Hacking College

People come to college eager to be treated like humans, not numbers. Hacking College explains how to do that while helping students craft meaningful learning experiences that will propel the rest of their lives. Every professor, provost, and advisor should read it.

Hacking College is a must-read for anyone in and around higher education who seeks to empower students to craft their own, more meaningful college-to-career pathways. Academic and career advising are both in dire need of an overhaul. Laff and Carlson show us the way forward. An excellent read, timely and important, as higher ed seeks to rebuild trust, confidence, and perceived relevance.

With fresh thinking and compelling stories, Carlson and Laff show how colleges can empower students to secure meaningful work opportunities and careers. Hacking College offers the student-centered change agenda that higher education needs now.

College degrees must represent more than jumping over a series of hurdles on the way to getting a credential for employment. Unfortunately, for too many students, the experience of college as a place to develop their intellectual, emotional, and, yes, economic potential is missing. Hacking College shows the way to ending the era of 'empty' college degrees.

The authors introduce us to a method they call 'Field of Study'—focusing on a wicked multidisciplinary problem of deep interest to the student—and argue that it should center the student's college experience. There is so much in this innovative book that needs to be heeded by students, faculty, administrators, and policymakers. Anyone doubting the value of a college degree will have their mind changed.