Fewer than a third (8/26) of the member institutions of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC) are designated by the U.S. News & World Report College Rankings as "National Liberal Arts Colleges." Nearly two thirds (16/26) are designated "Regional Universities." (1 is a "Regional College," and another is in Canada and not in the rankings.) (I have the full lists below.) As an employee at one of those COPLAC "Regional Universities," I get a little nervous. On the one hand, this is the U.S. News & World Report, and I really shouldn't worry about it. On the other hand, many parents and students put undue weight behind these rankings so they're real in their consequences. Additionally, trying to retain a liberal arts designation within a public university system can be tenuous, and if the (self-appointed) rankers disagree, it could be fodder for revocation.
National Liberal Arts Colleges
Regional Universities
Regional Colleges
Canadian
National Liberal Arts Colleges
- Fort Lewis College
- Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
- New College of Florida
- St. Mary's College of Maryland
- University of Minnesota Morris
- University of North Carolina at Asheville
- University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma
- University of Virginia's College at Wise
Regional Universities
- Eastern Connecticut State University
- The Evergreen State College
- Georgia College & State University
- Henderson State University
- Keene State College
- Midwestern State University
- Ramapo College of New Jersey
- Shepherd University
- Sonoma State University
- Southern Oregon University
- State University of New York at Geneseo
- Truman State University
- University of Illinois at Springfield
- University of Mary Washington
- University of Montevallo
- University of Wisconsin–Superior
Regional Colleges
- University of Maine at Farmington
Canadian
- University of Alberta, Augustana Campus
Bradley,
ReplyDeleteI work for the Media and Public Relations department at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma and also am on the editorial staff of our liberal arts magazine, Crosstimbers. I've been thinking of reaching out to other professionals working at COPLAC schools to address some issues like the one you raise above. It would be interesting to see what we might be able to accomplish from a messaging standpoint working in concert rather than on our separate islands. Great post!