Presidents Forum, governors unite to help Americans disagree better

SALT LAKE CITY (July 12, 2024)

One big thing

Indiana leaders have armed the nation’s governors with training designed to help Americans disagree better.

Why it matters

Governors have expressed concern about the rising level of vitriol in public and private discourse, including on college campuses.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox made the issue the primary policy initiative of the National Governors Association (NGA), which he chaired for the past year.

“Americans disagree about a lot of things and that’s reasonable, as long as we can debate issues without attacking individuals,” said Governor Cox. “The Presidents Forum has been an incredible partner in collaborating with our governors to create compelling and effective training to help learners develop the skills they need to disagree productively. I know the governors are eager to implement this work in their respective states.”

Go deeper

Ivy Tech Community College President Sue Ellspermann and Purdue Global University Chancellor Frank Dooley joined Becky Takeda-Tinker, president of Colorado State University Global (CSU Global) and Gregory Fowler, president of the University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC), at the NGA summer meetings in Salt Lake City, Utah to present three state collaborations to create trainings around the NGA’s disagree better initiative.

In collaboration with their home state governors, these institutions are looking to provide the next generation of leaders with the skills and competencies to handle disagreement in a more productive way than it is now handled.

“The governors are showing real leadership by combating the inability to disagree without being disagreeable. It’s a real issue with far-reaching impacts,” said Pres. Ellspermann. “Our training is designed to help students master the skills that will allow them to navigate difficult issues more effectively.”

Dooley sees the training as a key part of building a successful career.

“In today’s workplace, few skills are more critical than the ability to navigate disagreement,” said Dooley. “I believe this and similar courses will address this needed skill development very effectively, with positive impacts for our communities.”

Takeda-Tinker sees higher education as the right place to focus on developing the skills to disagree better. 

“The governors see the growing hostility in public discourse as a significant challenge that hampers their ability to address difficult policy issues,” said President Takeda-Tinker. “Our job was to provide tools that could help address the issue and we agreed that there are skills to help residents and learners of all ages to disagree better and those skills are valuable not only as they build their careers, but in all aspects of their lives.”

Fowler sees the ability to disagree better as essential to professional and personal success. 

“In the modern workplace, the ability to manage disagreements is vital and we need to equip our students with the skills they need to succeed,” said Fowler. “Courses like those we have designed will effectively foster this essential skill, benefiting our communities in numerous ways and I’m grateful for the leadership the governors have shown on this important issue.”

How it works

In Indiana, Ivy Tech and Purdue Global, joined Governor Eric Holcomb’s office, state agencies, and business and community leaders to create a four-week four module course. The course will be delivered as a microcredential and will be piloted in the fall by faculty at both institutions, then students. At the end of the training, students will earn a badge they can add to their Indiana Achievement Wallet. By partnering together and co-teaching the course, this microcredential will be able to reach dual credit, traditional, and working learners. 

In Colorado, CSU Global led the way and collaborated with Governor Jared Polis to create a fully-online, instructor-facilitated course designed to equip learners with healthy conflict styles, tools, and strategies for resolution. The four-module, four-week course available at $175 provides a college credit that can be applied to CSU Global’s undergraduate programs and has garnered positive feedback from course completers. Learner data to-date reflects that prior to the course, 44 percent of students self-reported feeling very uncomfortable or uncomfortable having conversations where they disagreed. After course completion, 100 percent of students self-reported that they felt comfortable or very comfortable having conversations where they disagreed. 

In Maryland, UMGC is working to educate learners, including their military students occupying positions overseas and on the front lines of world stages, to navigate difficult issues and conversations. UMGC has approached Disagree Better as part of a larger redesign process within their institution. They plan to integrate the principles of productive disagreement and concepts into a redesign of their general education curriculum, which is based on an explicit framework of 25 skills across five competency areas. This process will support people in the various contexts of their lives to acquire and deploy these skill sets. 

What’s next?

These trainings will continue to be refined and it is anticipated that this new focus will remain a critical focus of higher education moving forward.

About the Presidents Forum

The Presidents Forum is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership organization of college and university presidents and chancellors as well as leading education stakeholders committed to reinventing higher education for our diverse student population – traditional, non-traditional, and adult learners. We are dedicated to the continuous reinvention of higher education and exploring transformative education models by sharing knowledge, implementing best practices, and making policy recommendations.