GAC PROCESS BLOG

Proposal

“Liberally Me”

There’s a stigma against liberal arts colleges in that they’re not worth the money because of the lack of specialization in skill and lack of credentials. However, I want to go against that by providing reasons why liberal art colleges are beneficial. There are valuable skills and experiences to gain from liberal arts colleges and they often get overlooked. My goal is to reinforce the idea that the viewer shouldn’t feel pressured to attend college, as well as provide information about what liberal arts colleges have to offer and how it may help them in their future career. I believe the pressure of college is one of the most significant issues young adults face with education today. I hope that future young adults can be informed before attending college to avoid feeling regret about their decisions. Additionally, I want to incorporate my slogan “The stigma is only true if you allow it to be” because young adults shouldn’t allow other opinions about college to dictate their future. All in all, liberal arts colleges may be more suitable for students who don’t know what career they want to pursue.

Name, Theme, & Background

I chose the name “Liberally Me” because I want the brochure to feel personalized while connecting it to the “liberal” in the term “liberal arts colleges”. My theme is retro style because I want the colors to “pop out” and stand apart from other educational brochures. While researching examples, the common pattern I saw was the use of character icons with the color theme being blue. Despite the fact that my target audience ranges from 17-24, I believe retro is one of the trends we see in the media today as “modern fashion”, and many people associate it with nostalgia.

Brochure

I plan on using the tri-fold styled brochure and the front cover flap will display an illustration of an anonymous person in a cap and gown. The cap will have the word mark “Liberally Me” to make it look like the person decorated their cap and will reflect the retro theme I’m going for. Above the illustration, the text “Benefits of a Liberal Arts College” will be in the bold, jumble typeface, with a 3d flag wrap effect. The flag wrap effect will make the letters appear in a wave and could visually look appealing on the mug, tote bag, and poster. This would create movement, making the viewer want to see more. For compatibility with the jumble typeface, I plan on using “Berlin Sans GB” for the body text. The interior flap will have three questions with the goal of getting the viewer to understand what they want from college in general. The goal of the brochure is to inform, not to persuade. The left inside flap will be titled “the problem” with an explanation, relevance, and images or icons. The center inside flap will have the title “listed benefits” with supporting statistics, and images or icons. The right inside flap will have the title “figuring out if this is for you” with relevant information about employers or colleges they could consider. Lastly, the back cover will be my “call-to-action” because it will have a QR code available to scan that will take them to a “website” for access to FAFSA, Scholarships, and a list of liberal arts colleges in the U.S. I plan on going with shades of peachy orange, off-white, light pastel pink, and maybe even some browns and greens throughout the brochure. I want the colors to be warm with some cool tones.

Poster

I have two options for the poster. One is to have three “ribbons” flowing across the poster and each ribbon would list the three benefits of attending a liberal arts college. This would tie into the style and effect of the word mark “Liberally Me”. The second option is to have an enlarged illustration of the logo with the graduation cap sitting on a stack of books. On the bottom, right-hand side of the poster will have the QR code with a small description of my call-to-action. Additionally, the theme in both will be retro so the background of the poster could be a peachy orange, light pastel pink, or even a bluish green with an ombre effect. I also want to incorporate “#LiberallyMe or my slogan onto the poster because that can also be a call to action.

Mug, Tote, Shirt

The overall color theme for the mug, tote, and shirt will be retro. I haven’t selected the exact shades yet but it will follow the theme of the brochure and poster. All three will have the logo of the graduation cap on top of the stack of books. The t-shirt can also resemble college apparel similar to Brockport’s appeal. The text would say “#LiberallyMe” with the logo beneath it. The same goes for the tote bag as well.

Research

Topic: Pros of Liberal Arts Colleges

Campaign Name/Slogan: Liberally Me

The Problem: There’s a stigma against liberal arts colleges and I want to go against that by providing reasons for why liberal art colleges are actually beneficial and could be more suitable for students who don’t necessarily know what they want to do.

Campaign Message:

A college career readiness survey was conducted on 165,000 high school students in 2015, and only 44% felt positive about their college and career readiness (Leal 1).
There are many students who graduate high school not knowing what they want to study. In fact,

“Within 3 years of initial enrollment, about 30 percent of undergraduates in associate’s and bachelor’s degree programs who had declared a major had changed their major at least once” according to the U.S. Department of Education (1).

“It’s okay to not know what you want to do, that is why liberal arts colleges offer different courses in different areas, to expose you to different things.”

Campaign Goal: Spread the message that the benefits of a liberal arts college outweigh the cons.

Slogan Options:

“A liberal arts education prepares students for a life of learning”
“It’s not just about college, it’s about your plans for the future”
“Know what you’re investing your time and money into”
“Your life, your choice”
“The stigma is true if you allow it to be”

Relevance:

Although a college degree isn’t needed for a long successful career, most employers value candidates with a college degree.

“Almost nine in ten (87 percent) believe that getting a college degree or credential is “definitely” or “probably” worth the investment of time and money” (Finley 8).

Employers seek candidates with a range of skills acquired over a period of time and that includes analytical skills, the ability to work in a team, communication, initiative, and many more. As of 2022, the number 1 skill most employers seek in candidates is problem-solving. These skills are heavily reinforced at liberal arts colleges (Gray 1).

What is a Liberal Arts College: A liberal arts college is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate studies in liberal arts and sciences. Students will take history, literature, writing, philosophy, sociology, creative arts classes, and more. They are designed to help students “develop a strong sense of social responsibility as well as strong and transferable intellectual and practical skills” (Hollis 1).

Pros:

School/Class Size:

Most liberal arts colleges have an undergraduate enrollment of “fewer than 5,000 students” (Nimesheim 1).
Class sizes range from 15-20 students, allowing direct interaction with the professor and a focus on education, not research (Puri 1). This also offers students the ability to join on-campus community events or clubs easier than at a large university due to its intimate size. Also, students will have a higher chance of participating in leadership opportunities.

Well-Rounded Education:

Liberal arts college doesn’t offer specialized education, instead, it offers a well-rounded one. Students will be taught skills such as critical thinking, leadership, teamwork, writing, and communication in addition to specific majors and concentrations (Berglar 1).
Gen eds are NOT a checklist, they add additional knowledge that helps support students in their core classes and career.

Career Value:

The point of college is to prepare you for your career by gaining valuable life skills, and experience, and creating connections. It's important to understand the value a liberal arts college can bring to your future career/employer.
“those who receive a well-rounded education are likely better prepared for college and careers because they develop a wider range of knowledge and skills necessary to succeed” (Jiminez & Sargrad 1).

Cons:

Cost:

The cost of a liberal arts college is the highest it’s ever been. According to Forbes,

“The average listed cost of attendance for on-campus students at the 190 such institutions we reviewed—including tuition, fees, room and board, and books—hit $58,000 in 2019–20, with some institutions charging as much as $77,000 per year” (Poliakoff 1).

HOWEVER

“The average annual cost of tuition at a liberal arts college is approximately $24,000, compared to $15,000 at a public university. But, for every year a college student fails to graduate, they incur additional tuition costs and suffer lost wages” (Liberal Arts Colleges 1). Therefore, the cost of a liberal arts college overall doesn’t compare to the amount of time it takes students to graduate from a University.
The cost may be high for some institutions but there are many options for aid including

Scholarships
Pell Grants
Financial Aid (FASFA)
State Aid

ROI:

Although liberal arts colleges may be more expensive,

“the 40-year median ROI of liberal arts institutions ($918,000) is close to those of four-year engineering and technology-related schools ($917,000), and four-year business and management schools ($913,000)” (Newton 1).

Not Specialized:

Not everyone is suited to take a wide range of classes they feel they aren’t strong in and some students would much rather take courses that’ll enhance their strengths and want to excel in their careers.
If that’s the case, maybe a liberal arts college isn’t right for you.

Professor Credentials:

Professors at a liberal arts college may not be as “credentialed” as professors at universities, but they still have better relationships with their students OVERALL.

“Turning to liberal arts schools, 68% of students at a top-25 school have a good or excellent connection with their professor. Liberal arts students at schools from 25 to 100 are more positive at 93%” (Abrams 1).

Campaigns that Exist: N/A (most are about a liberal arts degree, not colleges)

Call to Action (still thinking of ideas for this)

Financial Aid - https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa
Best Liberal Arts College For You - https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberal-arts-colleges

Work Cited

Abrams, S. “Why are liberal arts college faculty building better relationships with their students?”. Washington Examiner. 02, November 2022, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/community-family/why-liberal-arts-college-faculty-building-better-relationships-students

Berglar, L. “What Is a Liberal Arts Education?”. Covenant College. 5, March 2021, https://covenant.edu/blog/intro-covenant/what-liberal-arts-education.html#:~:text=Instead%20of%20a%20sole%20focus,to%20specific%20majors%20and%20concentrations

Finley, A. “How College Contributes to Workforce Success”. Association of American Colleges and Universities. https://dgmg81phhvh63.cloudfront.net/content/user-photos/Research/PDFs/AACUEmployerReport2021.pdf

Gray, K. “Problem-Solving Skills Top Attributes Employers Seek on Resumes”. National Association of Colleges and Employers. 12, November 2021, https://www.naceweb.org/talent-acquisition/candidate-selection/problem-solving-skills-top-attributes-employers-seeking-on-resumes/

Hollis, J. “The Benefits of a Liberal Arts Education”. Coalition for College. https://www.coalitionforcollegeaccess.org/mycoalition-counselor-all/the-benefits-of-a-liberal-arts-education

Jiminez, L. Sargrad, S. “A Well-Rounded Education”. The Center for American Progress (CAP). 16, August 2018, https://www.americanprogress.org/article/well-rounded-education/

Leal, F. “College & Career Readiness Data”. Youth Truth. 12, November 2022,

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2187198-college-career-readiness-survey.html

Liberal Arts Colleges. “The Real Cost of Attending a Liberal Arts College”. Liberal Arts Colleges (LAC). https://www.liberalartscolleges.com/content-the-value-of-liberal-arts-colleges/the-real-cost-of-attending-a-liberal-arts-college/#:~:text=The%20average%20annual%20cost%20of,costs%20and%20suffer%20lost%20wages

U.S Department of Education. “Beginning College Students Who Change Their Majors Within 3 Years of Enrollment”. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). December 2017, https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2018/2018434.pdf

Newton, D. “If You Go To A Liberal Arts College, You’ll Make More Money”. Forbes. 28, January 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereknewton/2020/01/28/if-you-go-to-a-liberal-arts-college-youll-make-more-money/?sh=55263a904fc5

Nimesheim, J. “What a Liberal Arts College Is and What Students Should Know”. U.S News. 07, July 2022, https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2018-12-07/what-a-liberal-arts-college-is-and-what-students-should-know#:~:text=Most%20liberal%20arts%20colleges%20do%20not%20offer%20graduate%20school%20programs,have%20fewer%20than%2020%20students

Poliakoff, M. “What Is The Return On Investment From A Liberal Arts Education?”. Forbes. 22, October 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelpoliakoff/2020/10/22/what-is-the-return-on-investment-from-a-liberal-arts-education/?sh=1964a4f6530a

Puri, I. “Don't Overlook Liberal Arts Schools: Small Class Size And Access To Faculty”. Huff Post. Updated 21, June 2017, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dont-overlook-liberal-art_b_10574942