Colorado College designed the Block plan to be flexible, allowing more free time and variable learning opportunities. While the method has delivered some promises, its revisions and redesign have limited flexibility and functionality. 

A full-scale reevaluation of Colorado College would include academics, athletics, housing, social and student life, dining options, and community stakeholders. To be effective, the campus must come to a consensus and draw from members of every demographic. As a collective body, the CC community should rally together as the founders of the Block did to address the inequity in the plan and make adjustments to ensure its efficacy for contemporaries and posterity. 

Learning on the Block is the preeminent factor considering CC's stake in being a prestigious institution. Evaluating the memory and retention of students at consistent intervals can illuminate the areas for growth in the Block. In line with current ADEI standards at the school, the reevaluation of the Block should account for the multiple social identities on campus and curricular restructuring for individuals with ADA considerations. Additionally, the impact and long-term value of immersive learning are worthy of systematic research and design. 

To account for the inevitable change in the future, the current community should create a system to readdress the Block at consistent intervals as frequently as necessary. There are unforeseeable changes that we should not try to solve contemporaneously; instead, as a proverbial passing of the torch, new students, staff, and faculty should be given the freedom to create the Block as they see fit. The Block plan originated as a stroke of innovation and a testament to CC's commitment to charging forward into the unknown and spearheading the effort to move higher education into a new era. As the plan's founders, it is the CC community's responsibility to uphold the progressive, groundbreaking work. 

Potentially decrease the negative mental health aspects of the Block, design for equity, redesign to account for culture as disability, and create a systemic interregnum transition for the future community. 

Allowing posterity to define their reality is the pinnacle of progressive ideologies and indicative of the strength of collaboration. Moreover, the needs of all members of the CC community are equally valuable and worthy of consideration.

1. Ashley, S. A. (2021). The block plan: An unrehearsed educational venture. Colorado College. 

2. Caffrey, M., & Commins, S. (2023). Preservation of long-term memory in older adults using a spaced learning paradigm. European Journal of Ageing, 20(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-023-00750-5

3. Heist, P., & Taylor, M. F. (1979). The block plan : a preliminary report on a ten-year evaluation of the Colorado College block plan format for intensive study. Colorado College.

4. Laker, L. (2018, January 26). Professor Emeritus Glenn Brooks . Colorado College. Retrieved April 12, 2023, from https://sites.coloradocollege.edu/bulletin/people-of-impact/celebrating-cc-people-glenn-brooks/ 

5. Wimmer, G. E., & Poldrack, R. A. (2022). Reward learning and working memory: Effects of massed versus spaced training and post-learning delay period. Memory & Cognition, 50(2), 312–324. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-021-01233-7