You can acquire knowledge, understanding, and habits of mind by studying James Joyce that are invaluable in a variety of ways and that many employers would like to see in their employees. What multinational organization, for instance, does not want professionals who, blending accepted wisdom with forward thinking, can critically assess business…

G. Rumay Alexander is a leader working to transform nursing education and address systemic racism within the nursing profession and the health care system more broadly. At the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, Alexander serves as clinical professor at the School of Nursing and assistant dean for relational excellence at the Adams…

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…

When Charles William Eliot launched his radical reforms at Harvard in the late 1870s, he was convinced that the fixed curriculum, based on English liberal education models, was ill suited to the democratic spirit, the cultural diversity, and the rapidly changing circumstances in America. Seventy years later, in a post-World War II climate of…

The author believes there are three conceptual and somatic (from the Greek, meaning "of the body") changes that could be made in order to better educate the student body and, thereby, help sustain the intellectual and social relevance of the liberal arts as a program of study. First, the commitment to what Sir Ken Robinson has called "the…

In this article, the author suggests that college educators need to do more than tell students how to expand upon their careerist reasons for going to college; they also need to help them "feel" the value of that expansion. The author recognizes that this is part of the motivation for proposed structural changes to undergraduate education, such as…

In this article, the author offers reflections on the impact of mobile technology for liberal education. These reflections are based on his own experience of incorporating iPads in his communication courses during the 2010-2011 academic year. As a member of an interdisciplinary faculty learning community on the use of mobile tablets, he explored…

The American higher education system, arguably the mightiest arrow in America's competitiveness quiver, is facing a perfect storm. Government support is declining, and tuition is rising; international competition for student and faculty talent is intensifying; and a technological revolution in pedagogy is gathering momentum. Academia, government,…

As far as the foundational education of artists and designers is concerned, there is a sense that the natural sciences are of marginal importance, that they deal primarily with matters of material fact rather than the concerns of critical thought or cultural discourse. The author contends that the natural sciences can be quintessential liberal…

As the leader of the nation's only campus dedicated exclusively to early college, the author heads an institution that ensures students graduate sooner than the national average. As an academic who pursued her graduate work at Oxford University--an institution that confers most of its undergraduate degrees in three years--the author has had direct…

Recognition of the importance of outcomes related to moral and ethical development, other dimensions of personal development, and civic engagement is a result of decades of educational reform. But have colleges and universities succeeded in helping students achieve these outcomes? In this article, the author shares his personal reflections on…

In this article, the author discusses seven critical lessons for navigating a leadership position in higher education. The author focuses on developing a personal means of remaining centered regardless of circumstances or situations as well as building an ethical foundation for one's work. He uses spiraling as a metaphor to describe his own…

Though student-designed programs have been justified by references to humanism, systems theory, and romantic idealism, a more secure foundation lies in developmental theory. When properly advised, it is suggested, student-designed programs resemble the most desirable processes of liberal education. (Author/MLW)

Colleges can create conditions to maximize the learning that occurs in an environment with a diverse student population. Studies indicate that students who interact with diverse peers demonstrate more complex thinking linked to both cognitive and to social development. Research literature provides strong support for institutional commitment to…

Aspects of the small liberal arts college's environment that contribute to the intellectual and personal development of faculty as well as students include accessibility, visibility, flexibility, the institution's desire for interdisciplinary inquiry, and a reward system for scholarship. (MSE)