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Degree Completers at Baccalaureate Arts and Sciences Institutions and the Contemporary U.S. Macroeconomy

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Abstract

Recent economic downturns have led some liberal arts institutions to consider changes to their program offerings. With this article we seek to enhance the understanding of the correlation between liberal arts and pre-professional programs with the economy in order to help inform higher education faculty and administration when exploring changes to their institutions’ identity. Our research suggests that the percentage of liberal arts degree completers is sensitive to macroeconomic conditions. While driving forces behind these results were not investigated in this study, we consider two possible causes for our findings. Specifically, we suggest a student driven and faculty/institution driven reason for our findings.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wittenberg University, P.O. Box 720, Springfield, Ohio, 45501, USA

    Rachel Wilson & Brian Yontz

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  1. Rachel Wilson
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  2. Brian Yontz
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Correspondence to Brian Yontz.

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Wilson, R., Yontz, B. Degree Completers at Baccalaureate Arts and Sciences Institutions and the Contemporary U.S. Macroeconomy. Innov High Educ 40, 51–61 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-014-9290-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-014-9290-7

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