Why Community Matters: Connecting Education with Civic Life

The new report, Every Student, Every Degree, recommends that educators make college civic learning and democracy engagement a norm for all students, rather than an option for only some. Part 1 of the two-part virtual event is now available, featuring discussions on what today’s diverse students gain from CLDE-related studies and exploring student perspectives on how to make civic and democracy learning more compelling, empowering, and inclusive. This session also highlights dialogues on how collaborations across differences must become central to college civic learning and education for a diverse and divided democracy.

This back-to-campus starter kit explores how campuses can engage in inclusive, constructive dialogue—better discourse—ahead of what many expect to be an uncertain and potentially tumultuous 2024–2025 academic year. This guide includes invitations for self-reflection (with a corresponding guide for mapping your campus) and directs you to tools, policies, and evidence-based practices for better discourse.

As you reflect on implementing better discourse on your campus, you might be looking to create spaces for conversations about some of the most contentious issues we expect to arise during the 2024-2025 academic year, Below, find some places to start when initiating discourse on these specific topics.