Higher education has been in the news a lot lately as politicians debate the merits of student loan forgiveness and free community college tuition.

But George D. Kuh says that as important as those issues are, we need to spend more time talking about the education students receive once they are in college. In an online discussion of the issue, he calls on universities to adopt and promote what he calls “high impact activities” that engage students in the learning process.

Kuh maintains that participation in learning communities, writing-intensive classes, student-faculty research, and study abroad opportunities can improve outcomes across the board, but especially among students who are least prepared for college life.

A nationally renowned authority on educational policy, Kuh is founding director of the Champaign, Illinois-based National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois and the chancellor’s professor emeritus at Indiana University.