Study Shows Graduates of Private Liberal Arts Colleges More Satisfied with Their Educations

CHESTERTOWN, MD—Washington College alumni were among those surveyed for a major comparative study on the value of a residential liberal-arts education. Conducted on behalf of the Annapolis Group, a consortium of 130 private liberal-arts colleges, the survey shows that compared with alumni of larger universities, graduates of the AG member schools showed significantly higher satisfaction with the lasting impacts of their college experience on their lives and careers.

As a participating member of the Annapolis Group, Washington College had submitted the names of 100 randomly selected alumni to the company that conducted the survey, Hardwick Day.

According to the executive summary prepared by Hardwick Day, “On measure after measure—from the quality of the learning experience to the nature of their engagement with faculty and peers, from the impact on intellectual and personal development to the value to their careers—alumni of private liberal arts colleges, where the residential experience is a core dimension, say that they benefitted dramatically personally and professionally, academically and socially from their college experience. They report this in far greater numbers and percentages than do alumni of large state universities, including the top public universities.”

Click here to read coverage of the survey in Inside Higher Ed.

Or visit the Annapolis Group Web site to read its announcement of the survey results.

Photos by Keanan Barbour-March.