Open Loop University - Stanford 2025

Stanford's marketing department focused on communicating the new Open Loop system during the 2020s and 2030s. This was part of a strategic initiative to ... Home Explore OpenLoopUniversity PacedEducation AxisFlip PurposeLearning Build About Part2(New!) OpenLoopUniversity Welookbackfrom2100attheerawhenStanfordbroughtanendtoasocietyofalumniinfavoroflifetimelearning.  ASummaryTakealookatarchivalfootagerecoveredfromthefuturetodiscoverhowStanfordwastransformedbyOpenLoopUniversity. KeyDetails  HistoricalNotesTheSettingThephonograph,thetelephone,humanoperatedvehicles,carbonemittingfuels—it’shardtoimagineherein2100whatlifemighthavefeltlikewhenthatantiquatedtechnologywaspervasive.Yetit’simportanttotrytounderstandthecontextofourhistory,evenaswecelebrateallthatwehavebecometoday.Beforeneurosocialeducatorsfullyunderstoodthecognitiveprocessessurroundinghumanlearning,societysentitsyoungpeopletocollegeforjustafewyears,earlyintheiradultlives.Theyweremeanttoabsorballtheinformationandskillstheywouldneedfortherestoftheirproductivelives,andthenburstforthfullyformedandequippedtosucceed—muchliketheevenoldermythofAthenaborninfullarmor,springingfromtheheadofZeus. Therewereearlysignsthatachangewasneeded.Forexample,around2015,itbecameclearthatonlyaboutaquarterofcollegegraduatesworkedinafieldthatwasdirectlyrelatedtotheircollegemajor—eitherstudentsweren’tchoosingwell,orthemajorsthemselvesdidnotcorrespondtothenewkindsofprofessionsemerging.Theadventofonlinelearningshowedatasteofthevasthungerforknowledgeandskillsfromunexpectedpopulationsatvarioustimesoverthecourseoftheirlives.Thefrequencywithwhichgraduateschangedcareersnowrequiredadvancedlearningatunpredictableperiodsthroughoutanindividual’slife. TheShiftUntilitsquasquicentennialin2016,studentsappliedforadmissiontoStanfordaroundtheageof17,wereadmittedandconductedtheirstudiesforfouryearsfromages18–22.Theythengraduatedandbecamealumni.Someportionwouldreturnafewyearslatertopursueagraduatedegree.That,strangelyenough,wasit.Then,StanfordfullyreinventeditselfasthefirstOpenLoopUniversity.Viewsbegantochangeabouttheroleofhighereducationoveranindividual’slifecourse.Theperspectivethattheuniversitycouldeffectivelyserveitsoriginalmissionwhilecontinuingtonarrowlydefinethetimeinone’slifewhenlearningwouldhappenwaschallenged.Examplesofnewmodelsstartedemerging,suchasStanford’sDistinguishedCareersInstitute–focusedexclusivelyonprovidingaccesstoStanfordofferingsforolderadultswhohadalreadyaccomplishedatleastonesignificantphaseintheirprofessionallives.TheDeanofAdmissionsconductedanexperimentin2015torecruit10percentofanincomingclassusingaspecial“age-blind”process.Theresultsstartedto  diversifythemixtureofstudentagesoncampus,andbreakdownthepre-existingclass(year)structures.Studentsbuiltnewcohortexperiencestocreatestrongandlastingsocialconnectionsastheyhadbefore.Classroomlearningwasenrichedbyboththenaïve,boldperspectivesofyounger-than-averageclassmates,andthewisdomoftheexperienced,olderones. TheOpenLoopUniversityBythetimeitwasfullyadopted,thenewmodelhadsomekeycharacteristics. Studentsappliedwhentheywereready–someearlier,andsomelaterthanage17. Uponenrollment,studentsreceivedsixyearsofaccesstoresidentiallearningopportunitiestodistributeacrosstheirlivesastheysawfit.Manystudentschosetoconcentratetheiron-campusstintforafewyearsontheearlierside,asthesocialprocessofmaturationwithinapeergroupremainedimportant.Others,freedfromsocialstigma,attachedtotakinggapyearsoryears“off”duringtheireducations.Theydoveenthusiasticallyintoappliedenvironments—doinginternshipsandin-countrylanguageimmersion,reportingbackthattheseexperiencessharpenedtheirdesireforandabilitytoselectmajorsandclassesthatwererelevant.Facultybegantoreportagenerallyhigherlevelofintellectualengagementfromstudentsintheirintroductoryandadvancedcourses.FromAlumnitoPopuliNolongerconsideredalumni,returningstudentscomingbackforamid-careerlooptookadvantageofon-campuscourseofferingstolaunchnewchaptersoftheirprofessionallives.Theyoftenprovidedinspirationandinsightthatacceleratedresearchinlabs.Facultyenjoyednewcollegialrelationshipswiththeseaccomplishedpractitioners.OpenLooppioneerPhilPizzooncenoted,“WhereweoncehadanassociationofalumnilookingfondlybackatStanfordasjustonetimeintheirlives,wenowhaveapopuliof215,000ongoingstudentswhoknowthatStanfordisthere—andtheirs—throughoutalifetime.Thesestudents’deepengagementwiththeUniversitymeanswehaveanactivated,distributedStanfordnetworkaroundtheworldwhoareconnectedwhethertheyareon-campusinresidenceornot.” TheAchievementOpenLoopUniversity:De-stigmatizedarangeoflegitimatepatternsoflearning(gapyears,etc.)sothatearly-careerstudentsusedtheirtimeandinvestmentinon-campuslearningwiselyandforgreaterimpactProvidedawayforolderadultstopivotcareerswithanacademicgrounding,andtoreconnectwithameaningfulandenergizingsocialcontextlaterinlifeRevitalizedStanfordwithabroadermixofstudentsbycreatingon-rampsatmanyages;enabledpopulationstraditionallyunderrepresentedateliteinstitutionstogaingreateraccessoncetheyhadtimetoovercomedisadvantagedcircumstancesDevelopednewoperationalinfrastructurefortheUniversitywiththeabilitytohandleamoredynamicandshiftingon-campuspopulationDevelopedadistributedengagementmodeltomaintainthebroadernetworkofStanfordpopuliCapitalizedontheremarkableaccomplishmentsofitspopulithroughtheinvitationtoreturntocampusasexpertpractitioners. ExhibitArticleArchive  Browsebelowtosearchthroughvideoarchivesoftheexhibitsdisplayedon May1st,2100.   Article15 AdvertisementsforOpenLoopUniversityMarketingmaterialsdevelopedandusedinpublicationsfrom2025-2040Stanford’smarketingdepartmentfocusedoncommunicatingthenewOpenLoopsystemduringthe2020sand2030s. ThiswaspartofastrategicinitiativetodifferentiatetheStanfordexperienceandcommunicatethatStanfordproducedcurious,intellectuallyvibrant,andagilelifelonglearners. TheadsdisplayedherecoveravarietyofaspectsandbenefitsoftheOpenLoopstructure,includingthearchiveoflooppathsthatStanfordcuratedovertimetoguideandinspirefuturestudents. Onesuccessfuladvertisementhighlightedthepathjourneysofdifferentindividualsovertheirlifetimes.StanfordalsobegananewcampaignwhenAdmissionsstartedrecruitingstudentsin2015,whichcontinueduntiltheeventualclosingoftheapplicationprocessin2035.WatchVideoofTaniaAnaissieexplainLoopAds. Viewfullsize KellySchmutteexplainingLoopAds. Viewfullsize LoopAdsondisplay. VIEWLOOPADSGALLERY  Article65 C3READERAppleiPad(early“tablet“device),KioskCardinalCommunityCurrency,commonlycalledC3,wasacommunitycurrencysystemproposedshortlyafterOpenLoopwasannouncedin2016.Studentswereabletospendtheircreditoneverythingfromcoursestocoffeeoncampus,andaftercompletingaMentorshipand/orTeachingC3Certification,theycouldbeginearningcreditback. PopulicouldearnC3byteachingmasterclassesormentoringstudentsandcouldspendtheirC3onanythingfromRoseBowlticketstoMBAtuition.FacultywereabletoearnC3byteachingcoursesbeyondtheirappointedrequirementsandcouldtradeintheirearnedC3foradditionalresearchfundsorsabbaticaltime.ThisisoneoftheoriginalC3ReadersplacedinTresidderUnionduringthe2016pilotprogram.TheuserinterfaceallowedstudentstochecktheirC3balancewithafingerprint.WatchVideoofAshishGoelexplainCardinalCommunityCurrency.  Article35 LOOPORIGINSFoundnotebookpagesfromearly21stcenturyprofessor,PetrJohanesProfessorPetrJohaneswasdeeplyinvolvedinthe2015experimentledbytheDeanofAdmissionsthatadmitted10%ofthefollowingyear’sincomingclassusing“age-blind”admissions.ThiswouldeventuallybecomeOpenLoopUniversity.Shownhereforthefirsttime,thepapersheetsdisplayedarefoundpagesfromJohanes’initialthoughtsandexperimentswithloopsasaPhDstudentinStanford’sSchoolofEducation.Johanesmeticulouslydocumentedhisownloopandspiraltrajectoriesandsynthesizedandreflecteduponhisexperiences. Aswascommonintheearly2010s,Johanesoftenperformedworkonhiscomputingdeviceandprintedresultsontraditionalpaper. WatchVideoofPetrJohanesexplainhisLoops. Viewfullsize TimeTravelerreviewingtheworkofPetrJohanes. VIEWPETRJOHANES'LOOP+SPIRALPAPERSGALLERY  Article55 FROMAPPLICATIONTOINVITATIONAudiorecordingcirca2015In2015,theStanfordOfficeofUndergraduateAdmissionsexperimentedwithanadmissionsprocesstoreplaceapplicationsandbegantorecruitstudentstocometoStanfordratherthanrequiringthemtoapply.Aphonecallfromarecruitmentofficerreplacedthelengthyapplicationprocess.Tofindcandidates,recruitmentofficersmatchedarigorous,“age-blind”opennominationprocesswitharotatingpoolofexpertnominatorsandananonymousreviewboard.Theboardcycledannuallytoensurethattheprocesswasfairandthequalityofinviteeswashigh.By2016,10%ofstudentswereadmittedviainvitation.Sixyearslater,Stanfordand28otheruniversitieswereusinginvitesinsteadofapplicationsforthevastthemajorityoftheirstudents.Theimpactonhighschooleducationandcollegepreparationwasprofound:studentsandteachersalikeshiftedfocusawayfromtestperformanceandontofollowingpersonalpassionandshowingevidenceofimpact.WatchVideoofScottDoorleyexplainApplicationtoInvitation. Viewfullsize TimeTravelerlisteningtoaStanfordInvitation Viewfullsize  HeadphonesRecommended  ExploreAnotherFuture