One important question to ask of the U.S. liberal arts colleges is why there are still misconceptions about these institutions when critical thinking and residentiality, terms traditionally associated with LACs, have long become cliché? One CFO of a New York-based LAC considered it “bad perception” in regard to the “discord out there about whether there is a value or strength to a liberal arts education” (LAC02-01). There seems to exist a long ravine between the understandings of those working within an LAC and those who appear to know these institutions fairly well. Given that, it is fairly important to first re-establish the historical strengths and weaknesses of these institutions.
The strengths of the U.S. liberal arts colleges generally fall into two categories: institutional strengths and pedagogical strengths. Institutional strengths are perhaps the less discussed of the two considering people tend to readily accept that these institutions are small and few. However, the two attributes support a number of tenets of liberal arts education. First of all, the fewer number of LACs than other HEIs in the U.S. does not necessarily cripple their diversity in multiple senses. A CFO of a Vermont-based LAC reflected that it is difficult to answer an LAC-related question given “the diversity one can find in institutions that think of themselves as liberal arts colleges. [That] is [in addition to] a diversity of programs unlike anything I think you will find anywhere else in the world” (LAC03-01). As an example, he shared with the researcher that his institution is perhaps “the only liberal arts school that you will find that has a course labeled ‘tools’, which includes how to sharpen your axe.” This dual sense of diversity on institutions and programs is further enhanced by a freedom to customize liberal arts education befitting a local context and need. A CIO of an LA-based LAC reflected on how it is often an “additional sensibility” rather than the institutional mission per se that serves as a differentiator and help LACs to thrive.
In our case, we have founding cornerstones of excellence that we call equity and excellence that sort of tone up our mission. A lot of the work that we do amplifies the broader themes of what you can do at the liberal arts colleges. It does so in the context of engaging communities in Los Angeles, particularly the communities in North East, Los Angeles working with community partners in a curricular and co-curricular context. (LAC12-01)
The pedagogical strengths also fall into two categories: adaptability and residentiality. While not meant to readily become specialized professionals, students of liberal arts colleges are “well-rounded” (LAC13-01) and can “adapt to a changing world” (LAC17-01). A CFO of an Iowa-based LAC placed it with a more emphatic note:
They don’t arm students with a specific set of skills for a specific profession. That might change drastically by the time a student graduates or shortly after graduation. But rather gives them more generalize skills that are nimble and agile in the face of a changing world. (LAC17-01)
Understanding of and coping with an increasingly complex world and volatile job markets is what sets LACs fundamentally apart from other HEIs. “The world is getting more, and more, and more complex” (LAC02-01). While not boasting of a cookie-cutter specialized skill, LAC students use “critical thinking” (LAC10-01) and “problem solving” (LAC18-01) tools to determine “long-term” (LAC10-01) benefits that go beyond “passing a test and getting a job” (LAC02-01). It is no wonder that even without a defined specialization, LAC students show promising outcomes:
Most contemporary liberal arts colleges, especially private ones, have better graduation rates, four-year, six-year graduation rates, than technical or state schools. I think it is because the experience that they have goes beyond technical book learning. (LAC02-01)
Focusing on developing the adaptability skills by no means hampers students’ ability to make early decisions on their careers. Leadership and business are two fields that synergize well with liberal arts skill sets. A CIO of an Indiana-based LAC shared on how the broad curriculum framework is a natural greenhouse for future leaders regardless of their career aspirations:
The typical student will have a major where you take a deep dive into a particular discipline or major of interest, but you also have a broad type of experience of different types of disciplines that you learn, as well, which helps you make connections between things in ways that are very valuable, particularly for leaders in the world, to be able to have that well-rounded curricular disciplinary background. (LAC19-01)
The scope of vision facilitated to the best capability of a liberal arts college for students is also tailor-made for the profile of a business professional. A president of a California-based liberal
arts university shared his first-hand experience of learning assessment along with over 2000 businesses:
I was on the workforce advisory committee for ACT. And we actually developed Work- Cheese, which is an assessment tool that was developed with manufacturers and 2,000 businesses. They were very interested in mastery of certain skills. But fundamentally they were interested in “Can the graduate think critically? Do they understand all of their cultures? Can they take a project, start it and complete it? How are their people skills, how they interact with clients? How do they solve problems when they are confronted with problems?” All of those things, they are taught in the broadest sense in liberal arts colleges. (LAC18-01)
The profile of a highly adaptable LAC student does not finish without a “passion for making a difference in the world” (LAC11-01). Instead of “producing members of the workforce”, LACs produce “active citizens” (LAC01-01) who are able to make sound judgments about what’s best for the greater community and commit self-informed actions. The component of character development is strongly advocated in an LAC curriculum.
To help educate highly-adaptable students in the face of an increasingly complex and volatile world, most LACs adopt rigid practices of residentiality. These doctrinal practices facilitate a number of interwoven aspects of a liberal arts curriculum. Front and center is a wealth of co-curricular programs that substantially expands the boundaries of learning across “passing a test and getting a job”. These “non-academic ways of learning” through “student clubs, organizations, student government, fraternity, and sororities” (LAC05-01) are made more available by a high level of residentiality through rich after-class experiences. High residentiality also prolongs the day-to-day periods of student interaction with faculty and their peers, which is further enhanced by small school sizes, small class sizes, and low student-to-faculty ratios.
Overall, the education model of LACs and its strengths can be summarized by the following figure, with adaptability and residentiality being the two centerpieces supporting
various aspects and expectations of otherwise a highly diverse LAC population across the country.
Figure 14. Mind map of the strengths of the U.S. liberal arts colleges.
Liberal arts colleges are never short of distinct strengths that may or may not be known to the general public. These strengths range from broad institutional attributes to very minute and niche program offerings. However, never before has a coherent voice been heard as to how these strengths add up to something truly convincing. Re-establishing the strengths of LACs helps identify not only the strengths per se, but also the value propositions and jobs-to-be-done of these institutions. These are two areas where DI may or may not have a true impact.