Integrating liberal education, business, and high-impact practices – the case of George Mason university’s school of business

Purpose In College Learning for the New Global Century, the National Leadership Council of Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) argue for a liberal education for all students because “(i)n an economy fueled by innovation, the capabilities developed through a liberal education have become America’s most valuable economic asset.” (LEAP, 2007). The Business for a Better World Center and the School of Business at George Mason University endorse this view and have applied the liberal education approach to the study of business. This paper aims to explore the current environment of business education, the role of liberal education and the school’s programs and their benefits. Design/methodology/approach This paper relies on a case-study approach. Findings In this paper, the authors explore how George Mason University’s School of Business brings a liberal education approach to business education and draws on a combination of high impact practices, such as first-year seminars, common intellectual experiences, learning communities, collaborative assignments, undergraduate research, community-based learning, internships, capstone courses and projects and diversity and global learning (Kuh, 2008). Mason’s experience demonstrates the feasibility and benefits of this integration. Originality/value This case study provides unique insight into how business schools can integrate a liberal education approach into business education with successful results. As such, the paper contributes to the growing body of research on the benefits of liberal arts and business education models as a means of addressing global goals and provides a valuable case study to understand better the necessity of integrative, interdisciplinary learning.

ENGLISH FOR OTHER LANGUAGES: A NEEDS ANALYSIS OF FUTURE POLYGLOTS AT A FRENCH UNIVERSITY

This paper presents the results of a needs analysis of second year undergraduates, majoring in various foreign languages (except for English) at the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales in Paris, France. As part of their studies, students can take one semester of English during their second or third year. While needs analyses are an integral part of ESP research, the needs of students in certain disciplines, particularly the Liberal Arts, are not often referenced. Using questionnaires and interviews with current students, past students, and discipline instructors, this study attempts to partially fill that gap. Results show that while current students mostly use oral and written comprehension skills presently, they feel expression skills will become important in the future. Responses from former students and discipline instructors seem to support these results, with some key distinctions. Implications for teaching and future research are discussed.

Christ-animated graduate education in America: Can we redeem a Protestant failure?

Unlike the liberal arts college, American graduate education started as and continues to be a secular affair. The last four decades, however, have produced growth in both the number and quality of Christian graduate programs. The question we asked is: do American Christian institutions engage in graduate education Christianly? To answer this question for Protestants, we undertook a theologically-guided discourse analysis of the 638 graduate programs at the 41 top ranked Protestant Christian universities in the United States. In particular, we looked at the marketing, objectives, and curriculum. We found only one-third of the graduate programs demonstrated even one piece of evidence demonstrating Christian distinctiveness.

Leveraging Collaboration and Peer Support to Initiate and Sustain a Faculty Development Program

In today’s impoverished higher education fiscal climate, especially considering the enormous financial implications to higher education of accommodating the changes required by the coronavirus pandemic, “nonessential” though highly important programs, such as centers for teaching and learning (CTLs), are very likely to be underfunded. In this study, we illustrate how underfunded programs can leverage peer collaboration and support to initiate productive, formal systems of assistance for faculty by describing a number of such programs developed by and/or coordinated by our CTL. Moreover, we propose that sustainable programs, especially at small liberal arts institutions, must include a strong component of peer networking and in-house expertise rather than relying on outside consulting services. In a climate of shrinking dollars, CTLs can still perform some key roles effectively while continuing to advocate for more adequate funding.