A recent piece in the Chronicle highlighted Bates College and other institutions that provide opportunities for real-life work as an important part of the undergraduate experience. Bethel University, a member of NetVUE located in St. Paul, Minnesota, offers another solid example of how faith, work and the liberal arts can come together in a dynamic way. They highlight how the “timeless tradition” of the liberal arts can be married to a 21st century education that instills the “soft skills” desired by companies such as Google:
Among the eight most important qualities of Google’s top managers, seven were soft skills, including areas like communication, listening, empathy, and critical thinking and problem solving.
An education at Bethel, however, reaches beyond these “marketable skills.” Continue reading
Higher education is facing a number of structural challenges, from a change in demographics to the rising costs of retaining full-time faculty. These challenges are particularly acute in small colleges and universities that offer a mentor-intensive liberal arts education but face strong competition and financial challenges. I sat down with Randy Bass, Vice Provost of Education at Georgetown University, to talk about his new book (co-authored with Bret Eynon) 