Week to celebrate liberal arts education

Cornell College and other colleges are celebrating Liberal Arts Education Week Aug. 19 through 25 by sharing this comparative survey in which graduates of residential liberal arts colleges give their college experience higher marks than do graduates of private or public universities.

The national study was commissioned by the Annapolis Group, a consortium of America’s leading liberal arts colleges. There are four Annapolis Group colleges in Iowa: Cornell, Coe, Grinnell and Luther colleges. Among the study’s career-related findings were that more than three-quarters of liberal arts college graduates felt well-prepared for their first job.

Earlier this year Cornell Dean Joe Dieker wrote about the relevance of the liberal arts at Cornell and in the world at large in the 21st century. Dieker pointed to the ways students study, live on campus, interact with each other and faculty, and take part in interdisciplinary programs as examples of the ways the liberal arts are still alive on campus.

From the beginning of their time at Cornell students are encouraged to collaborate with their advisors and told about the way liberal arts education differs from other formats.

You can find out more about the value and benefits liberal arts colleges offer here.