High School Counselors In September, 2003, the Center of Inquiry and the Wabash College Admissions Office co-sponsored a conference for high school guidance counselors. The purpose of the conference was to introduce these counselors to liberal arts education and Wabash College. Sixteen counselors, representing high schools in Indiana, Illinois, Louisiana, Texas, Colorado, and Alaska participated in this event. We engaged the counselors in a series of formal presentations and informal conversations about such issues as:
- What do prospective students and parents understand liberal arts to be?
- Do students or parents talk about a liberal arts education?
- What do you feel, in your role as counselors, needs to be done to increase awareness of and interest in liberal arts education?
- What are the top three things that need to be addressed, given the work that you do, for students considering college?
- How can/should the Center of Inquiry interest prospective students and parents in liberal arts education?
- What can/should we do to help you and your colleagues (teachers, principals, etc.) address liberal arts education with high school students?
We were surprised by the eagerness of the counselors to work with us in grappling with some of these issues. They described a huge need for concrete information, in clear and concise language, for students and their families. We responded by developing a public section of our web site to provide information about choosing liberal arts education. The counselors continue to work with us on our web site and to help us develop a national network of high school counselors. You may download a
complete report of this meeting.
