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What could America ’s colleges learn from business and government to become better “learning organizations” as they seek to improve student learning and engagement? The possibilities motivated Richard Light, the Walter H. Gale Professor of Education at the Kennedy School, to co-found and chair the Forum for Excellence and Innovation in Higher Education, a new initiative focused on strengthening undergraduate education.

In early November, officials from fourteen of America’s top colleges and universities convened at the Kennedy School for the inaugural Executive Session of the Forum. By employing successful ideas and processes from business and government, participating institutions hope to become better “learning organizations.” Industry leaders like McKinsey and The World Bank are learning organizations that utilize self-review to constantly increase their capacity to measure and produce desired results. Following their lead, Forum members will systematically implement and evaluate new initiatives on college campuses.

The Forum is the brainchild of Light and Michael McPherson, President of the Spencer Foundation and former President of Macalaster College. Each was interested in determining how institutions can retain the contributions of individual professors that decline or disappear if the professor leaves. More broadly, Light and McPherson wanted to facilitate sustained improvements in undergraduate education across institutional lines, from large research universities to small liberal arts colleges. Generously funded by the Spencer Foundation, the Forum was established to foster collaboration among institutions trying to answer these questions. Light notes one of its main goals is “To build innovations with measurably successful outcomes into the fabric of campus life.”

The 14 members of the Forum will meet yearly for intensive two day sessions to explore how to help students maximize the quality and value of their time at college. In addition to sponsoring the executive sessions, the Spencer Foundation awards grants to each campus to implement two innovations, then rigorously evaluate their impact and share what they are learning with other campuses.

The Forum is already benefiting from the enthusiastic participation of its members. The opening session in November was attended by seven college Presidents, 22 Deans, senior faculty from all 14 participating schools, and trustees from the private sector. Featured speakers were President Emeritus Derek C. Bok of Harvard, and Prof. David Garvin of Harvard Business School. Bok emphasized the importance of systematic evaluation of new ideas and innovations on college campuses, and Garvin stressed the importance of operating as a “learning institution” for organizational growth and success. The diverse group of attendees included four major research universities, eight distinguished liberal arts colleges, and two “start-up” schools.

A critical feature of the Forum is its emphasis on working collegially with evidence-based assessments of the initiatives. Participants interact vigorously across campuses to learn from each other, exchange ideas and share plans. The diverse group investigates whether schools must utilize different or similar strategies to solve common problems. Can Wellesley and Harvard use comparable tactics for retaining higher numbers of females in the hard sciences, or do institutional differences preclude it? Can rural and urban schools use similar methods in attracting low-income students?

Participants learn not only from each other, but also from the business and government sectors. Each contributing school has current officials who come from prominent places in business. For example, Davidson’s current President, Robert Vagt, is the former Chairman and COO of Seagull Energy, as well as the former executive of three New York Stock Exchange corporations. Tom Healey is a trustee of Georgetown, a former Assistant Treasury Secretary and an Advisory Director of Goldman Sachs & Co. He is also a senior fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government. Discussions flourish with this mix of academic and business perspectives. Consequently, participants explore best practices of the public, private and non-profit sectors, and work to integrate them in their new initiatives.

The inaugural meeting was a stunning success. “Participants left the two day meetings energized,” Light says. “Indeed, many campuses may be stimulated to try entirely different ideas from those initiated and evaluated in Forum. We view this as a wonderfully positive and refreshing outcome for all of American higher education.”

The Forum’s next meeting will be in early fall of 2006.

If you would like more information about The Forum for Excellence and Innovation in Higher Education, please contact Richard Light.

Attendees at the November conference were: Amherst, Bowdoin, Davidson, Duke, Georgetown, Haverford, Harvard, M.I.T., Macalaster, Middlebury, Olin, University of California-Merced, Wellesley and Williams.

-Shannon Murphy
December 2005