RETHINK LEARNING

Schools and workplaces are built on an outdated idea: that education primarily happens in the first 25 years of life. But we now live and work longer and can anticipate changing jobs and careers many times. To ensure that our longer lives are prosperous, healthy, and enjoyable,

WE’RE BUILDING A FUTURE IN WHICH EVERYONE CAN LEARN AND GROW THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES;

where all kinds of learning count, not just college degrees; and where all who benefit from a skilled and resilient workforce invest in sustaining it.

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Upcoming Webinar

WHO WILL TRAIN THE ALREADY EDUCATED?
How Dual-Speed Universities Can Sustain the College-Educated Workforce

John Skrentny & Mary Walshok
June 2, 2026 12:00 PM Pacific Time

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Forums

View past forums to learn, connect, and help shape what comes next!

PAST FORUMS
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Why We Need to Pivot from a “Schooled Society” to a “Learning Society”

Learning Lab Director Lark Park, who has known Mitchell Stevens for more than a decade, caught up with him after the launch of the Learning Society on Stanford’s campus in February 2026. This conversation is about why he launched it, a brief history of the policies and forces that have shaped education and workforce, and what the revolution or evolution of a Learning Society might look like in the future.
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The Future of Higher Education: IDEAS MATTER Podcast with Mitchell Stevens

As AI ushers in a fourth industrial revolution and universities face the onset of the demographic cliff, what does the future of higher education look like? In this episode of Ideas Matter, WashU’s Sandro Galea, dean of the Bursky School of Public Health, and Stanford University’s Mitchell Stevens discuss how higher education reached this crossroads and what kinds of institutional changes need to take place in order to create a more equitable society.
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First-Time Adult Enrollment Dropped This Fall. Should Colleges Be Worried?

Nearly 16 percent fewer adults started college for the first time this fall compared to the previous year. Some say the change represents rightsizing after an enrollment boom, but others say it’s a reversal worth keeping an eye on.
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