American universities began with the founding of Harvard in , which was modeled after Emmanuel College at Cambridge University. After the founding of Harvard and into the early s, several colleges were founded.
These colleges, like Harvard, were small, religiously affiliated institutions. Appropriate curriculum for these colleges became widely debated in the early part of the nineteenth century. As science and technology became more prevalent and began to shape the world, American society called upon its colleges to provide coursework that suited the new era. In reply to these demands, Yale President Jeremiah Day organized a committee to address the aforementioned debates.
The resultant document was "The Yale Report of The document further states that "the course of instruction which is given to undergraduates in the college is not designed to include professional studies. Our object is not to teach what is peculiar to any one of the professions; but to lay the foundation which is common to them all" p. Since its publication, "The Yale Report of " has become the classic argument for a liberal education and liberal arts colleges in the United States.
In the mid-nineteenth century, Americans began traveling to Germany to obtain their Ph. The influx of German-educated scholars into to the United States bought a new model for the American college, and created what is now the research university. During this same time, land-grant colleges and technical schools began to develop in the United States. All three of these new types of colleges were focused on specific training, and therefore were antithetical to the liberal arts college.
Many of the colleges that were founded on ideals closer to those of liberal arts colleges e. Harvard, Yale, Princeton became research universities. Other colleges purposefully chose to remain small and committed to a liberal education. Over time the American liberal arts college has become a small part of the American higher education system.
Yet the liberal arts college is flourishing at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Perhaps this is because the liberal arts college is unique in character or perhaps because of the unique character of the students that the liberal arts college produces. At the heart of the liberal arts colleges are their missions.
Most mission statements of liberal arts colleges endeavor to educate the whole student and emphasize education for its own sake rather than for job preparation. Liberal arts colleges tend to be small and private. Many liberal arts colleges have total enrollments of less than 2, students with low student-to-teacher ratios. They are also usually residential and value the idea of community. The liberal arts college is invested in teaching, and students and professors often collaborate with one another in the learning process.
However, our research also revealed that, for a subset of institutions, the percentage of professional degrees awarded actually decreased, which was unexpected. Of the eighty-two institutions that are no longer classified as liberal arts colleges today, we saw some noteworthy trends.
We identified a handful of institutions that were subsumed by other, larger institutions. This type of change was largely due to fiscal challenges and the threat of closure. While the reasons for these changes are not easily identified e. Our research confirms that these changes are still occurring. Although we documented a strong general trend toward more professional program offerings, there is also evidence that colleges are developing ad hoc responses consistent with their unique circumstances.
Many liberal arts institutions are gradually transforming their mission and programs but continue to define themselves as liberal arts colleges. They do this in spite of the fact that the liberal arts label, as Morphew and Hartley found, is less precise and meaningful than it once was.
Given our research findings and the questions concerning the status of liberal arts colleges that remain unanswered, we hypothesize that there may no longer be one dominant model of liberal arts college education. Instead, we may be seeing the emergence of multiple ways to achieve a liberal arts college education that are driven by a variety of factors, both external and internal to this sector of higher education. As this evolution continues, an obscured liberal arts college identity may become problematic for prospective students, recruiters, and educators.
The question of the current condition and future prospects of the liberal arts college is complex and engenders vigorous debate among stakeholders who represent different perspectives. Writing in an issue of Daedalus devoted exclusively to the liberal arts college, Neely painted a worrisome scenario according to which second-tier liberal arts colleges become more like small comprehensive colleges and universities as they continue to add vocational programs.
In contrast, he envisioned the well-endowed elite liberal arts colleges as potentially becoming an educational anachronism, centers of economic privilege too few in number and too isolated to influence higher education in general.
On the other hand, Spellman argues that liberal arts colleges have always adapted to the demands of their time and continue to do so today. Spellman, who has little concern about the growth of professional programs at liberal arts colleges, may be describing a new paradigm of liberal arts college education that is broader and more flexible than the old standard.
Throughout the history of American higher education, liberal arts colleges have played an influential role. Some appear to have integrated liberal and professional education intentionally and crafted a new model of liberal arts college education. As this process has unfolded, the focused mission of the liberal arts college has expanded and become more diffuse, which has led to less consensus on what a liberal arts college is or what type of education it delivers.
The trend Breneman first pointed out more than twenty years ago is continuing. Some liberal arts colleges are disappearing, while others are changing their curricular focus and approach to undergraduate education. An increasingly smaller number of these institutions have been able to maintain a dominant arts and sciences emphasis in their curricula. Liberal arts colleges have played an important role in US higher education in spite of their small size and the percentage of students they enroll.
The influence of this sector may be diminishing, however, as their numbers decrease and their educational focus becomes less clear. American higher education will be diminished if the number of liberal arts colleges continues to decline. We urge academic leaders, foundations officials, and public policy makers to take note of the trend David Breneman brought to our attention two decades ago.
We encourage these leaders to take steps to renew and reinvigorate these valuable institutions before liberal arts colleges disappear from the higher education landscape or shrink to the status of a minor educational enclave that serves only the academic and socioeconomic elite. Aldersley, S. Astin, A. Breneman, D. AAHE Bulletin , 43 2 : 3—6.
Washington, DC: Brookings Institution. Brint, S. Riddle, L. Turk-Bicakci, and C. Clark, B. Delucchi, M. Freeland, R. Hu, L. Kraatz, M. Organization Science 12 5 : —7. Liu, A. Sharkness, and J. Morphew, C. Pascarella, R. Wolniak, T. Seifert, T. Cruce, and C. Blaich, eds. Pascarella, E. How College Affects Students.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Shoenberg, R. Spellman, B. Vicki L. Baker is associate professor of economics and management at Albion College. Roger G. Baldwin is professor of educational administration at Michigan State University and a trustee of Hiram College. The authors wish to thank Donna Randall and Marie Kendall Brown for their assistance and advice during the completion of this study. To respond to this article, e-mail liberaled aacu. Join our email list. Search form Search. Current Issue.
Search Articles by Title. Table of Contents Overview. From the Editor. Colleges as Shining Cities on a Hill. The Confidence Factor in Liberal Education. Where Are They Now? Ethical Drift. Liberal Education. By: Vicki L. Baker, Roger G. Baldwin and Sumedha Makker. The challenges for liberal arts colleges Many powerful threats to the liberal arts college have been active in recent years. Are we losing our liberal arts colleges?
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