Join Us
ACTA Celebrates the Literary Contributions of the AAPI Community
May 29, 2026 by Alina Amin
As May rolls into June, ACTA continues to celebrate America’s 34th annual Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month….
You Can Help Shape the Future of Higher Education
Join ACTA in promoting Academic Excellence, Academic Freedom, and Accountability in higher education.
Engage TodayWork together
WITH ACTA
Understand the Issues
Connect with Our ExpertsChoose the Right Tools
View ACTA’s ResourcesGuide Change Together
View Success Stories
Transparent data for informed trustees, policymakers, and students.
See how much average college tuition has increased since 2016—and why.
Learn more
We ask what no other college ranking system does. What will they learn?
Find top-rated colleges based on core curriculum requirements.
Search schools
Target your giving to programs that reflect your values
Giving is your legacy. Advising you is ours. Let us help you craft your next gift.
Make your gift countThe
Latest
A Broadside for the Nation
April 21, 2026
In this Broadside for the Nation, we explain in detail why American higher education must restore this foundational requirement for college graduates to know the American story, what such a course might include, and, crucially, how to make this vision a reality.
Civic Education
Educating for a More Perfect Union
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni and the Museum of the American Revolution celebrated our nation’s 250th anniversary year with an evening panel discussion on how to reinvigorate history and civics education in American college and university classrooms and across the public history sector.
PROMOTING ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
What Walt Whitman Can Teach Us About Education and Informed Citizenship
June 1, 2026 by Jane Mangelli
For Walt Whitman, late spring was more than just a season. It symbolized growth, possibility, and democratic renewal. As June begins, it is worth returning to a poet whose work sought the spirit of the United States itself and what it means to be an American citizen. Born on May 31, 1819, Whitman entered a United States still unsure of its identity […]
What Walt Whitman Can Teach Us About Education and Informed CitizenshipACTA in the NewsCivic Education
UPenn ‘America 250’ courses largely ignore America’s founding, conservative analysts say
Campus Reform | May 28, 2026 by Brendan McDonald
The University of Pennsylvania’s “America 250” courses celebrating the country’s semiquincentennial have little to do with America, conservative analysts…
A Broadside for the Nation
ACTA’s A Broadside for the Nation: Preparing College Students for Informed Citizenship convenes 24 historians and education leaders who argue that America’s 250th anniversary demands a renewal of civic education. The report urges colleges to require every student to complete a semester-long course on the American story.
Download PDFDEFENDING ACADEMIC FREEDOm
To the editor: Will Ohio’s public universities lead the nation in free speech?
The Toledo Blade | June 1, 2026 by Justin Garrison
Ohio’s public universities have made big improvements in their policies on free expression and intellectual diversity, in most cases thanks to the recently passed Senate Bill 1. This law requires all public universities to take several important actions, from adopting new statements on free expression and policies of institutional neutrality, to ending the use of […]
To the editor: Will Ohio’s public universities lead the nation in free speech?University of Tennessee–Knoxville Report Card
May 26, 2026
ACTA’s Campus Freedom Initiative™ (CFI) has evaluated universities in several states against our Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression™,…
University of Arkansas–Fayetteville Report Card
May 26, 2026
ACTA’s Campus Freedom Initiative™ (CFI) has evaluated universities in several states against our Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression™,…
ACTA Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression
ACTA now provides a blueprint to help higher education regain and live by this core principle. The ACTA Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression™ provides clear guidance for institutions to create a culture of free thought on their campuses.
Download PDFENSURING ACCOUNTABILITY
How the Trump Admin Could Speed Up a Controversial New Accreditor
The Assembly | May 28, 2026 by Dylan Halper
The Trump administration’s proposed revamp of college accreditation rules could speed up the UNC System’s effort to launch a new accreditor for public universities. Last week, the U.S. Department of Education’s Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization committee agreed to an extensive set of proposed new regulations that would ease the process for accreditors to enter the market and […]
How the Trump Admin Could Speed Up a Controversial New AccreditorACTA in the NewsPresidential Search
MSU President Guskiewicz leaving for another university
May 28, 2026 by Sarah Atwood, Daniel Howes, Nolan Finley and Beth LeBlanc
Michigan State University President Kevin Guskiewicz is joining the ranks of other short-lived Michigan university presidencies. Guskiewicz was selected…
MSU’s new loyalty rules, special meeting raise speech concerns among experts
The Detroit News | May 19, 2026 by Sarah Atwood
A measure passed late Sunday by the Michigan State University board limiting when and how statewide elected trustees can dissent after…
Governance for a New Era
Governance for a New Era is a blueprint for higher education governance. Signatories to the statement, a diverse group of 22 distinguished national leaders dedicated to ensuring America’s colleges and universities shed 20th century thinking and successfully meet 21st century challenges.
Download PDFIN THE
NEWS
ACTA in the NewsCivic Education
UPenn ‘America 250’ courses largely ignore America’s founding, conservative analysts say
Campus Reform | May 28, 2026 by Brendan McDonald
The University of Pennsylvania’s “America 250” courses celebrating the country’s semiquincentennial have little to do with America, conservative analysts say. The Penn Libraries website highlights 15 courses in spring 2026 with “America 250 Themes” that students can take leading up to J…
ACTA in the NewsPresidential Search
MSU President Guskiewicz leaving for another university
May 28, 2026 by Sarah Atwood, Daniel Howes, Nolan Finley and Beth LeBlanc
Michigan State University President Kevin Guskiewicz is joining the ranks of other short-lived Michigan university presidencies. Guskiewicz was selected as the 16th president of Clemson University at a Wednesday board meeting. Clemson has been without a president since James Clements resigned in …
HOW ACTA IS SUCCEEDING
370
institutions have been counseled by ACTA on matters of cost effectiveness, financial governance, and institutional spending. See ACTA’s one-of-a-kind higher education financial analysis tool: HowCollegesSpendMoney.com.
146
institutions and systems representing nearly four million students, encouraged by ACTA, reaffirmed their commitment to free speech on campus by adopting the Chicago Principles on Freedom of Expression or a policy of institutional neutrality.
256
institutions have improved their core curriculum requirements based on ACTA’s annual What Will They Learn?® initiative. Visit WhatWillTheyLearn.com
26,500+
students from 140 institutions have engaged in 660 civil discourse debates, dialogues, and workshops through ACTA’s college debates program partnership with Braver Angels and Bridge USA.
795
news outlets in 2025 covered ACTA’s nationwide impact on academic excellence, academic freedom, and accountability in higher education.
275
million dollars in gifts to higher education have been guided through ACTA’s Fund for Academic Renewal. Visit AcademicRenewal.org.
WHO WE ARE
Launched in 1995, we are the only organization that works with alumni, donors, trustees, and education leaders across the United States to support liberal arts education, uphold high academic standards, safeguard the free exchange of ideas on campus, and ensure that the next generation receives an intellectually rich, high-quality college education at an affordable price.
Discover MoreSTAY INFORMED
Sign up to receive updates on the most pressing issues facing our college campuses.