The past decade has been filled with conversations and criticism related to the value of a liberal arts education.
Once deemed esteemed, liberal arts has faced critique for failing to properly prepare graduates for professional progression and success.
The result has been a hard line on hard skills, ushering in a new era focused on technical proficiency, professional programs, and hands-on experience, including the once-burgeoning but now-fledgeling coding bootcamp space.
But the recent rapid expansion of AI applications - in particular OpenAI - has resurfaced conversations about how technology will not only transform our work, but our lives.
And given the pace with which AI is expanding, it’s worth asking…
In A World Where The Future Of Work Is Uncertain, How Do We Prepare Our Students For The Future Of Work?
Ignoring for a moment the perils posed by an overly simplified conversation about hard skills vs. soft skills, it’s fair to say that given how rapidly the world is changing around us, a broad, diversified, education steeped in exposure and experience is likely more valuable - not less.
And yet liberal arts finds itself still swimming in criticism.
But what if the problem isn’t the product, but the packaging?
What I’m suggesting is perhaps…
Liberal Arts Isn’t Broken. It Just Needs A Rebrand.
As many higher ed marketers will tell you, we so often are asked to use promotion to solve a product problem.
But in this case, assuming your liberal arts offering does factor for career-readiness and professional pathways, then there’s a real argument that such an education may actually be a better future-proofed experience for students facing such an uncertain future of work.
The Problem With Liberal Arts is a Marketing Problem
Whether it’s a partially polarized and politicized perception of the word “liberal,” or the offering getting rolled up into the shifting public sentiment related to the overall value of post-secondary education, it may just be time to keep championing “liberal arts,” but quite literally change the name.
All this to say, the problem with liberal arts may very well be a marketing problem, not a product problem.
In fact, it may be one of the greatest marketing problems facing higher ed today.
A Renaissance For Liberal Arts
So while the world is rightly captivated by the emergence - and acceleration - of the latest innovations related to AI, there’s a real conversation to be had around how we as an industry can best prepare our students for a future with such an uncertain future of work.
And while a renaissance for liberal arts may very well be on its way, it’s unlikely to be successful without the help of a little bit of marketing.
Because….
Liberal Arts Isn’t Broken. It Just Needs A Rebrand.
About the Author
Seth is the founder and CEO of Kanahoma, a San Diego-based performance marketing agency on a mission to build a better agency for organizations building a better world.
You can learn more about who we are and what we do at www.Kanahoma.com.
I agree that the problem with liberal arts may very well be a marketing problem, not a product problem. It is important to recognize that a broad, diversified education steeped in exposure and experience is likely more valuable in the current climate. Therefore, it is essential to keep championing liberal arts, but with a new name and marketing strategy. A rebranding of liberal arts may be the key to its success in the future.