Liberal Arts: Lessons from the US Experience

1. Liberal Arts: Lessons from the US Experience Natalie Zacek, University of Manchester

2. Forbes Top US Colleges/Universities, 2013 • #2 Pomona College • #6 Swarthmore College • #9 Williams College • #13 Amherst College • #17 Bowdoin College • And 12 other liberal arts colleges in the top 50 • Source: http://www.forbes.com/top-colleges/

3. What are these colleges like? • Total enrollments: between 1500 and 2500 students • Total cost per year: $55,000 - 60,000 • Acceptance rates: 13 – 21% of applicants • Alumni donation rates: 52 – 56% of graduates

4. Advantages of the liberal arts education • Faculty held to very high standards for teaching • Small classes, even in the sciences • Commitment to integrated teaching • More research-led teaching • Extensive informal contacts between staff and students • Focus on excellence in writing

5. What probably isn’t possible to replicate • Small intakes of students • Small individual modules • Complete curricular flexibility • Financial and administrative independence

6. What we might be able to replicate • Pay more than lip service to teaching in hiring and promotion • Accept that we may have to teach more—but savings can be reinvested • Replace modular, exam-centred assessment with holistic curricular development • Rethink the “reading a subject” model • Focus on skills as much as knowledge

7. And, most crucially: • Be far clearer and more assertive about the value of the humanities in terms of employability and economic contribution, as well as in relation to intellectual satisfaction.

8. What might we gain? • Students who are more capable and confident, and thus more employable • A more cohesive student body • Academic staff who feel a greater sense of control over what and how they teach, and who see themselves as making a real difference in their students’ development • Greater alumni loyalty