Defining a Liberal Arts Education

The liberal arts education that our institution advertises is focused on creating well-rounded students with an education that addresses the physical, spiritual, and intellectual aspects of human beings. North Central hopes to educate not only what their students need to be prepared for their careers, but their lives as well. This includes a large focus on civic engagement and teaching students critical thinking skills. The liberal arts include social sciences, arts, and humanities (Sharma, 2020). All three of these subject areas are critical in creating well-rounded students. Without them, students would only have knowledge of the topics that are specifically related to their major they would lack knowledge of other topics that could increase other skills such as communication or the ability to work with others which is important for any career.

• Learn how to learn and think.

• Understand humanity.

• Students are meant to be educated, not trained.

Learning to become a citizen is a key element of a liberal arts education. A big part of that citizenship means being active and involved in your community. By taking a Community Engaged Learning course, students at North Central are able to use what they've learned from the liberal arts to contribute to their communities in a meaningful way.