Alverno College, a Catholic liberal arts college for women with an enrollment of 1,100, instituted competency-based learning in 1973. Subsequent problems as well as benefits are addressed, along with a review of student and faculty attitudes toward the program and the school's president. (LBH)

Heidelberg College's international program has grown from a handful of juniors studying abroad to a range of international opportunities that reaches into the lives of students, staff, and faculty, and the local community. The English language program, internationalizing student life and faculty, and changing the curriculum are discussed. (MLW)

The variety of efforts made by several hundred small liberal arts colleges in the areas of classroom instruction, individual student supervision, academic advising, and orientation programs to foster a context in which student-faculty interaction becomes more likely is examined. (MSE)

This study used the case study method and focus group interviews to examine: (1) which of the economic impacts of a small liberal arts college on its community are important; (2) whether economic impact can be estimated economic impact studies; and (3) whether such studies influence public opinion about the college's economic impact. Two focus…

Wheaton College, a small liberal arts college for women, has begun integrating women's experiences into the mainstream of learning, to bring a gender-balanced perspective to the traditional liberal arts. A project funded by a grant from the Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education is described. (MLW)

Liberal arts colleges have abandoned their goal of education for the university-college model of education-for-a-job. The need for a new model is discussed. Colleges need to establish a central theme: "a curricular career of learning how to learn and accepting the responsibilities of leadership." (Author/MLW)

Five strategies used by Rollins College to improve retention are discussed, including examining longitudinal trends, developing and testing hypotheses about the reasons for student dissatisfaction and departure, setting goals for retention improvement, designing and implementing strategies, and measuring progress and assessing programs. (MSE)

The approaches taken by Alverno College, Clayton State College, DePaul University, James Madison University, Northeast Missouri State University, and Rhode Island College in using the results of student assessment productively are described. (MSE)

The relationship between faculty morale/satisfaction and various dimensions of the organizational culture of liberal arts colleges was examined, with focus on ten colleges. The power of organizational culture is made evident and reinforced through symbolic events and structures. (MLW)

Faculty members spent their time reading, thinking, and talking about American values at the Wye Faculty Seminar on the Maryland Eastern Shore. The seminar draws academics from small liberal-arts colleges and representives from business, government, and the media to exchange ideas on American social and political values. (MLW)

The commitment of a small liberal arts college to academic and administrative computer use and to the computer literacy of its students is described and illustrated. Some of the potential problems are discussed, including faculty burnout, the institution-wide impact of program development, and additional planning needs. (MSE)

A study at a small liberal arts college found grades earned in a required, interdisciplinary freshman year seminar (FYS) were better predictors of academic achievement and persistence than high school rank, Scholastic Assessment Test scores. FYS grades were found a useful substitute for cognitive and noncognitive variables that correlate with…

A total of 554 liberal arts colleges are analyzed in terms of stability or growth, full-time equivalence (FTE), part-time, female, undergraduate and graduate enrollment patterns. The institutions were divided into two groups: (1) 123 leading baccalaureate granting institutions classified by the Carnegie Council as Liberal Arts I (LA I) and (2) the…

This report covers the activities of a program designed to strengthen traditional career planning services, to augment the liberal arts program, and to integrate students' educational and vocational development. A review and evaluation are included for: (1) major program components, i.e., student workshops, faculty efforts, practicums, and the…

The efforts and problems of Occidental College, a small, selective liberal arts college in Los Angeles, to bridge the gap between the college and the multicultural city by substantially increasing minority enrollment and faculty are discussed. Lack of faculty and administrative support and the declining applicant pool are among the barriers to…