Meeting the Challenge: - The Council of Independent Colleges

John R. Thelin
things grow in the shape, structure, process, and results of undergraduate education.
in the social and behavioral sciences are more likely to
cooperate with each other on interdisciplinary research and
teaching that involves cutting across departmental lines than
their faculty counterparts who teach in large departments at
research universities.
The Impact of the
Small College Experience
Independent small colleges have gained confidence
and momentum by publicizing the studies that document
their innovations and contributions. One finding that
emerged from numerous studies as far back as the 1960s was
that “small size” appeared to be correlated with many of the
positive characteristics of undergraduate education—student
satisfaction, high rates of persistence, high levels of degree
completion, changes in attitudes and values, and cognitive
growth. But small size is more than just the correlate of a
good undergraduate education. A small student body and
small course enrollments are roots from which many good
things grow in the shape, structure, process, and results of
undergraduate education.
Put another way, small size by itself has never
been a guarantee against poor teaching or an uninspired
student experience. However, an institution that grew large,
whether by accident or design, faced an increasingly difficult
task of promoting student engagement with the campus
experience or fostering positive student-faculty interaction
in the classroom. Alexander Astin found that a large number
of independent colleges used small size as the structural
base from which to create and improve undergraduate
experiences.
Thanks to increasingly sophisticated tools of analysis
in the social and behavioral sciences, combined with
institutional and national student databases, researchers since
the 1970s have been able to discern the impact of institutions
on the thinking, values, and experiences of their students.
Positive results were most pronounced in the independent
liberal arts colleges that were also academically selective and
financially strong. Even more significantly, the liberal arts
colleges that were not among the most selective or wealthiest
also had strong records in these areas of influence.
Higher education analysts have tended to give
primary attention to the data on student enrollment,
retention, and bachelor’s degree completion rates—a
preoccupation, in other words, with courses and degree
programs. In addition to that understandable focus, it is also
important to look at how participating in extracurricular
activities at small colleges contributes to a student’s collegiate
experience—as a partner to, not at odds with, the formal
curriculum. Indeed, a growing body of research indicates that
students who are more involved in campus activities outside
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