As colleges grapple with AI, student disengagement, and declining trust in higher education, a little-known group of institutions may offer unexpected lessons. Micro-colleges combine liberal arts education with student self-governance and labor to cultivate responsibility, belonging, and purpose. Most enroll fewer than 50 students, creating close-knit communities in which students have a genuine stake.

This panel at SXSW EDU 2027 will explore what microcolleges can teach larger colleges and universities about designing educational experiences that foster engagement, character, and student agency.

Panelists include Tommaso Bardelli, Joel A. Schlosser, Laura Marcus, and Ana Isabel Keilson.