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.
Bill Coplin is founder and professor of the highly successful undergraduate Policy Studies Major at Syracuse University which is meets the goals of an undergraduate professional program while maintaining the integrity of a degree in the in liberal arts. He is the J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence at the Maxwell School and College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University. An author of 110 books and articles, many of which are in education, has taught and advised tens of thousands of undergraduates over his 50+ years of teaching.
Dedication Acknowledgement Introduction Part One: Bait and Switch Chapter 1: Knowledge Over Know-How Chapter 2: Flawed Evidence Chapter 3: The Bait Machine Part Two: Elitism Revealed Chapter 4: Ben Franklin is a Petite Bourgeoisie Chapter 5: Dale Carnegie is Not College Material Chapter 6: The Student Prince Warning Chapter 7: The Hereditary Kingdom Chapter 8: What's in a Name Chapter 9: The Liberal Arts Religion Chapter 10: "Dumbing Down" is Dumb Part Three: Undergraduate Victims Chapter 11: Commoners Vote with their Feet Chapter 12: The Anxiety Machine Chapter 13: Career Services Challenges Chapter 14: Experience Credit Ambivalence Part Four: Societal Damage. Chapter 15: K-12 Toxicity Chapter 16: Unskilled Citizens Chapter 17: Too Many Thinkers and Not Enough Doers Chapter 18: Equity Denied Part Five: Foundational Changes for Equity and Inclusion Chapter 19: Change PhD Education Chapter 20: Reform Lower Division Coursework Chapter 21: Treat Undergraduates as the Citizens
