Lenoar Foster
Education
University of Montana-Missoula
If you ask parents, legislators, and even college students themselves, they will tell you that higher education in America is being critically assailed today because of its failure to accomplish three important tasks: (1) to provide an academic environment for students where instruction is provided by the very best professors; (2) to meaningfully engage students in academic pursuits which are both personally and professionally rewarding; and (3) to provide a communal atmosphere on campus where students can work collaboratively with faculty in projects that contribute to the world of academe and to the outside world as well. All of these competing demands can fill a plate pretty quickly, but Loren Pope contends in Colleges That Change Lives that there are least 40 such schools, dispersed throughout the country, that more than meet the challenge. Pope, founder of the College Placement Bureau in Washington, D.C., author of several articles and two books on choosing the right college, and a frequent contributor to meetings of the National Association of College Admissions Counselors, profiles these 40 colleges which he feels both defy and exceed the stereotype of the "designer label or Ivy League college" because these institutions offer an opportunity to succeed to the 97% of students who just don't happen to fit that calibre.
Although many of the colleges described in the book are not household names, some, such as Clark University (the second oldest graduate institution in the country after Johns Hopkins), Grinnell College, and St. John's College enjoy long and enviable records and reputations in the lexicon of higher education for the caliber of their faculties, the rigor of their academic programs, and the contemporary innovations in higher education which they have pioneered and which have been emulated by other institutions. What, then, makes these 40 institutions (38 private sectarian/nonsectarian and 2 publicly supported institutions) so adept at being responsive to the needs of that 97% of college students who don't get admitted to Ivy League institutions, who need a little extra confidence to succeed, and who turn out eventually to be leaders of industry and business, first rate academicians, inventors, and involved and contributing citizens? Two things, according to the author. One, these schools are staffed by faculties who are dedicated to the pursuit of aiding their charges to develop their optimal learning powers (albeit against a backdrop of less than Ivy League accomplishments, although there are some). Two, campus life is conducive to the development of lifelong friendships formed within a communal interaction that "gets students heavily involved in cooperative rather than competitive learning."
Pope provides a plethora of testimonials from students and faculty members and alludes to data from various admissions staffs that attest to the successes of these institutions. For example, at Goucher College (Towson, Maryland), according to one professor, a typical Goucher student is "worldly and traveled, but as a high schooler was not committed or achieving enough for the Ivy schools...but they come here, and they get turned on." And Evergreen State College (Olympia, Washington) is "not the place for the person who can't help himself, for the person who needs a recipe, or for the passive note-taker." At these special schools professors and students are integrally connected in the pursuit of knowledge, truth, and continuous learning evaluation. At such institutions as Hampshire College (Amherst, MA), Juniata College (Huntingdon, PA), and Reed College (Portland, OR), students (with the help of nurturing and mentoring faculty) design their own majors and are engaged in extramural projects related to their studies. Student-faculty research projects and publications are common. Additionally, at many of the institutions chronicled in this work, grades have been replaced by written faculty evaluations of students' work, and interdisciplinary cooperation within and without academic departments has enhanced the educational environment and climate for both students and faculty. These schools compare favorably with the proverbial "Big Guys" in the Ivy League and name-brand colleges in terms of faculty and student satisfaction, innovative approaches to learning, the values of community within the academic enterprise, and the subsequent success of their graduates.
Pope claims that his book is "much more than a message of hope for the 97% of students who don't go to designer label colleges or brand name institutions." In fact, he asserts that "Any one of the 40 colleges profiled here will do at least as much as, and usually far more than, an Ivy League school, an Ivy clone, or a major research university" to provide students with a complete educational experience that will make them undeniable winners. Pope seeks to bolster and affirm this claim by using three devices. One, he cites testimonials from various faculty members, themselves graduates of and former teachers at many of the Ivy League institutions which receive a bashing throughout the book, attesting to the academic rigor and quality of students attending these colleges. Two, he cites comments of alumni as proof of the institutional efficacy of the colleges and universities. And, three, he cites numerous examples of program success and campus climate that confirm his conclusions of high caliber education and experiences. For example, a professor at Hope College notes, "I have taught at Stanford and at MIT, the students here are just as good; they're comparable in every way to MIT's." Grinnell College is distinguished as being an institution where "only 21 institutions in the country have turned out future scholars and scientists at a higher rate." Further, Pope observes, "Even if Grinnell were next door to Stanford, Chicago, Yale, or Harvard instead of in a tiny town, it would stand out...it offers some crucial intangibles of the spirit that they don't. It is one of the most humane as well as one of the most liberal colleges around." And lastly, a Denison University alumnus queries and replies, "Why should my child go here? Faculty attention: that's what changed my life. I want it to happen to every student, not just one here and there."
Because most of the 40 colleges in this book are private sectarian/nonsectarian institutions, their tuition is high. But Pope assures anxious parents and prospective students that these institutions "are eager to help you pay the bill with all the financial aid for which you qualify on the standards forms, and for good students they may give more, and you can dicker." Most notably, all of the colleges appear to have made a concerted effort to provide a dynamic education for students within the framework of a diverse community of administrators, faculty, advisors, and fellow students. In fact, for many of these institutions, it is the diversity in faculty and students and the varied approaches to learning that offer the most compelling reasons for attendance.
But Pope's use of testimonials and allusions to "intangibles of the spirit" raises concern. Do we really believe that Ivy League schools are inhumane? If so, how could they continue to succeed as they do? Stanford and Harvard universities, to name just two, annually receive 14,000 applications for spots in their entering freshman classes. Are our best and brightest students (and their parents, too) prone to seek admission to inhumane learning environments in the quest for excellence? I think not. The days of horror in the classroom are long gone. Students don't easily tolerate such conditions today and both students and parents vote with their "feet and pocketbooks" when situations for learning become untenable. In fact, great traditions of camaraderie and duty are deeply imbued in the culture of many Ivy League schools. Some of the best work in scholarship, research, technology, innovation, and service is conducted in these institutions. Many graduates of these institutions are significant leaders in all areas of human endeavor. Do we really believe that all of the very best students are to be found in the halls of Ivy? Simply, no. Each college and university attracts students for a variety of reasons, some good and some bad, and every institution can boast of its share of outstanding and capable students.
Four groups of readers will find hope in the descriptions of these colleges and universities. Parents who are who are anguishing over the costs of higher education and the need to provide the best education possible for their children will discover that good education can be affordable and that a good job after graduation can be forthcoming when students work hard with dedicated faculty concerned about students' academic growth and development. Earnest and hard-working students whose grades and scores from standardized tests are good but not high enough to get them in to a big Ivy League school will be able to plan an alternative strategy for the future. Get into one of the colleges and universities profiled in this book and work hard, and, then, go to one of the Ivy League schools for graduate education. Another group of students will have hope for a second chance at getting into a reasonably good college after an ordinary or near disastrous record of high school achievement. America is the land of second and third chances, and many of these schools give students another opportunity to succeed, if they have the will and drive to. And, lastly, college and university administrators and professors, members of boards of regents, high school college counselors, and students seeking information about college programs and activities will find this book useful and insightful for the anecdotal glimpses of academe and student life which are richly and amply provided.
So, what's compelling about another college profile book that chronicles the accomplishments of some previously "no-name colleges" and their students who appear to fare well when compared to Ivy League counterparts? Well, this book reminds college and university faculty that we play a vital role in the intellectual and social development of students, and that we must strive to create a campus culture that empowers students and fosters their development.
Reading the profiles of the colleges suddenly reminded me that many of the educational and personal activities described in this book are reminiscent of colleges in Montana. Here, professors are concerned about students; professors and students do become life long friends based upon caring, nurturing and mentoring relationships; our graduates are successful in their communities (local, state, and national) in a variety of personal and philanthropic ways; and our institutions are responsive to a diversity of students in their aspirations for more learning, careers, and service to both local, state, national, and global communities. What we in higher education need to do is to constantly monitor our campuses and the opportunities we provide for our students "to be all they can be." The virtue of this work is that some of the "no-name" colleges included in this book are doing just that. I'm in favor of another work, "Montana Colleges that Change Lives."