Resources

Hidden Gems

Hidden Gems are honors programs, major degree programs, minor degree programs, and certificate programs that offer a rigorous, structured, and interdisciplinary liberal arts curriculum. These programs are focused on classroom instruction and some offer fellowships or scholarship programs. Every Hidden Gems program emphasizes community-building around dialogue and learning.

Oases of Excellence

ACTA promotes rigorous academic study, a strong liberal arts curriculum, and broadening viewpoint diversity through its Oases of Excellence initiative. These 88 programs share a commitment to educating students for informed citizenship in a free society by maintaining the highest academic standards, introducing students to the best of the foundational arts and sciences, teaching American heritage, and ensuring free inquiry into a range of intellectual viewpoints.

Campus Freedom Initiative

Free expression is the necessary precondition for the unfettered search for truth on the college campus. Learn how to build a culture of free expression at your institution through ACTA’s Campus Freedom Initiative™ and discover universities who have achieved the ACTA Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression™.

College Debates & Discourse Alliance

The College Debates and Discourse (CD&D) Alliance is an acclaimed program that fosters civil discourse and viewpoint diversity on college campuses. CD&D partners with faculty and students to conduct Braver Angels-style debates and dialogues that are non-competitive, immersive, and highly participatory, inviting everyone in the room to express themselves freely in a collective search for truth. They teach students to frame persuasive arguments, listen deeply, and engage respectfully around the most challenging political and social issues dividing our nation today.

FIRE

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s (FIRE) mission is to defend and sustain the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought—the most essential qualities of liberty. FIRE tracks “speech codes”—“written policies regulating expression at colleges and universities” that fall under First Amendment protections—and determines whether colleges and universities protect students’ right to free expression.

College Scorecard

The College Scorecard is an online tool, created by the United States government, that allows consumers to compare the cost and value of American higher education institutions.

Occupational Outlook Handbook

The Occupational Outlook Handbook is a publication of the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics that includes information about the nature of work, working conditions, training and education, earnings, and job outlook for hundreds of different occupations in the United States.