Liberal arts colleges in the United States Liberal arts colleges in the United States are certain undergraduate institutions of higher education in the United States . The " Encyclopædia Britannica Concise " offers a definition of the liberal arts as a " college or university curriculum aimed at imparting general knowledge and developing general intellectual capacities , in contrast to a profession al , vocational , or technical curriculum . " Generally , a full - time , four - year course of study at a liberal arts college leads students to earning a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree . These schools are American institutions of higher education which have traditionally emphasized interactive instruction ( although research is still a component of these institutions ) at the undergraduate level . While there is no nationwide legal standard in the United States , the term " university " is primarily used to designate graduate education and research institution s , and is reserved for doctorate - granting institutions , and some US states , such as Massachusetts , will only grant a school " university status " if it offers graduate programs in multiple disciplines . These colleges also encourage a high level of student - teacher interaction at the center of which are classes taught by full - time faculty rather than graduate student TAs ( who teach some of the classes at Research I and other universities ) . They are known for being residential and for having smaller enrollment , class size and student - teacher ratios than universities , but have been exploring the recent trend of online learning as a blended or exclusive environment to offer certain courses . Due in part to a trend in the United States toward higher numbers of students enrolling in science and research universities , liberal arts colleges have decided to explore the idea of creating the traditional environment using online technology , and some liberal arts colleges are now offering entire degree programs online like New England College , Bryn Mawr College and Wesleyan University . In addition , some colleges offer experimental curricula . Consortia and groups . Liberal arts colleges are also often associated with larger groups or consortia . In the United States , many liberal arts colleges belong to the Annapolis Group , Oberlin Group , Women ' s College Coalition , and the Consortium of Liberal Arts Colleges . The Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges is a consortium of public liberal arts colleges . A number of liberal arts colleges are involved in Project Pericles or the Eco League . Other well - known consortia in the Eastern United States include the Little Three , the Seven Sisters Colleges , and the Little Ivies . Four Eastern colleges , along with the University of Massachusetts Amherst , are also part of the Five Colleges Consortium in Western Massachusetts and three Eastern colleges comprise the Tri - College Consortium . Similar consortia include the Claremont College Consortium in Southern California and the Associated Colleges of the Midwest in the Midwestern United States . Additional midwestern groups include the Five Colleges of Ohio , Associated Colleges of the Twin Cities , the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and the Great Lakes Colleges Association . Groups in the Southern United States include the Associated Colleges of the South , and the Seven Sisters of the South . Purpose and goals . Chapter One ( " The Liberal Arts : What is a Liberal Arts Education and Why is it Important Today " ) of Howard Greene and Matthew Greene ' s " " , defines the goals of a liberal arts education in the following manner : In a complex , shifting world , it is essential to develop a high degree of intellectual literacy and critical - thinking skills , a sense of moral and ethical responsibility to one ' s community , the ability to reason clearly , to think rationally , to analyze information intelligently , to respond to people in a compassionate and fair way , to continue learning new information and concepts over a lifetime , to appreciate and gain pleasure from the beauty of the arts and literature and to use these as an inspiration and a solace when needed , to revert to our historical past for lessons that will help shape the future intelligently and avoid unnecessary mistakes , to create a sense of self - esteem that comes from personal accomplishments and challenges met with success . In addition , college placement counselor Loren Pope writes that at the liberal arts colleges he lists in " Colleges That Change Lives " : The focus is on the student , not the faculty ; he is heavily involved in his own education . There are no passive ears ; students and faculty work so closely together , they even coauthor publications . Teaching is an act of love . There is not only a mentor relationship in class but professors become hiking companions , intramural teammates , dinner companions , and friends . Learning is collaborative rather than competitive ; values are central ; there is a strong sense of community . They are places of great synergy , where the whole becomes greater than the sum of the parts . Aspirations are raised , young people are empowered . " Rankings . College and university rankings guides offer annual issues which rank liberal arts colleges separately from research universities . The Washington Monthly is one such body that provides rankings specifically of liberal arts colleges . 2007 movement . On 19 June 2007 , during the annual meeting of the Annapolis Group , members discussed the letter to college presidents asking them not to participate in the " reputation survey " section of the " U . S . News and World Report " survey ( this section comprises 25 % of the ranking ) . As a result , " a majority of the approximately 80 presidents at the meeting said that they did not intend to participate in the U . S . News reputational rankings in the future . " However , the decision to fill out the reputational survey or not will be left up to each individual college as : " the Annapolis Group is not a legislative body and any decision about participating in the US News rankings rests with the individual institutions . " The statement also said that its members " have agreed to participate in the development of an alternative common format that presents information about their colleges for students and their families to use in the college search process . " This database will be web based and developed in conjunction with higher education organizations including the " National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities " and the " Council of Independent Colleges . " On 22 June 2007 , " U . S . News and World Report " editor Robert Morse issued a response in which he argued , " in terms of the peer assessment survey , we at " U . S . News " firmly believe the survey has significant value because it allows us to measure the " intangibles " of a college that we can ' t measure through statistical data . Plus , the reputation of a school can help get that all - important first job and plays a key part in which grad school someone will be able to get into . The peer survey is by nature subjective , but the technique of asking industry leaders to rate their competitors is a commonly accepted practice . The results from the peer survey also can act to level the playing field between private and public colleges . " In reference to the alternative database discussed by the Annapolis Group , Morse also argued , " It ' s important to point out that the Annapolis Group ' s stated goal of presenting college data in a common format has been tried before [ . . . ] " U . S . News " has been supplying this exact college information for many years already . And it appears that NAICU will be doing it with significantly less comparability and functionality . " U . S . News " first collects all these data ( using an agreed - upon set of definitions from the Common Data Set ) . Then we post the data on our website in easily accessible , comparable tables . In other words , the Annapolis Group and the others in the NAICU initiative actually are following the lead of " U . S . News " . " SAT optional movement . A number of U . S . liberal arts colleges have either joined , or have been important influences on , a movement to make the SAT optional for admission , in response to criticisms of the SAT . Bowdoin College in Brunswick , Maine and Bates College in Lewiston , Maine were among the first to institute SAT - optional programs in 1969 and 1984 , respectively . In 1990 , the Bates faculty voted to make all standardized testing optional in the college ' s admissions process , and in October 2004 Bates published a study regarding the testing optional policy , which was presented to the National Association for College Admission Counseling . Following two decades without required testing , the college found that the difference in graduation rates between submitters and non - submitters was 0 . 1 % , that Bates ' applicant pool had doubled since the policy was instated with approximately 1 / 3 of applicants not submitting scores , that non - submitting students averaged only 0 . 05 points lower on their collegiate Grade Point Average , and that applications from minority students rose dramatically . The Bates study prompted a movement among small liberal arts colleges to make the SAT optional for admission to college in the early 2000s . Indeed , according to a 31 August 2006 article in the " New York Times " , " It is still far too early to sound the death knell , but for many small liberal arts colleges , the SAT may have outlived its usefulness . " Sarah Lawrence College and Pitzer College dropped their SAT test score submission requirement for their undergraduate applicants in 2003 and 2004 respectively , thus joining the SAT optional movement for undergraduate admission . The former president of Sarah Lawrence , Dr . Michele Tolela Myers , described the rationale for this decision in an article for " The Washington Post " on 11 March 2007 , saying : " We are a writing - intensive school , and the information produced by SAT scores added little to our ability to predict how a student would do at our college ; it did , however , do much to bias admission in favor of those who could afford expensive coaching sessions . " As a result of this policy , in the same Washington Post article , Dr . Myers stated that she was informed by the " U . S . News and World Report " that if no SAT scores were submitted , U . S . News would " make up a number " to use in its magazines . She further argues that if SLC were to decide to stop sending all data to " U . S . News and World Report " , that their ranking would be artificially decreased . " U . S . News and World Report " issued a response to this article on 12 March 2007 that stated that the evaluation of Sarah Lawrence is under review . As of 2007 , according to " U . S . News & World Report " , Sarah Lawrence was the only " major " American college that completely disregarded SAT scores in its admission process . Other liberal arts colleges that do not consider the SAT include Shimer College , which has an open admissions policy . The full list of SAT optional schools is given by FairTest , an American education al organization that " advances quality education and equal opportunity by promoting fair , open , valid and educationally beneficial evaluations of students , teachers and schools . FairTest also works to end the misuses and flaws of testing practices that impede those goals . "