Minutemen and Patriots
March 7, 2012 - 3:00am
By Mitch Smith
Massachusetts will soon track civic engagement at its
public colleges, addressing increased concern that Americans aren’t equipped to
impact their communities or interact meaningfully with government.
While it hasn’t been decided exactly how citizenship
learning will be evaluated, the Board of Higher Education’s Tuesday vote
mandates that civic engagement be measured along with more traditional
standards such as graduation rates.
Higher education leaders, citing low voter turnout and
other measures of civic engagement, have long doubted colleges do enough to
prepare students to contribute to society. Eight state college systems now
require students to receive some form of civic education, and some individual
campuses have made citizen preparation a priority, said Carol Geary Schneider,
president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities. She
believes Massachusetts is the first state system to mandate that civic
engagement at its two- and four-year public colleges be measured and compared
to other states.
Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/03/07/massachusetts-system-track-civic-engagement
John Sarvey
Executive Director
School of Public Policy & Urban Affairs
Northeastern University
Join us at the IMPACT National Conference on Community
Service and Service-Learning, March 29 - April 1, 2012 | Stetson University |
DeLand, Florida | www.impactconference.org
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