School of thought: Higher education has become all about training for a job. The liberal arts are out.
School of thought, No. 2: In a fluid, information-driven economy that may require workers to have several careers ”“ let alone several jobs ”“ within a lifetime, broad-based skills are prized. The liberal arts are in.
Well, which is it? One? Two? Both? Neither? And what”™s a student facing one of the worst job markets to come down the pike in a long time to do?
“It”™s talking out of both sides of the mouth,” says Samuel Abrams, a professor of politics at Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers. “How to adjudicate generalization and yet balance that with the desire to be focused:Â It”™s a huge problem colleges can”™t fix.”
The big, prestigious liberal arts schools ”“ the Harvards and the Princetons ”“ can afford to offer students a wide liberal arts curriculum alone, knowing that the school”™s name will get potential job seekers at least in the door, Abrams says. The smaller, lesser-known liberal arts colleges don”™t necessarily have that luxury.
Though he teaches at one of the premier liberal arts institutions in the nation, Abrams worries about students being stretched too thin in an age of many distractions and poor job prospects.
“You hate to say it,” he says, “but they need to be focused on training.”
Other educators are also casting a wary eye on the job market but are more concerned about their students narrow-casting.
“To me, the liberal arts foundation is as important as ever,” says Richard H. Thompson, dean of the School of Arts & Sciences, The College of New Rochelle. “We”™re looking at the liberal arts to help people communicate effectively, write persuasively and think logically. We know there”™s a place for advanced training. But at the undergraduate level, you need a broader foundation. ”¦ So you can move forward and explore other options.”
Thompson offers the example of College of New Rochelle alumna Kelly Allen, who returned to the school recently to give a talk. Though she works in eBook publishing, she majored in the classics.
Even in The College of New Rochelle”™s professional schools, like the School of Nursing, he adds, half the credits are in the arts and sciences.
Colleges, then, are still offering the classic liberal arts education, says Warren Rosenberg, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Iona College. What has changed is how that education is couched:
“I think some of what you”™re seeing is marketing to attract students and parents in a complex economy. ”¦ The reality is we”™re still preparing students with a liberal arts education even though it doesn”™t look like it. It”™s the area of the major that has more career preparation. ”¦ The major field has a more professional or vocational tilt.”
This is what employers want, Rosenberg says. He cites the recently released study, “Raising the Bar: Employers”™ Views on College Learning in Wake of the Economic Downturn,” in which Hart Research Associates in Washington D.C. ”“ acting on behalf of The Association of American Colleges and Universities ”“ surveyed some 300 executives at companies and nonprofits that had at least 25 employees. The respondents said their preference was for graduates of four-year colleges with a mix of broad and in-depth skills to cope with a continuingly troubled global economy.
These executives said colleges need to do a better job of striking the balance between a general education and a specific course of study. The No. 1 skill that employers wanted colleges to focus on ”“ more than new technological developments and a global context ”“ was the ability to communicate effectively, in speech and in print (No. 2 was the ability to think critically).
“Employers are looking for so-called ”˜soft”™ skills ”“ reading, writing, leadership,” says Angela Cherubini, director of career counseling at Sarah Lawrence.
Students get these in a good liberal arts school. But ironically, they don”™t always communicate them to potential employers.
In career preparation, Cherubini says, Sarah Lawrence stresses the cover letter and the resumé to ensure that the cognitive skills section is prominently featured.
It only makes sense that if you”™re good at thinking and writing, your introduction to a potential employer should reflect that.
