College Learning for the New Global Century - 7

guidance for an era of educational reform and renewal. The Principles of Excellence can be applied by any college, community college, or university. They are intended to influence practice across the disciplines as well as in general education programs. But the principles and the recommendations that accompany them also provide a framework for shared efforts, between school and college, to develop more purposeful pathways for student learning over time. Collectively, they shift the focus—at all levels of education—from course categories and titles to the quality and level of work students are actually expected to accomplish. Taken together, the Principles of Excellence underscore the need to teach students how to integrate and apply their learning—across multiple levels of schooling and across disparate fields of study. The principles of excellence call for a far-reaching shift in the focus of schooling from accumulating course credits to building real-world capabilities.

A Time for Leadership and Action
The Principles of Excellence build from an era of innovation that is already well under way. As higher education has reached out to serve an ever wider and more diverse set of students, there has been widespread experimentation to develop more effective educational practices and to determine “what works” with today’s college students. Some of these innovations are so well established that research is already emerging about their effectiveness. The full LEAP report provides a guide to tested and effective educational practices. To date, however, these active and engaged forms of learning have served only a fraction of students. New research suggests that the benefits are especially significant for students who start farther behind. But often, these students are not the ones actually participating in the high-impact practices. With campus experimentation already well advanced—on every one of the Principles of Excellence—it is time to move from “pilot efforts” to more far-reaching commitments. The United States comprehensively transformed its designs for learning, at all levels, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Now, as we enter the new global century, Americans need to mobilize again to advance a contemporary set of goals, guiding principles, and practices that will prepare all college students—not just the fortunate few—for twentyfirst-century realities.

"The Principles of Excellence call for a farreaching shift in the focus of schooling from accumulating course credits to building real-world capabilities."

What It Will Take
Make the Principles of Excellence a Priority on Campus

Colleges, community colleges, and universities stand at the center. Many have already implemented pilot programs that address the vision for learning outlined in this report. The goal now should be to move from partial efforts to a comprehensive focus on students’ cumulative accomplishment over time, and across different parts of their educational experience.
Liberal Education & America’s Promise | AAC&U 7

College Learning for the New Global Century

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of College Learning for the New Global Century