Social, economic, and market conditions have posed a serious threat to the survival of small schools. This book focuses on the adaptation of small, private, and predominantly liberal arts colleges to the changing conditions and demands of higher education. The ability of small schools to remain a force in the American system of higher education is a compelling story and an example of the strategic management of academic organizations. The history and accomplishments of one school in particular, Keuka College in New York State, is profiled in detail, with emphasis on the role of the administration and the faculty in institutional decision-making. The study found that the increasing pressures to respond quickly to external conditions require a willingness to make decisions that often challenge traditional norms in the relationship between administration and faculty. The book also examines recent initiatives of other schools to competitively position themselves Accepting the reality that all colleges and universities compete for students, small schools have demonstrated an extraordinary ability to apply new and creative management practices, many of which are examined in the book. In addition to academic leaders, other audiences such as boards, faculty, historians and scholars of higher education will find the book a valuable reference.

Social, economic, and market conditions have posed a serious threat to the survival of small schools. This book focuses on the adaptation of small, private, and predominantly liberal arts colleges to the changing conditions and demands of higher education. The ability of small schools to remain a force in the American system of higher education is a compelling story and an example of the strategic management of academic organizations. The history and accomplishments of one school in particular, Keuka College in New York State, is profiled in detail, with emphasis on the role of the administration and the faculty in institutional decision-making. The study found that the increasing pressures to respond quickly to external conditions require a willingness to make decisions that often challenge traditional norms in the relationship between administration and faculty. The book also examines recent initiatives of other schools to competitively position themselves Accepting the reality that all colleges and universities compete for students, small schools have demonstrated an extraordinary ability to apply new and creative management practices, many of which are examined in the book. In addition to academic leaders, other audiences such as boards, faculty, historians and scholars of higher education will find the book a valuable reference.

The value proposition of the public liberal arts colleges is that they provide the quality of education typically associated with esteemed private liberal arts colleges at a comparably lower cost. These institutions emphasize access and affordability, and a rich and rigorous undergraduate education in "small" residential settings, making this type of education available to students who otherwise could not afford it. Given the decline nationally in state funding of public higher education, demographic shifts affecting who goes to college and how, the “disruption” of technology, and the public questioning of the value of a liberal arts degree, this dissertation looks at how three public liberal arts colleges are responding to these changes and how both the changes and institutional responses to them are shaping or reshaping their mission.

A decade ago, the majority of liberal arts colleges, suffering from a decline in resources, drifted from their traditional missions. This study looks at three insitutions and suggests that a clear mission is more than a common goal.

Prospective college students and their parents have been relying on Loren Pope's expertise since 1995, when he published the first edition of this indispensable guide. This new edition profiles 41 colleges—all of which outdo the Ivies and research universities in producing performers, not only among A students but also among those who get Bs and Cs. Contents include: Evaluations of each school's program and "personality" Candid assessments by students, professors, and deans Information on the progress of graduates This new edition not only revisits schools listed in previous volumes to give readers a comprehensive assessment, it also addresses such issues as homeschooling, learning disabilities, and single-sex education.

Liberal arts colleges strived to adapt to environmental shifts at the turn of the twenty-first century and remain relevant in American society while the Great Recession of 2007 compounded their challenges and created new fiscal and enrollment burdens, which forced these institutions to confront paradigm-changing circumstances. In an effort to advance the historical perspective of liberal arts colleges and expand the organizational adaptation research base, the current study aimed to understand how private liberal arts colleges adapted during the Great Recession of 2007 by examining institutional changes at three private liberal arts colleges and their effects on the institutions' operations. To fulfill this purpose, the study was guided by four research questions that studied the nature of the environmental pressures during the recession, the adaptive strategies employed to combat pressures, the effects of those strategies on the institutions' operations, and institutional constituencies' perceptions of these strategies. This multiple-case study analyzed data from 3 liberal arts colleges located in the southeastern region of the United States, which included 30 participant interviews, public and private documents, and observational field notes. The findings were presented in 2 parts---a descriptive case record of each institution and a cross-case comparative analysis of the study's themes as they related to the study's research questions. The findings focused on the challenges of decreased endowments and increased enrollment pressures; described an array of institutional adaptive strategies implemented in areas of fiscal management, academics, athletics, personnel, fundraising, and enrollment; discussed the changing operations of the role of the board, administrative approaches to leadership and decision-making, and faculty involvement in organizational adaptation; and analyzed perceptions of change that linked organizational effectiveness to leadership and institutional identity. The study's themes were examined within the context of Cameron's (1984) and Birnbaum's (1988) organizational adaptation frameworks, which included the population ecology, life cycles, resource dependence, symbolic action, and cybernetics models. Finally, recommendations for future research, policy, and practice focused on issues of self-governance and institutional identity. The study's investigation of the modern liberal arts college adaptation highlighted the prominence of both the external environment and institutional factors in its story of survival.

There is much change underway in American higher education. New technologies are challenging the teaching practices of yesterday, distance learning is lauded, and private firms offer to certify the educational credentials that businesses and others will deem satisfactory. In this new environment, America's liberal arts colleges propound a quite different set of values. Their continuing faith in the liberal arts--not as the nineteenth century chose to define them but as the twenty-first century will be obliged to reconsider them--is being tested.Distinctively American examines the American liberal arts college as an institution, from its role in the lives of students, to its value as a form of education. It explores the threats faced by liberal arts colleges as well as the transformative role, both positive and negative, information technology will play in their future development and survival. In the preface introducing the volume, Stephen Graubard examines the history of the American liberal arts colleges, from their early disdained reputations in comparison to European schools, to their slow rise to becoming "world-class universities."This important volume explores the triumphs and challenges of one segment of the American higher educational universe. It also addresses a larger question: What ought this country be teaching its young, the many millions who now throng its colleges and universities? Distinctively American is essential reading for all concerned with the future of higher education.