Changemaker Campus 101

The Changemaker Campus designation is the world’s leading designation for social innovation. 
It recognizes campuses that are leading the way and pushing boundaries about the role of higher education in society: graduating millions of changemakers, leading societal impact initiatives, and re-imaging what higher education looks like in a world where the only constant is change. 
Changemaker Campuses demonstrate excellence and innovation in: 

• Visionary Leadership 
• Innovation and Excellence in Changemaking  
• Institutional Culture and Operations 
• Institutional Field Building and Impact Influence 

Examples and lessons learned from these campuses are highlighted in Ashoka U publications. 

The Changemaker Campus designation is a signal to students, parents, faculty, alumni, and the world that a campus is dedicated to changemaking and that the campus has fully integrated changemaking across campus. It signals that the campus has embraced social innovation as a framework for education as well as for institutional operations, culture, and change. 
Changemaker Campuses have reported that this designation has: 

• increased enrollment rates 
• attracted and secured major funding (grants, gifts) 
• led to students becoming better-prepared for changemaking 

Becoming a Changemaker Campus brings the institution into a select network of global leaders at the intersection of changemaking, social innovation, and higher education.  
 

After a strategic pause, Ashoka U will be once again designating Changemaker Campuses. 
This designation remains an important tool for campuses to highlight their innovations and dedications to leading societal impact.  
This designation provides a way to recognize important innovations in higher education and to demonstrate the future potential of higher education in a world that is volatile, ambiguous, complex, and uncertain.  

• Ashoka Canada is piloting this process. Learn more.
• Ashoka U globally anticipates beginning to designate new Changemaker Campuses in the next 12 months (approximately). 

View the full criteria here. 
 
Promising practices and lessons learned have been collected and shared in our many open-access Ashoka U publications. It is recommended that you read and share these publications. Becoming A Changemaker Campus (2020) provides a comprehensive overview of how to engage leadership, faculty, students, and others in the journey of becoming a Changemaker Campus.