When colleges launch new student programs they rarely have the time to determine whether those programs are making a difference. A new research partnership between New York University (NYU) and the State University of New York (SUNY) system aims to change that.
Both institutions announced in January 2026 the creation of the Higher Education Design Lab, a joint initiative that will apply rigorous evaluation methods to the types of civic engagement, career readiness, and dialogue programs that have been proliferating across American campuses. The lab will be housed at NYU’s Marron Institute of Urban Management.
The timing reflects a broader anxiety in higher education. Colleges have been racing to roll out new initiatives in response to a changing workforce, rising political polarization, and slipping public confidence in higher education as a whole. But according to the lab’s founders, that flurry of activity rarely comes with any serious attempt to measure results before programs are expanded.
The partnership draws on an unusually large and varied student population. NYU is the country’s largest private nonprofit university, while SUNY is the largest comprehensive public university system.
NYU President Linda Mills says the sector’s habit of scaling programs without evaluating them first is precisely what the lab is designed to address. “Many colleges and universities are testing new programs or invigorating old practices to help students thrive as they encounter a transformed workforce and cultural landscape. But our improvements are only as good as the insights we gain into what works and what doesn’t,” she says. “To succeed today, we must equip students with the skills needed to collaborate with others who hold different perspectives, to think critically, and to follow the evidence—especially when it challenges their assumptions.”
SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. emphasizes the value of scale and diversity in the research base. “The strength of this partnership is that it spans two of the largest and most diverse higher education systems in the nation,” King says. “That gives us a rare ability to study new and old initiatives across institutions of every size, mission, and geographic setting.”
The lab’s first evaluations will focus on NYU’s Perspectives Dialogue modules—a required component for first-year students developed by the Constructive Dialogue Institute—and SUNY’s Civil Discourse and Civic Education programming. Both were chosen for their emphasis on preparing students to work and communicate across ideological and cultural differences.
Beyond those initial programs, the lab intends to examine career readiness initiatives, first-year orientation experiences, teaching innovations, and community-based learning. The goal is to build a set of metrics and frameworks that any college or university could eventually adopt.
The City University of New York (CUNY), the nation’s largest urban public university system, has signed on to the advisory board. CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez cited the institution’s reach of nearly 250,000 students from across New York City and beyond as a reason for participating.
Mindy Tarlow, a Senior Fellow at the Marron Institute who will help lead the lab, says the effort is designed to follow the evidence wherever it leads. “The Lab’s role will be to listen, test ideas, and share outcomes—whether they affirm or challenge our approach,” she says.
Jonathan Haidt, founder of the Constructive Dialogue Institute and a professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business, says the proliferation of civic education programs across the country is encouraging, but that measuring their impact is now the critical next step. “The Higher Education Design Lab will break new ground by evaluating how institutions can best strengthen their commitments to evidence-based innovation,” he says.
