Transforming higher education institutions

Abstract

What imperatives drive higher education institutions to innovate? What challenges do they face and how do they circumvent these challenges, especially when their ambitions outpace their resources? This chapter explores some of the innovations enacted at Elon University, charting its development on engaging its students in the “Elon Experiences” (internships, leadership, research, study abroad and service-learning). A small, liberal arts college in the United States, shifts in student demographics, their economic needs, and greater demands for economic and intellectual accountability from the institution and other factors dictated changes to the structure of the curriculum and institutional practices and cultures.