Making College Diversity Efforts Sustainable — and Impactful A discussion with three leaders with different lenses and long histories in doing the work of advancing equity and opportunity inside organizations.