1.What is the meaning of a liberal arts education? How do colleges define it today? Is it just a tool to promote an idea they want to sell? Does any college truly embody “liberal arts education”?
2.Who decides that a liberal education matters more than a career-oriented one? Or vice versa? Is it politicians? Policy makers?
3.Humphreys claims that within the next few years, there will not be enough college-educated people to fill the necessary jobs. Isn’t there a decrease in hiring at this point in time? Is that expected to continue? If so, how are we to understand these two pieces of information?
4.It seems that there is a new movement to assess competence and not just hours spent in classroom. Should there also be a way to test for competence in regards to liberal arts knowledge, ie reasoning, social responsibility, practical skills, etc?
5.Are employers expecting too much by wanting employees who have a broad and wide depth of knowledge? Is this an unrealistic expectation?
6.The critique on liberal arts education claims that one can teach himself all the things that a liberal arts education is said to impart and it is therefore a waste to give money to colleges to do just that. Is this a valid argument? Can people learn reasoning and civic responsibility from online classes and self-motivated learning?
7.Coulson seems to be bemoaning a lack of initiative on the part of today’s generation and not so much the “myth” of a liberal arts education. What exactly is he trying to say here?
8.We’ve spoken about mission creep, but is it possible that colleges are trying to be something they’re not because that’s where the money is? Some colleges have expanded their scope because they weren’t pulling in enough applicants by having such a narrow niche. Is it possible that the real crux of the matter here is economics? Is it also possible that student demand is part of what drives the mission creep we see?
9.Is the new focus on vocational training a result of the current economic situation or has it been years in the making? Why is this push happening now?
10.Employers want people who can work well with others, but this isn’t necessarily something a liberal arts education can impart. Even vocational training can do this. Is this skill a relevant part of the LA arguments?
11.It seems that colleges are doing a poor job of effectively conveying to the public what they are really saying. For example, small private colleges may have a huge price tag but the actual price you pay is much less. Or, for example, these small colleges often promote liberal arts education, which some studies have shown increases income after college. Yet, somehow, the public does not know this information. Why is that? What are these colleges doing wrong?
12.Is higher ed in crisis or not?
13.A few articles (and Nussbaum) have compared the liberal arts argument and rhetoric to religious rhetoric. How true is this claim?
14.Does economic growth need a liberal arts education or not? Nussbaum is arguing that employers decry it as useless but surveys of employers indicate that they do, in fact, want the skills most people are supposed to get from a liberal arts education. What is the reality here?
