Study Overview
The Center of Inquiry is leading the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education, a large-scale, longitudinal study to investigate critical factors that affect the outcomes of liberal arts education. Our research is designed to help colleges and universities improve student learning and enhance the educational impact of their programs.
The Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education has two fundamental goals:
In order to achieve these goals, we are focusing on key liberal arts outcomes, using both quantitative and qualitative research, and examining students as well as institutions.
Liberal Arts Outcomes
Our study focuses on the development of seven outcomes associated with undergraduate liberal arts education and the educational conditions and experiences that foster these outcomes. The selected outcomes include:
We are exploring the extent to which students develop because of their college experiences, the conditions that contribute to this development, and ways that liberal arts institutions can more readily assess and act on this knowledge to enhance their impact. Learn more about our seven selected liberal arts outcomes.
Study Details and Design
Fifty-three institutions are participating in the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education. They include liberal arts colleges, regional universities, research universities, and community colleges. The study sample contains both private and public institutions, as well as religiously-affiliated, single-sex, and minority-serving schools. Participating institutions exhibit a wide range of selectivity, tuition costs, and geographic variety.
The Wabash National Study began in 2006, when 4,501 first-year students from 19 institutions completed a series of surveys that gathered information about their precollege experiences and that measured liberal arts outcomes. A subset of 315 students from six institutions participated in in-depth interviews in which they reflected on their college experiences. In spring 2007, 3,081 students from this first cohort returned for follow-up assessments on their college experiences and the liberal arts outcomes.
In fall 2007, seven new institutions joined the study, and Wabash College entered for a second round of the study with an additional group of students. In all, 3,371 incoming first-year students from these eight institutions took assessments in the fall. In fall 2008, 27 institutions will join the study, including Wabash College, Hampshire College, and the University of Rhode Island, which are entering for additional rounds.
Participating Institutions
2006 INSTITUTIONS
| Small Colleges |
Community Colleges | |
| Alma College | Ivy Tech Community College | |
| Bard College* | Kirkwood Community College | |
| Columbia College (SC)* | ||
| Connecticut College | Universities | |
| Coe College | Butler University | |
| Gustavus Adolphus College | San José State University* | |
| Hamilton College | University of Kentucky | |
| Hampshire College | University of Michigan | |
| Hope College | University of North Carolina Wilmington | |
| Wabash College* | University of Notre Dame* | |
| Whittier College* |
*institutions participating in in-depth interviews
| Small colleges | Universities | |
| Allegheny College | Delaware State University | |
| Franklin College | Fairfield University | |
| Vassar College | North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University | |
| Wabash College** | University of Rhode Island |
**Wabash College has students from the entering classes of 2006 and 2007 participating in the study.
2008 INSTITUTIONS
| Small colleges | |
| Alverno College | Lasell College |
| Augustana College | Marlboro College |
| Bard College at Simon's Rock | New College of Florida |
| Bennington College | Oxford College of Emory University |
| Blackburn College | Prescott College |
| Carleton College | Ripon College |
| College of the Holy Cross | Wabash College*** |
| DePauw University | Warren Wilson College |
| Hampshire College*** | Wheelock College |
| Hobart and William Smith Colleges | |
| Community College | |
| Community College of Rhode Island | |
| Universities | |
| Brandeis University | University of Rhode Island*** |
| Drew University | Worcester Polytechnic Institute |
| Millersville University | Worcester State College |
| Salem State College | |
***Wabash College is returning for a third round, and Hampshire College and the University of Rhode Island are entering a second round of the study.
We will follow these student cohorts for at least four years, collecting student and institutional data at multiple points over the course of the study. Learn more about the study design and data collection methods for the Wabash National Study.
Throughout the study, we will work with faculty, staff, and students at participating institutions to identify key questions they have about their campuses so that we can customize Wabash National Study data to address their specific concerns.
The Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education is led by the Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts at Wabash College, under the direction of Dr. Charles F. Blaich, and in collaboration with research teams from the University of Iowa, led by Dr. Ernest T. Pascarella; the University of Michigan, led by Dr. Patricia M. King; and Miami University (Ohio), led by Dr. Marcia Baxter Magolda. ACT, Inc., under the direction of Dr. Michael J. Valiga, is assisting with the quantitative data collection and reporting.
Address questions or comments about the study to:
Charles F. Blaich
Director of Inquiries
(765) 361-6331