What is the value of higher education?
Critics of traditional higher education refer to reports, both academic and in the popular press, that indicate a disturbing disconnect between academic learning and real world significance. They are demanding more accountability and justifiable returns on the time and money spent on college education. Supporters of higher education counter that colleges and universities serve many functions that are not easily quantifiable. They emphasize the importance of developing critical thinkers, problem-solvers, and responsible citizens.
COLLABORATE provides much needed space to jointly engage in purposeful and practical inquiries on these social issues and processes by:
- making meaningful connections between academic approaches and real world issues;
- facilitating strategic collaborations among students, faculty, educational institutions, businesses, and community-based organizations; and
- re-conceptualizing and enacting updated meanings of learning in higher education.
In doing so, we are reframing learning as a collaborative process.
