In America, it’s a “scorecard” whether pitched by US News & World Report to increase revenue or the Obama Administration in a misguided but good faith effort to use research of varying standards to rate quality.
There are many different types of institutions offering different education models. But when consumers think about college, the first image that comes into the mind of many is that of the residential liberal arts college.
Let’s look at this descriptive language, beginning with the idea of the “liberal arts.”
In most staff and faculty meetings that I have been privileged to attend, the term “liberal arts” is a broad brush definition that speaks to the value of a well rounded education that prepares students to lead purposeful lives. The problem today is, however, that no one responds to a definition so broad that it lacks specificity. American consumers find it hard to find what the “it” of the definition is.
It’s hard but entirely necessary for those of us who believe that the liberal arts prepares us to think globally, learn from the past, and anticipate the future to accept that the best case for the liberal arts may be to restate the definition more pragmatically.
By illustration, the scorecard ratings are a bad use of the training provided by a liberal arts education. Good intentions can sometimes suffer from sloppy research. A better use of liberal arts training –setting the politics aside – would produce better scorecards.
