Empowering education: fostering civic engagement 
Civic engagement as a public good: The role of quality assurance in nurturing active citizenship 

It is common to describe education as a private good, primarily benefiting the individual student, with the public good framed as the aggregate economic impact of students’ increased earning potential and faculty research output. But many universities also have a broader mission to educate citizens who can productively engage in the betterment of society. This mission can be difficult to prioritize, however, when societal problems are contested and the relevancy of higher education is questioned. Quality assurance can counter this by emphasizing active citizenship as a mission-driven goal for higher education.

Facilitated by:

Prof. Kevin Kinser

Kevin Kinser is Professor and Senior Scientist in the Center for the Study of Higher Education, Pennsylvania State University, USA. A graduate of Columbia University's Teachers College (New York), Kinser studies non-traditional and alternative higher education, particularly the public policies and organizational structures in higher education systems world-wide. Kinser is co-founder of the Cross-Border Education Research Team (C-BERT) which investigates the scope and impact of international branch campuses worldwide. Kinser is the author or editor of five books and more than 70 articles, chapters, and scholarly reports, and he is regularly invited to present his research at conferences in the United States and abroad. Because of his research, Kinser is regularly sought out by national and international media outlets for commentary on quality assurance, for-profit and international higher education. His most recent book is Accreditation on the edge:  Challenging Quality Assurance in Higher Education (2018, Johns Hopkins Press).