March 20, 2012 Great minds thinking together: Project allows
citizens to create policy possibilities for higher education
Every day, individual freedoms are entrusted to juries made up
of citizens who are randomly chosen to critically evaluate
information and make informed decisions. One Kansas State
University researcher is using this principle to improve higher
education. "The jury is a hallmark of our political system, but
reliance on citizen input is not present in other aspects of the
political process," said Tim Steffensmeier, associate professor
of communication studies. "People typically are called upon to
react to ideas that have been created by experts. Yet, citizens
have much to contribute." With help from a grant from the
Interactivity Foundation -- a group that engages citizens in
developing public policy possibilities through small group
discussion -- Steffensmeier recently recruited and facilitated
two citizen groups from Manhattan for a discussion report to
explore the future of higher educati