Reclaiming the Value of the Liberal Arts for the 21st Century

Download the white paper to learn how some institutions are highlighting how the liberal arts prepare students for professional success, or scroll down to explore each strategy individually.

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Best practices to defend, communicate, and integrate liberal arts

Defend liberal arts in the era of accountability

In recent years, public debates about what education should look like in the twenty-first century have focused on the importance of career outcomes, shaping questions about what subjects colleges and universities should teach. One GOP presidential debate crystallized this issue when then-candidate Marco Rubio argued that the U.S. needed “more welders and less philosophers.” This comment reflects larger pressures to redirect higher education away from the liberal arts and toward professional majors and vocational training.

Alarmist headlines are all too familiar but there are more urgent pressures today, like student loan debt and the U.S. losing its competitive edge.

The fundamental question underlying these debates, whether higher education prepares students for their work and lives, is also an existential one. New alternatives in the form of short-format training and credentials purport to unbundle traditional degrees, or replace them altogether. Facing this outcomes-oriented rhetoric and the potential threat of disruptive new entrants, colleges and universities are feeling pressure to defend the value of a liberal arts degree and translate its practical benefits to the twenty-first century workplace.

Communicate the real-world relevance of the liberal arts

Students aren’t always aware of the transferable skills that they develop in liberal arts courses, so they struggle to articulate them to potential employers. Teach students to position their skills for different industries and employer needs by mapping assignments to professional competencies.

The following strategies are designed to help students and higher education institutions communicate the workplace relevance of a liberal arts education to employers, parents, and prospective students. Strategies range from low-cost approaches, such as identifying professional skills embedded in existing syllabi, to a significant investment in career services for liberal arts majors.

Strategies to communicate real-world value

1. Identify Transferable Skills in Existing Curricula

2. Target Broad Liberal Arts Skills to Specific Industries

3. Signal Commitment to Employment Outcomes

Integrate career preparation opportunities that help preserve a liberal arts focus

Employers frequently complain that recent graduates don’t possess all of the soft skills they need to succeed on the job. At the same time, employers expect more from their youngest employees and often place them in leadership positions. Help prepare your students with immersive experiences such as professional skills bootcamps, practical major concentrations, and online internships.

Helping liberal arts students identify and explain their relevant work skills helps prepare liberal arts graduates for career success, but ensuring that students acquire the right combination of professional skills is also critical for positioning liberal arts graduates on the job market.

A “T-shaped professional” has breadth of skills in universal disciplines like communication or management, as well as mastery of specific skills, processes, or a body of knowledge. These are the ideal employees because they possess both soft skills that allow them to collaborate (T-top), as well as technical skills that allow them to innovate (T-stem).

When employers complain that a “skills gap” makes it difficult for them to find qualified workers, often they are referring to a dearth of “T-Shaped Professionals.”