A very small minority who are basically advertising their lack of college readiness...
Well said.
Interesting that you mention Evergreen State as an example... on their website, they describe having "
programs" not classes, and these programs can last several terms... a sample schedule is given. IMO, the schedule looks light. Additionally the acceptance rate is given online as 98.9% (2014), indicating it is non-selective... it may be accepting some students which other schools do not accept... those who may not appear college-ready to other educational institutions. Figures found online show enrollment as:
4,471 (2006)
3,882 (Aug 2016 - down 589 over 10 years)
3,670 (Aug 2017 - down 801 over 11 years)
There is a trend of declining enrollment... down nearly 20% in 11 years. Yet it is a relatively affordable government-funded public campus. Some may say that cost and selectivity are not factors in declining enrollment.
"Liberal Arts" means:
1- academic subjects such as literature, philosophy, mathematics, and social and physical sciences as distinct from professional and technical subjects
2- historical - the medieval trivium and quadrivium
3- liberal, as distinct from servile or mechanical (i.e., involving manual labor) and originally referring to arts and sciences considered “worthy of a free man”; later the word related to general intellectual development rather than vocational training (source of the above 3 definitions: google search online dictionary)
4-
general skills (=artes) a free person (=liberals) needed to contribute meaningfully to society5-
active process of exploration rather than a passive process of absorption.
"Liberal Arts" does NOT mean politically left-leaning or progressive, although some campuses may be. Left-leaning or progressive has not traditionally meant squelching the inclusion of others, the self-expression of others, or stripping others of their rights. The Constitution protects the right "to
peaceably assemble." This has traditionally referred to one minding one's own conduct (no engaging in disorderly conduct) while assembling, this has not traditionally referred to one having peace of mind while listening to a dissenting opinion during an assembly.
Diversity of opinion is key to maintaining a free society; the opposite of which is fascism, totalitarianism.
To the OP: in considering early college, parents need to know that
FERPA rights transfer to students when they begin college; Parents are no longer entitled to student records. Therefore "Non-Academic" readiness for early college would include:
-
self-advocacy skills, in addition to
- understanding what "Liberal Arts" means,
- understanding Constitutional rights to "free speech" and "to peaceably assemble."
