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[quote=Anonymous]I dont wasn’t to hijack the thread but I’m the previous poster that asked why Denison is not considered a liberal arts school and I was legitimately interested in hearing the answer as my DC is a Denisonian.

I somewhat expected the answer that was provided and I think both sides have merit. I firmly believe that attending a liberal arts college and learning for the sake of learning is one of the biggest luxuries we can provide our children. And when I looked at the books my DC was buying this year for school I was pretty impressed - my son is going to be educated. When I went to school I had a pragmatic approach and frankly it served me well. But I didn’t have the luxury to learn for the sake of learning. And I took some interesting courses - logic and economics were fun and I enjoyed being exposed to psych and sociology but I was on a mission to get a degree so that I could get a job and start a career. Always seemed so short sided in hindsight.

So I believe in the core mission of the liberal arts. And yet the reality is that the world has gotten smaller, there’s a surfeit of labor,  and despite the news reports we are living through very uncertain economic times. So colleges like Denison are trying to straddle both worlds and set the tone that while enjoying the luxury of a liberal arts college experience, young people have a bit of the pragmatism I had, by necessity, all those years ago. Frankly if I hadn’t done ok in life I might not have the mindset I have  and my DC would be studying accounting or what I would call a hard major. So I quess see both sides as I remember being slightly turned off at Hobart when their admissions folks had a strong focus on results. It does feel to be a sign of the times and yet I do believe it is messaging that is being embraced by the 2nd and 3rd tier SLACs. And that is not necessarily a knock against them but I think the very top SLACs have the recruiting and networking that can solely focus on academics. But that’s a rarefied list as schools as well regarded as Colgate and W&L are pretty focused on outcomes. They may not have to market it as such given their on campus recruiting and networks but they both have a pre-professional feel. I do see a time when most schooling is online and vocational in nature and a true liberal arts education is reserved for the learned and wealthy. But when that happens we will need a lot less SLACs so it is understandable that during what I see as a period of transition that some schools try to figure out how to best provide value.

And to try and close the circle I do believe the CTCL marketing or branding is effective and that these schools provide a real value. The branding opened my mind that my DC could attend a SLAC even if the grades or the money didn’t allow an ED application to the Amherst’s and the Middlebury’s of the world. Sorry to hijack the thread but I think it’s a topic worth discussing especially for parents considering CTCL schools.[/quote]

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