Civic Solutions: Problem-Solving Through the Up to Us Case Competition
Equipping faculty and staff to support students’ fiscal thinking, advocacy experience, creative problem solving, and civic engagement experience through participation in the Up to Us Case Competition.
Innovative support to encourage innovative solutions.
AASCU provides participating faculty and staff with resources and learning tools that support students in their journey to develop fiscal thinking, advocacy experience, creative problem solving, and civic engagement skills.
The Case Competition Format
Teams of students nationwide will respond to prompts addressing the rising national debt in the context of growing climate concerns, the affordability of higher education, or rising health care costs by proposing creative yet practical solutions that consider the often competing — yet critical — aspects of the policymaking process: equitable policy development, prudent fiscal management, and long-term political feasibility.
AASCU provides faculty & staff with the case, resources, and a community of practice as participants integrate this competition into their classes and on campus. Participants organize teams of students to investigate the prompts, explore research, and develop solutions.
In April 2023, teams will submit their policy solutions to an expert panel of judges with a 4–7-minute video presentation and a one-page policy memo. The judging panel will select the first-place winning team for the $5,000 grand prize, and award $1,000 prizes to the second through fifth-place teams.
At the Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (CLDE) conference, all participants will share insights and learning outcomes with their civically engaged peers. The five winning student teams will share their solutions and faculty & staff will share strategies, successes, and challenges.
Explore the Up to Us Case Competition Brief
Participating Campuses
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