What if Colleges Designed Gap Years? This Year, Especially, They Should

The program is aimed at students “who see the world coming apart and want to fix it,” Falik told me. “It’s a response to the moment.”

The 2020-21 academic year looks like an ideal time for colleges themselves to borrow from the creative approaches some outside programs are taking. Colleges have the chance to fashion a different kind of academic year, one that is adaptable to the uncertainties of face-to-face teaching and reflective of the unique circumstances we’re all in. After all, if a deadly global pandemic, sweeping protests over racial injustice, and growing recognition of the schisms of income inequality don’t add up to a teachable moment deserving of a new kind of higher-ed experiment, what would?

By Goldie Blumenstyk