Small classes permit interaction with professors, as well as more opportunities to write, express opinions and get feedback. At large state universities, faculty are under intense pressure to teach large classes. Precious little attention is given to individual students. It saddens me that few of the students I see in my large classes are getting the kind of intellectual experience I received as an undergraduate. I learned that faculty have a profound effect on students.
Faculty can shape thinking.
I saw Dr. Norman Spellmann put many fervent students through crisis of belief in his dissection of the Bible. Faculty can also excite students about learning. One course opened my eyes to a new area of psychology. I found myself reading the text for fun and discussing the material with anyone who cared to listen. The course was social psychology, and I earned my Ph.D. in it five years after leaving Southwestern.