[arctichomesteader]

Some of these small colleges expanded significantly and took on too much debt during the last recession when student numbers swelled. When enrollment dropped they still had to pay the bill for that.

[ben young]

Originally Posted by sheena12

Sadly, my son's alma mater, the highly ranked Marlboro College, held it's last commencement exercise this year. We are distraught over this. Marlboro, a distinctive liberal arts college will be merging with Boston's Emerson College, which is known for its communications and broadcasting departments. My son and his friends are devastated. I share in their grief.

Marlboro is best known in academic circles, as a college that emphasizes something they call "Clear Writing". If by the end of the second year, students can not write at a skill level that is deemed "publishable", they are asked to leave.

Before graduation, each student must submit a thesis and defend that thesis to faculty and an independent, outside examiner, usually a Ph.D. level professor from one of the many prestigious colleges and universities that dot New England, and make it the special place that it is.

Marlboro is listed in many publications from "America's Best 378 Colleges and Universities" (I may have the exact number wrong) to "Colleges that Change Lives" to "Cool Colleges", and more. An unusually high percentage of its graduates go on to attain the highest degree in their fields.
In my son's case, that would be an MFA. Usually, the highest degree is the Ph.D.

Why did Marlboro and colleges like it, struggle? As a social observer, I have my theories.

1. A generation ago, a New England education was thought of as the finest. Just the mention of "New England" brought of images and ideas of fine academic offerings. There is much truth to that. The Nations's first and finest colleges are heavily clustered in the six New England states. There is not a college there that does not have the very best of what any student is seeking to study. From the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to the Rhode Island School of Design, one can find an institution of higher learning that can meet their interests, skills, passions, and aptitudes.

This makes the region very unique.

Today there is a trend to force every student to study a subject that will directly lead to a career. There is a general misunderstanding as to the purpose of college.
As an increasing number of students attend college, usually at the behest of well-intentioned, parents; first-generation college student is guided - or should I say misdirected, towards thinking of college as a career school, which it is not, and which it never was intended or wanted to be.

It a place to learn. For some people, if a college does not confer a career title and direct entrance into the job market, it's worthless.

Those people would do well to investigate vocational education.

2. Destination College Choices. When I attended college, the weather, or the name of the city or town where the college was located, was unimportant. I did most of my undergrad work in New England. I didn't care about snowy winters. In fact, I relished the idea of walking to class on glorious fall days, the trees colored in tones of gold and flame red. I wanted to wear sweaters and scarves in winter. I enjoyed study groups by a roaring fire, while snow fell gently from the sky. The winter kept us inside, but we WERE there to study and learn. Not to constantly party. We could also sled in the commons, ice skate, and ski. When summer did come, there was The Cape, and all that has to offer.

Prospective college students today seem drawn to warm climates. We visited FL for spring break.

3. Students today are afraid of writing. Many find mathematics and commuters easier. In a broad sense, they do not read as much. Hence, their writing suffers. They are afraid of colleges that stress clear writing and demand a written thesis prior to graduation.

4. In the case of Marlboro, I blame poor leadership and the general staid attitude and resistance to change of those in administration. Many of the parents, including myself, thought that Marlboro should diversify and join the legion on colleges that offer online degrees.

Look at Southern New Hampshire, never a well-regarded school, but by the number of commercials they have, SNHU, once another dying New England college, has restricted itself. This is upsetting to me. SNHU was never a very competitive college, but it's survival strategies certainly beat those of Marlboro. From what I know, they hired advisors who were not in academics, to help them to survive. They listened.

I cannot tell you how many students, graduates, and Marlboro parents told them to go ONLINE. They were stubborn and resistant towards it. There were MANY ONLINE MASTERS they could have offered without compromising their principles.

5. They obsessed over "Diversity". By "Diversity" I mean non-white students and students, not from New England or the NY metro area. Malboro was a niche college. It did have a few students of color, but one, small LAC, can not be everything to everyone. If Marlboro mainly served white students from the NY New England area, California, the west coast, the Midwest, and eastern South, so be it. Focus on who wants you. Not who does not.
Asian families tend to stress STEM subjects. AA families are just not that attracted to college in Vermont. Some are! Welcome them, but do not obsess over their absence.

Thank you for a lovely story.
After the first job after school and other than a top World known school eg. Harvard, MIT. Cal.Tec.Oxford.employers only look at the last employer.
A Vt. Liberal Collage could open opportunities at the Onion or Daily Beast..Good luck

[sheena12]

Originally Posted by ben young

Thank you for a lovely story.
After the first job after school and other than a top World known school eg. Harvard, MIT. Cal.Tec.Oxford.employers only look at the last employer.
A Vt. Liberal Collage could open opportunities at the Onion or Daily Beast..Good luck

He is doing so well. He is self-supporting and has a job in his field. He's also attending grad school.

My son does not live in my basement. He also has his own art collective and earns money by renting studio space.

I understand if you don't understand.

[ShouldIMoveOrStayPut...?]

Originally Posted by bmlx

Credentialism has ruined education for learning's sake. This is very sad for our higher education system, as we need more people who can think deeply and intelligently - especially in these intellectually-challenged times - and who pursue learning out of their own (intrinsically-motivated) interest. If the sole purpose of higher education is for an extrinsic reward (a job and a career), then we are losing something very valuable about education. The pursuit of credentialism just shows how devalued intellectualism has become in contemporary American society.

Indeed! College at one time was about a well rounded education of a variety of subjects, not seemingly solely focused on a career. IMO higher education has become an economic bargain of sorts, and a way to keep young people out of the job market and remaining "consumers" for an extended period. The general plan being the longer you delay employment and provide jobs to others (college/university staff) the better the job will be when you enter the job market (the higher the degree, the better the job).

Of course it doesn't always work out this way. The youth of today may very well have "wised up" to the risk/reward deficit not being in their favor, similar to many not buying homes and planning to lease living space or build a "tiny" sustainable home and avoid 30 to 40 years of debt with no guaranty the home will turn out to be a continually appreciating asset.

Even top colleges and universities have suffered some economic hard times. I understand Harvard Medical School was planning on selling off some of the campus buildings a few years back to offset debt and keep from further dipping into the endowment fund after running in the red for many years.

Some have recently fallen into bad press and scandal for falsifying statistics such as graduate job placement, etc. and the "Operation Varsity Blues" scandal with the children of Felicity Huffman, Lori Loughlin, etc.

And of course we can't forget legacies, such as George Bush Junior graduating Yale.

[ben young]

Or former VP. Joe Biden.

[karen_in_nh_2012]

Originally Posted by ben young

Thank you for a lovely story.
After the first job after school and other than a top World known school eg. Harvard, MIT. Cal.Tec.Oxford.employers only look at the last employer.
A Vt. Liberal [sic] Collage [sic] could open opportunities at the Onion or Daily Beast..Good luck

What a completely idiotic but worse than that, an incredibly mean-spirited post. What was the point?

I work at a liberal arts college and our students get jobs that aren't at Starbucks. I know because we follow them and many come back to give talks to current students.

Marlboro was/is very well-known and well-respected in New England. I was the "outside reviewer" for one of their seniors several years ago and was blown away by the quality of her writing, which was far better than that of most seniors whose writing I've read. (And I taught at Michigan for 3-1/2 years post-Ph.D., where undergrads were also very bright.) I think it's incredibly sad that Marlboro is closing.

[flyfishr]

Originally Posted by karen_in_nh_2012

What a completely idiotic but worse than that, an incredibly mean-spirited post. What was the point?

I work at a liberal arts college and our students get jobs that aren't at Starbucks. I know because we follow them and many come back to give talks to current students.

Definitely a rude remark. But in all fairness, the amount of desperate boasting & petty arrogance from the original post kind of warranted a condescending response.

Marlboro likely served alternative, artsy students well. But grading out at #136 in liberal arts colleges does not qualify as "highly ranked". Marlboro's acceptance rate over the past 10 years is 80%. I don't care what metric you use, that's not selective. By admitting a large majority of applicants, you water down the value of the degree you offer. Green Mtn, Burlington College, So VT College, Goddard all had/have the same issue.

To then trash talk SNHU was completely unnecessary. It's a school that's found a niche in the educational market and surviving...more than Marlboro can say. Suggesting that students who go to college looking for a degree that translates directly to a job should go to vocational school is completely asinine. STEM degrees are valuable, especially when you need a way to repay $100k in student loans. She seems too self unaware to realize that though

[sheena12]

Originally Posted by karen_in_nh_2012

What a completely idiotic but worse than that, an incredibly mean-spirited post. What was the point?

I work at a liberal arts college and our students get jobs that aren't at Starbucks. I know because we follow them and many come back to give talks to current students.

Marlboro was/is very well-known and well-respected in New England. I was the "outside reviewer" for one of their seniors several years ago and was blown away by the quality of her writing, which was far better than that of most seniors whose writing I've read. (And I taught at Michigan for 3-1/2 years post-Ph.D., where undergrads were also very bright.) I think it's incredibly sad that Marlboro is closing.

Thank you so much, Karen. This is a very sad day for Marlboro students and their families.

As far as selectivity, Marlboro's student body was self-selecting. Admittedly it is not for everyone. It was intentionally small and still selective.

Not many HS students want to defend a thesis.

What is very telling is the number of students with parents who are academics.

I think it's incredibly sad also.