
It’s Time to Own the Value of the Liberal Arts
By: Laura Sheehan

Ultimately, this is good news: Richard Detweiler’s study on the success and happiness of liberal arts graduates (Inside Higher Ed’s “Making the Case for Liberal Arts Colleges”) gives ample evidence to support the value of a liberal arts education.
The project, which Detweiler presented last week to presidents of the Council of Independent Colleges, revealed the strong, positive effect of a liberal arts education — especially in terms of quality of life, career success, and yes, income.
Yet, higher education always seems to be “making a case” for the liberal arts and humanities. We continue to fight a cultural misconception, one that diminishes the value of analytical thinking, effective communications, and ethical decision making in exchange for earnings.
In many ways, this is a classic marketing dilemma: colleges and universities need to do a better job selling the value of a complex “product,” which happens to be both expensive and misunderstood. A tough sell, but certainly not impossible. How?
Messaging, messaging, messaging: Use national data — there’s plenty available. Detweiler’s study found that graduates of a liberal arts education are:
- 25-45% more likely to be leaders in their careers and communities
- 27-38 % more likely to report characteristics of lifelong learners
- 25-60% more likely to be altruistic
- 32-90% more likely to report feeling fulfilled in their lives
- 31-72% more likely to hold a high-level position and earn more than $100,000
Also, consider the Association of American Colleges and Universities 2014 report which includes a number of gems, this among them: “At peak earnings ages (56-60 years) workers who majored as undergraduates in the humanities or social sciences earn annually on average about $2000 more than those who majored as undergraduates in professional or pre-professional fields.”
Blend the national data with your institution’s own success story by creating a bank of alumni stories. These short narratives can chronicle the career (and life) success of your liberal arts alumni. Use their words and try to include a variety of ages, majors, and careers.
Go digital. Of course, your messages should be included in all recruitment material (viewbook, search pieces, program brochures), but remember to repurpose the messages for your website and social media platforms.
If possible, develop a digital enrollment campaign that can target and engage like-minded prospective students. After all, they cite statistical and anecdotal success stories as key influencers to their college decision. Plus, the added value of a digital campaign is that it supports other aspects of your recruitment efforts through increased website and social traffic.
It’s time to own the value of the liberal arts — proudly and with elan!
Tell Us What You Think
SEARCH THE BLOG
Archives
- Your School’s Distinctive Success Story: Why & How to Market It
- Inspiring Students throughout the Recruitment Process
- Part 2: Students Say Your Website Can Make or Break Their Enrollment Decision
- Part 1: Students Say Your Website Can Make or Break Their Enrollment Decision
- The #1 Thing You Can Do for Enrollment
- Finding a “Pocket of Potential” in Summer Enrollment
- How Small & Specific Digital Enrollment Campaigns Yield Timely Results
- An Enrollment Management Strategy to Offset the Federal Overtime Rule
- Community Colleges Offer Strong & Specific Value: Tell It & Sell It through Success Stories
- Inbound Inquiries are High Yielding Inquiries
- Is a High Bounce Rate Really Such a Bad Thing?
- Student Satisfaction and the Bottom Line
- Getting a Handle on Your University or College’s Social Media Strategy
- The Value of Content in a Higher Education Website
- Digital Advertising for Colleges and Universities: Don’t be Impressed by Impressions
- Enrollment-Driven Higher Ed Websites: A Recruitment Solution
- The Power of the Human Story: In Enrollment Campaigns & In Life
- Recruiting Adult Learners on Their Terms
- Community College Recruitment: Breaking old Stereotypes via Student Success Stories
- Part III: How an Enrollment-driven Website Can Serve Higher Ed Recruitment
- Part II: How an Enrollment-driven Website Can Serve Higher Ed Recruitment
- How an Enrollment-driven Website Can Serve Higher Ed Recruitment
- The 2016 Internet Trends Report: 4 Takeaways for Higher Ed Recruitment
- What Can Other Colleges Learn from Recent Closures? Staying Current in an Ever-Changing World
- From Enrollment Professional to Parent: My New Insights into the College Search Process
- Does your Higher Ed Website Work For or Against Enrollment? Three Tips to Assess its Recruitment Effectiveness
- Step Up Summer Enrollment: How a Digital Campaign Can Stem Summer Melt & Inspire New Applications
- Looking to Recruit Adult Students? Good News: They’re Telling Us How
- What Can Community Colleges do to Counteract Declining Enrollment? Turns Out Your Institutional Stories are your Best Ammunition
- 5 Tips to Celebrating — and Selling — the Value of the Humanities
- Recruiting a Shifting Demographic: Today’s Minority is Tomorrow’s Majority
- Sure, March Madness Brings an Admissions Bump — If You’re a Big Name DI University
- Higher Ed Recruitment: Can We Help Ease Students’ Stress?
- Countering the Decline: How to Sell Small Liberal Arts Colleges to Gen Z
- Put your Recruitment Eggs in the Basket-of-High-Returns
- Calculate’s Web Recruitment Strategy Recognized at Global Marketing Forum
- Digital Search: A New Way of Finding Right-Fit Students
- 6 Tips to Guide your Decision when Hiring a Digital Marketing Firm
- Content is the Driving Force Behind a Successful Higher Ed Website
- Your Website Isn’t a Project. It’s a Perpetual Work in Progress.
What We DO
Let's chat
Calculate
42 Ridgeway Street
Newington, CT 06111
p: 860.602.8543
E: info@calculateedu.com
©2021 Calculate, LLC. Calculate does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, veteran status or any other legally protected basis in its employment and business practices.