1. The Importance of a
Liberal Arts Education
CARLY ANNE RAVNIKAR
2012

2. Overview
Answer the Question:
Why is a liberal arts education important to undergraduate students?
 Evidence of effectiveness in achieving outcomes
 Significance of those outcomes to the undergraduate student
 The “true value” of liberal arts

3. The University of Wisconsin-Parkside is committed to:
Offering high-quality academic programs
rooted in the tradition of a liberal education
in the arts, sciences and
professions, responsive to the
occupational, civic and cultural needs of the
region

4. What is a Liberal Arts Education?
A liberal arts education emphasizes “practical skills, regardless of field of
study or intended career”
This includes (but is not limited to):
 “moral reasoning […] and problem solving”
 “inclination to inquire and lifelong learning”
 “intercultural effectiveness”
 “leadership”
(Seifert et al, 2008, p. 108, 121)

5. Even More …
 Effective communication
 Critical thinking
 Ethic and civic responsibility
 Quantitative literacy
(Anderson, 2012, p. 3)

6. How Do We Know That?
There is “empirical evidence for the benefits of liberal arts education.”
Who cares, dude?
Evidence!
… mrph
(Seifert et al, 2008, p. 122-123)

7. Employability

8. What do Employers Want In an Employee?
Association of American Colleges and Universities study revealed:
 89% “wanted more emphasis on „the ability to effectively
communicate orally and in writing”
 81% wanted “critical thinking sand analytical reasoning skills”
 70% wanted “the ability to innovate and be creative”
(Zernike, 2009, p. 2)

9. What do Employers Want In an Employee?
“Employers say all the time that they value clarity
of writing and verbal expression, and that they
often find liberal-arts graduates expert in both.”
(Meacham, 2010, p. 2)

10. Can You Guess What They Have In Common?
Liberal arts education prepares students “to
take on responsibilities of leadership.”
(Weight, 2010, p. 5)

11. Liberal Arts Develops Leadership
“Leadership programs for students, when combined
with curricula that focus upon leadership […] and
coupled with extracurricular programs that engage
students with their communities, can produce liberally
educated social entrepreneurs who are committed to
addressing social problems through innovative
solutions that are empowering and produce value-
added outcomes.”
(Hines, 2005, p. 6)

12. Liberal Arts Equates Management Potential
Liberal arts develops “skills that corporate American
now clamors for in college graduates” and
“these skills are tools for intellectuals and the managerial class.”
(Anderson, 2012, p. 3)

13. But …
… That‟s not what makes liberal arts important …

14. The True Value

15. It‟s More
It‟s more than “merely vocational training” (Colletta, 2010, p. 1).
It‟s more than “getting books from the
library, making copies of articles, and
proofreading documents” (Weight, 2010, p. 9).

16. It‟s More
“The liberal arts are not valuable because
they are useful politically or vocationally.
They are valuable because they are what
constitute real knowledge.”
“These are attributes that construct
citizens, not merely workers.”
(Colletta, 2010, p. 2, 4)

17. Expect More
The “ideal-liberally educated student of the twenty-first century is
a lifelong learner who is open-minded, tolerant, intellectually
curious, courageous, self-actualizing” (Hines, 2005, p. 4).
This student “values education for its own sake” (Weight, 2010, p. 4).

19. The Importance Revealed
A liberal arts education prepares
“people for a good life,
not just the good life.”
(Meacham, 2010, p. 2)

20. Go Fill Your Toolbox!
“The truth is …
students think too much about majors …
… but the major isn‟t nearly as important as the
toolbox of skills you come out with and the
experiences you have.”
(Zernike, 2009, p. 3)

21. References
Anderson, J. M. (2012). Why Community-College Students Need Great Books. Chronicle Of Higher
Education, 58(29), A68. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Colletta, L. (2010). The Ultimate Utility of Nonutility. Academe, 96(5), 28-31. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Hines Jr., S. M. (2005). The Practical Side of Liberal Education: An Overview of Liberal Education and
Entrepreneurship. Peer Review, 7(3), 4-7. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Meacham, J. (2010). IN DEFENSE OF THE LIBERAL ARTS. Newsweek, 155(3), 5. Retrieved from
EBSCOhost.
Seifert, T., Goodman, K., Lindsay, N., Jorgensen, J., Wolniak, G., Pascarella, E., & Blaich, C. (2008). The
Effects of Liberal Arts Experiences on Liberal Arts Outcomes. Research In Higher
Education, 49(2), 107-125. doi:10.1007/s11162-007-9070-7. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Weight, G. (2010). The Integrity and Integrality of Student Research at a Liberal Arts College. Peer
Review, 12(2), 9-12. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Zernike, K. (2009). Making College „Relevant.‟ New York Times. Retrieved from NYTimes.Com.