Liberal arts strongholds stand by their plans

Assumption President Francesco Cesareo believes liberal arts back up many careers.

Holy Cross’s Margaret Freije, vice president for academic affairs

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By Sam Bonacci

When Babson College came in first in Money Magazine's 2014 college rankings for educational value, beating out mainstays such as Harvard, it served notice to academia that the trade- and career-focused schools that had been perceived as ankle-biters to the established big dogs had drawn blood.

The traditional college education has been shaken since 2009 by new terminology in educational reviews: return on investment, job placement, and outcomes. These were shocking terms when applied to institutions that prided themselves on the prominence of some professors or how many tennis courts they had.

While many of those schools have added majors or shifted at least part of their focus to accommodate this shift, other liberal arts institutions have remained faithful to their missions. In Worcester, Holy Cross and Assumption are both committed to the traditional liberal arts education, and in fact are seeing even more value in it.

“The liberal arts (education) provides students with skills that are transferrable and flexible,” Assumption College President Francesco Cesareo said. “A company or business will be able to teach someone how they want them to do something in a particular setting.”

Liberal arts = more options

This wide focus also offers a wide range of employment options, he said, rather than pigeon-holing students with a tighter focus on one or two paths. With college graduates engaging in more than one career over their working lives, a liberal arts education, in the long run, allows students to fit into career options they cannot imagine today, Margaret Freije, vice president for academic affairs at Holy Cross, said. For example, jobs dealing with social media or the Internet could not have been anticipated 25 years ago.

A student educated in the liberal arts becomes a jack-of-all-trades ready to fit into a new career, she said. Students can think, learn and express thoughts in ways in which a more focused education can leave them lacking.

It also worked out for Assumption graduate Carolyn Clancy, an executive vice president at Fidelity Investments in Boston. Her liberal arts education provided her with a flexible degree that did not force her onto one specific career path, allowing her to work in different roles throughout her career.

“The jobs and roles we have today are going to be incredibly different than what is going to be available in five years, 10 years and 20 years,” she said.

Employers need people who can communicate, think critically and be good learners, Clancy said. Importantly, liberal arts also give students a varied perspective on the different cultures of the world.

“Increasingly, every firm is global and we have to be thinking about a global perspective,” she said. “Everybody has employees all over the world and clients all over the world.”

But getting a student into his or her first job after graduation is key, Cesareo and Freije say. In the wake of the emphasis on outcomes, the two schools have placed additional emphasis on internships and networking with alumni.

HC program focuses on financial literacy

Holy Cross has also created the Ciocca Office of Entrepreneurial Studies (COES) certificate program. While not a major or minor, this focus allows anyone to become financially literate through a series of workshops, an internship, and three suggested courses from a broad list. By giving students an understanding of business, it allows liberal arts majors to articulate and apply their skills in jobs they pursue after college, said David Chu, director of entrepreneurial studies at Holy Cross.

“The program is a bridge. It is designed to bridge the liberal arts Holy Cross education to their career on the other side,” he said. “This major is not going to determine a career, so we don't want an art history major to think the only option is working in a museum … we have history majors who are COES (students) and we have classics majors who are bankers on Wall Street, so we want to encourage students pursuing any career they want.”

Clark University has taken a different approach, launching the Liberal Education and Effective Practice (LEEP) program that pairs students' education with practical experiences that will help them when it's time to look for work.

Clark has a history of students becoming involved in the community, said Davis Baird, provost and vice president for academic affairs. But LEEP gives them specific projects to discuss with potential employers, he said.

When it comes down to it, said Freije, liberal arts schools offer a broader education than more trade-oriented schools. The education at Holy Cross is very different from that of a business school, she said, but that's the best part about education – there's a style and a focus for every student.

“The challenge is if we pretend it's all the same or if we pretend we can be all things to everyone, which we can't,” Freije said. “The challenge is how the 18-year-old or 17-year-old sorts through where to go.”