The Path to Equity

The goal of this book is to convince liberal arts educators that preparing students for life should be a higher priority than preparing them to enjoy learning for its own sake.

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Coplin has been saving students from the damage done by the bait and switch business model of the liberal arts programs for fifty years. The bait promises career preparation and the switch is to teach undergraduates how to be scholars. He demonstrates how the Kingdom of Liberals Arts programs are based on an elitist attitude that is harmful to most undergraduates who value career preparation over love of learning. This elitism leads to increased anxiety for college students and a college completion rate lower than the worst high schools in the U.S. He shows how the elitism does not serve equity and inclusion but does the opposite. He demonstrates that the harm is not just confined to undergraduate education but to many socio-economic conditions in American society. The Kingdom has contributed to a K-12 education system that sends too many students to college and prevents the resources needed for careers without a college education. It shares some of the blame for the lack of skill and semi-skilled labor in this country. Coplin ends on a positive note by showing that some progress in transforming the Kingdom to an institution that serves its undergraduates has occurred but much more needs to be done. He suggests three most important structural changes need to quicken the pace of change and contribute to, rather than prevent, equity and inclusion.