The Futures Project: Policy for Higher Education in a Changing World
Key Questions Campaign
Sparking a Conversation on Higher Education's Public Purposes

The Futures Project, a higher education policy think tank, has spent the last five years investigating how market-oriented and competitive higher education has become. In the pursuit of rankings and prestige, the “public purposes” of higher education are becoming blurred and the unwritten compact governing the reciprocal, supportive relationship between states and their institutions is becoming undone. It is to this end that we are writing you. A goal of the Futures Project is to arm policymakers and academic leaders with a series of questions to begin a conversation on the public purposes of higher education. What are the public benefits of higher education to society? What are we in danger of losing as postsecondary education becomes more of a private good? How do we educate our citizenry to meet the state's needs? Below you will find links to lists of key questions and supporting resources broken into three critical policy areas: Autonomy and Accountability, Responsibility for Student Learning, and Access and Attainment. These questions were formulated to help spark a conversation that will help craft a compact between institutions and the state to ensure that the sum of all postsecondary institutions is meeting society's needs.

Autonomy and Accountability
For key questions please see: http://www.futuresproject.org/press-aaq.html
For additional questions focused on creating a compact between the state and institutions please see: http://www.futuresproject.org/publications/Restructuring%20Higher%20Education.xls

For more information please see our publication, Correcting Course: How We Can Restore the Ideals of Public Higher Education in a Market-Driven Era: http://www.futuresproject.org/publications/Correcting_Course.pdf and our Compact Policy Brief: http://www.futuresproject.org/publications/Compact%20Policy%20Brief%20Final.doc

To view our research on defining the public purposes of higher education, click here.

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Responsibility for Student Learning
For key questions please see: http://www.futuresproject.org/press-rslq.html
For additional questions focused on this policy please see: http://www.futuresproject.org/publications/Restructuring%20Higher%20Education.xls

For more information please see our publication, Correcting Course: How We Can Restore the Ideals of Public Higher Education in a Market-Driven Era: http://www.futuresproject.org/publications/Correcting_Course.pdf and our Responsibility for Student Learning Policy Brief: http://www.futuresproject.org/publications/Learning%20Policy%20Brief%20Final.doc

To view our research on defining the public purposes of higher education, click here.

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Access and Attainment
For key questions please see: http://www.futuresproject.org/press-aa3q.html
For additional questions focused on this policy please see: http://www.futuresproject.org/publications/Restructuring%20Higher%20Education.xls

To view our research on defining the public purposes of higher education, click here.

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