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      One of the major factors in my decision to even apply to Bryn Mawr was that it is a liberal arts college. The term liberal arts implies a certain looseness, that the curriculum is flexible and is open to being molded for each individual student. One of the sources I found was about the first year seminars that many liberal arts colleges have. One of the interesting things in it was that these seminars are becoming more linked with various disciplines instead of being constrained to one subject area. I also found a New York Times article from 1995 about a new accreditation agency for liberal arts schools. It said that the specialization goes against the real goal of colleges, which is to turn out people who can adapt to various situations. My last source,The Association of American Colleges and Universities, has a page on its website about practicing liberal arts education. This page discusses reasons why the liberal arts are prized or despised, and then takes the view that the liberal arts have changed greatly in the past and that it is going to have to change even more.

      The impression I received from these sources is that while liberal arts colleges have been around for a long time, they are continuously changing. There are efforts to reform the various ways in which these colleges try to achieve their goals and even the goals themselves.

 

Works Cited

"College Seminars for First-Year Students: Information from Answers.com." Answers.com: Wiki Q&A combined with free online dictionary, thesaurus, and encyclopedias. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. <http://www.answers.com/topic/college-seminars-for-first-year-students>.

Honan, William H. "A New Group Will Accredit Some Colleges." New York Times 6 Aug. 1995. Www.nytimes.com. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. <http://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/06/us/a-new-group-will-accredit-some-colleges.html>.

"Publications | Practicing Liberal Education." Association of AmericanColleges and Universities. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. <http://www.aacu.org/publications/practicing_liberal_education.cfm>.