Education

The Changing Face of Higher Education
An Atlantic Next America Forum

September 22, 2016
Washington, DC

Higher education has long been heralded as the best pathway to a job. But as costs continue to rise and many recent graduates struggle to find work, some have begun to wonder: how do we maximize the value of postsecondary education? All of this comes at a time when the United States is facing a historic demographic shift. Today, a majority of all K-12 public school students nationwide are students of color. Yet college completion rates for African-Americans and Hispanics are considerably lower than Caucasians or Asian-Americans.

In this forum, The Atlantic brought together policymakers, educators, employers, higher education experts, administrators and students for a robust discussion about the future of higher education. Will the very idea of college change? What kind of degree will the jobs of the future require? How is technology transforming our higher education landscape? What does this mean for policymakers? And as demographic changes continue to redefine this nation, what does the future of postsecondary education look like for the “Next America”?

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Presented by

Atlantic Live

Speakers

Agenda

Note: All times are ET

  • Thursday, September 22
  • 8:30 a.m.WelcomeMargaret Low, President, AtlanticLIVE
    Danette Howard, Chief Strategy Officer and Senior Vice President, Lumina Foundation
  • 8:35 a.m.The View from WashingtonRepresentative John Kline (R-MN); Chairman, U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce
    With Ron Brownstein, Senior Editor, The Atlantic
  • 9:05 a.m.Higher Education in 2016James Kvaal, Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan; Surrogate, Hillary for America
    With Ron Brownstein, Senior Editor, The Atlantic
  • 9:35 a.m.Reimagining Higher EducationSarita Brown, President, Excelencia in Education
    Cheryl Oldham, Vice President of Education Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
    Scott Ralls, President, Northern Virginia Community College
    Michael Sorrell, President, Paul Quinn College
    With Alia Wong, Associate Editor, The Atlantic
  • 10:05 a.m.Case Study: What’s Happening at the Universities at Shady GroveStewart Edelstein, Executive Director, The Universities at Shady Grove
    Faith Kamei, Current Student and 2017 Student Council President, The Universities at Shady Grove
    With Alia Wong, The Atlantic
  • 10:25 a.m.Closing RemarksDaniel Greenstein, Director, Postsecondary Success, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
    Margaret Low,AtlanticLIVE

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