Founded in the American colonies and later on the frontier, the nation's liberal arts colleges were charged with providing a broad-based education that would prepare students for a wide variety of professions. These early institutions looked to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who, keenly aware that a successful republic required creative free…

Educators who recognize the need to clarify their programs' goals have focused much effort over the past decade on learning outcome statements that summarize complex academic ideas in succinct terms. But have the projects gone far enough? While faculty have worked to demystify disciplines and programs, the words they use still come across as…

Chris Allison was working as a public relations executive, and had no formal business training when his father phoned and asked him to take over the reins of his Pittsburgh telecom equipment business. His father needed to focus his energies on his other business which was struggling. Because of his Liberal Arts background Allison knew exactly what…

Our current higher education institutional structures have become so ingrained that many of these structures have gone unquestioned for more than a century. While it is true that we have created, to a significant degree, new "functions" for higher education, many of our "structures" endure. Two major disruptors--the influence…

Located just north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is one of the nation's federally funded military service academies. With an enrollment of approximately 4,400 undergraduates, the academy offers an integrated four-year curriculum of academics, athletics, leadership and character development, military…

The defining task for undergraduate departments is the design of a major, including the number and content of courses as well as other requirements. Department members must weigh the desire to produce graduates superbly prepared for further study against the charge that the major requires too large a share of an undergraduate's course options.…

The structure and results of a college faculty workshop in designing subject-area courses to promote critical thinking skills and intellectual development are reported. (MSE)

Experiential education, which takes students into the community, helps students both to bridge classroom study and life in the world and to transform inert knowledge into knowledge-in-use. It rests on theories of experiential learning, a process whereby the learner interacts with the world and integrates new learning into old constructs.…

The liberal arts develop the basic intellectual competencies necessary for leadership in modern society and, as highly reflective disciplines, also develop integrative thinking. In addition, a caring and committed undergraduate campus community offers a wealth of practical experience in exercising responsible leadership. (MSE)

Several approaches to problem solving are reviewed, followed by a brief overview of simulation, including its definition and some of the strong and weak points of the literature. It is argued that simulation is itself a problem-solving endeavor and that justifying the heuristic use of simulation requires evidence that it fosters general…

Asserts that the unity that comes out of a diverse society depends on the development of cognitive, social, and democratic skills, dispositions, and values. Explains that research is in progress as to how this can take place during the college years. (EV)

An analysis of critical appreciation as an essential element in a liberal education. Some of the questions addressed include: How can this ability be identified in students? When students exercise this ability, what do they do? How can this ability be developed, and how can it be assessed? (JMD)

The problem of moral education in the context of career preparation is discussed with reference to the Dickinson College program. Focus is on its career advising and curriculum elements and their relationship to student self-reflection and social analysis. (LBH)

A good liberal arts education is not a dress rehearsal for anything, but a real experience in maturing--intellectually and personally--and in developing the crucial skills of creativity, confidence, and curiosity. These skills are at least as important as the knowledge accumulated in class. (MSE)

A new approach to general education at Bowling Green State University based on "essential skills and functional understandings" is discussed. The model includes skills in: problem solving and critical thinking; reading and writing; computation and mathematics; listening and speaking; and decision-making and values-conflict resolution.…