Remaking College: Innovation and the Liberal Arts - Rilegato

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 1421411342 ISBN 13: 9781421411347

Casa editrice: Johns Hopkins Univ Pr, 2014

Riassunto

As one of the most successful educational enterprises in American history, the residential liberal arts college has long been emulated across all spectrums of undergraduate education in the United States and increasingly around the world. These schools are characterized by broad-based curricula, small class size, and interaction between students and faculty. Aimed at developing students’ intellectual literacy and critical-thinking skills rather than specific professional preparation, the value proposition made by these colleges has recently come under intense pressure.

In light of rapid environmental changes and increasing calls for higher education to make access to college more affordable and to do more to prepare students for specific careers, what is the role of the American residential liberal arts college today? Can these institutions manage significant economic, technological, and demographic challenges while continuing to strengthen their offerings? How can they use the uncertain future to affirm their national role while expanding their global presence?

Both economic and strategic environments have developed to threaten these schools. Since 1990, for example, 35 percent of these institutions have transformed into "professional" colleges, adding more vocational fields to their curricula while others have closed their doors entirely. Is there a future for uniquely American institutions such as Vassar and Smith, Macalester and Pomona, Middlebury and Swarthmore?

Remaking College brings together a distinguished group of higher education leaders to define the American liberal arts model, to describe the challenges these institutions face, and to propose sustainable solutions. These essays elucidate the shifting economic and financial models for liberal arts colleges and consider the opportunities afforded by technology, globalism, and intercollegiate cooperative models. By exploring new ideas, offering bold proposals, and identifying emerging lessons, the authors consider the unique position these schools can play in their communities and in the larger world.

Su questo libro

Recensione:

"Two presidents assert that higher education will have to address spiraling costs and that some college―particularly regional liberal arts colleges―will have trouble surviving if they don't."

(Philadelphia Inquirer)

"Higher education is going under the microscope to prove its value. Add to that a growing chorus of pundits who believe that a liberal arts education is a waste of time and a relic of the past. But two college presidents argue in [Remaking College] that a liberal arts education is, in fact, crucial to not just boosting the economy but to solving many of the world’s problems."

(University Business)

"This spirited collection of essays offers lessons in what the rhetorician Richard Lanham once called ‘the oldest class in American education, the Seminar on the Future of the Liberal Arts.’ Across varying discussions, these leaders argue that ‘flexibility’ will continue to characterize the agility and adaptability that the liberal arts college produces in its graduates and reflects in its own longevity."

(The Key Reporter)

"This collection of essays by presidents and other leaders in higher education is both clear sighted about challenges facing small, liberal arts colleges and inspiring for the ways in which it clearly illustrates both the great flexibility of the sector and the deeply held values that fuel its continuing creativity."

(S. Georgia Nugent, Interim President, The College of Wooster)

L'autore:

Rebecca Chopp is president of Swarthmore College, where she focuses her work on the college’s role in cultivating a global intellectual community.Susan Frost is a consultant and researcher who works with college and university leaders to help them form and execute a strategic agenda, strengthen faculty development, and improve academic advising programs.Daniel H. Weiss is president of Haverford College. Previously, he served as president of Lafayette College for eight years.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Johns Hopkins Univ Pr
• Data di pubblicazione: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1421411342
• ISBN 13: 9781421411347
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero di pagine: 212
• Redattore: Chopp Rebecca, Frost Susan, Weiss Daniel H.