Designing the Future University Impact Outcomes
Designing the Future University
Students in the Designing the Future University Lab partnered with faculty from the School of Sustainability, the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts and the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies to investigate how the traditional model of a university can be disrupted for transformational and structural change. As part of their research exploration the Lab team engaged with an assemblage of Arizona State University deans, directors and leaders including President Michael Crow, Chief Financial Officer Morgan Olsen and Vice Chair and Managing Director of University Design Institute Minu Ipe. Scroll down to read more about their work.
Student Outcomes
Level up Learning
One innovative student-led team designed their final research outcome around "a new approach to higher education" with experiential learning at its core. The outcome is a website that serves as a model as well as a hub for promoting experience-based and service learning opportunities available at Arizona State University and into the broader community. Their internal resources identified at ASU include interdisciplinary project-based learning, leadership development programs, and opportunities for internships, volunteering, and research. External resources from the broader community include a leadership program, youth climate action initiatives, volunteer roles for sustainable development goals, tree ambassador opportunities, and interdisciplinary job prospects. View the website here to learn more.
Inclusion and a Sense of Belonging at ASU
A team of six students created a white paper full of recommendations for creating an ASU-centric virtual community-building resource to enhance inclusion and a sense of belonging among university students, faculty, and staff. They conducted research and interviews with stakeholders, which ultimately led to the recommendation for a social media platform and resource hub. The platform would include features such as a directory of ASU clubs and organizations, a discussion forum, a news section, a resources section, a virtual events section, and a job/internship opportunities section. It would also be available in multiple languages and receive extensive promotion across all ASU campuses. The white paper suggests allocating resources for platform creation and maintenance, appointing a team of moderators, and conducting regular surveys to measure effectiveness and gather feedback. View the complete document here.
Inside the Lab
In order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the inner-workings, challenges and parameters that universities work with in Lab students had the opportunity to engage with many stakeholders. Across the span of their semester they met with a myriad of university constituents each providing their own unique perspective and lens with which they must collectively partner to offer a high-quality education to their students. Please see the full list of collaborative partners below.
I learned a lot from the Humanities Lab. Primarily, I came into my group with very little knowledge of experiential learning outside the basic internship experiences, but I had a lot of fun learning about all the different experiential and service learning opportunities that exist beyond the traditional routes. I also came into this class quite pessimistic about the future of the university. Although I can't say I'm necessarily optimistic about all the facets of the university we discussed in class, my perspective definitely changed as I got to see how universities, students, staff, faculty, and stakeholders are responding to the many issues and changes at hand. I enjoyed being able to see what ASU is doing to improve student experiences and how our innovations are impacting other institutions and are raising public expectations for other universities.
-- Samantha Tester, Designing the Future University, Humanities Lab Student
Collaborative Partners
- Michael M. Crow, President, ASU
- Morgan Olsen, Executive Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer, ASU
- Jeffrey Cohen, Dean of Humanities, The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, ASU
- Todd Sandrin, Vice Provost, Dean, Professor, New College of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences, ASU
- Joanna Grabski, Dean & Foundation Professor, College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (CISA), ASU
- Ayanna Thompson, Regents Professor of English at Arizona State University, and the Director of the Arizona Center for Medieval & Renaissance Studies (ACMRS)
- Heather Switzer, Co-Director, Humanities Lab, ASU
- Julian Vitullo, Co-Director, Humanities Lab, ASU
- Anali Perry, Unit Head + Librarian, Open Science and Scholarly Communication, ASU
- Karen Grondin, Licensing and Copyright Librarian, Licensed Collections, ASU
- Vera Lopez, Associate Director of Graduate Studies in the School of Social Transformation, ASU
- Victoria Jackson, Associate Clinical Professor, SHPRS History Faculty, ASU
- Ariel Anbar, President's Professor, School Of Earth and Space Exploration, ASU
- Tamara Webb, Director, Content and Learning Products, University Design Institute, ASU
- Minu Ipe, Vice Chair and Managing Director of University Design Institute, University Design Institute, ASU