A Failed Educational Experiment

Distribution Requirement at Hampshire College

Hampshire College was created on a magnificent premise. The core idea put forth by the Hampshire College founders was to structure liberal arts education as a study in how to think in four distinct and important ways.

Thinking as an Artist

First, to think like an artist, in terms of medium, expression, and audience. This became the first part of the Hampshire College distribution requirement, and demonstrating that you can think in this “mode of inquiry” completed your Division One exam in Humanities and Arts.

Thinking as a Social Scientist

Another way to think is as a sociologist, in terms of people acting in larger groups and making decisions collectively differently than they might make decisions alone. This is a second part of the Hampshire College Distribution requirement, and demonstrating that you can think in this way completes a Division One in Social Science.

Thinking as a Natural Scientist

The third way to think is as a natural scientist does, in terms of physics, biology, and scientific method. This is the third part of the Hampshire College distribution requirement and completing this was a Division One exam in Natural Science.

Thinking as a Cognitive Scientist

Finally one needs to demonstrate thinking as a cognitive scientist does, in terms of logic, rational, and organizations of thought itself. The fourth part of the Hampshire College distribution requirement was a Division One Exam in Communications and Cognitive Science. Writing these four mini-theses completed your first tier of education at Hampshire College.

A Concentration at Hampshire College

The next step in the Hampshire College curriculum was to focus on one of these four areas and spend two years studying it. Your collection of courses, papers, and other material in your subject then became your Division Two Exam.

Completing an Undergraduate Thesis

The last year at Hampshire was dedicated to writing a thesis in your area of specialization. This thesis, short of being a PhD thesis, was your Division Three Exam. At each of these levels, you were expected to recruit a committee consisting of professors in your field and student peers who had already completed that level of exam. With your Division Two and Division Three Exams completed, you had written six papers and had them peer and professionally reviewed, allowing you to proceeded to graduation.

The Hampshire College Educational Model Doesn’t Work

The problem with this educational model is that this is too much for an eighteen- to twenty-two-year-old to be able to do. When I attended Hampshire, the drop out rate exceeded 50%. It is simply too much to ask a teenager to develop their own college program and complete it at one of the most expensive colleges in the country within four years.

The Hampshire College Financial Model Doesn’t Work

To add to the complication, the Hampshire College founders decided that none of the professors would receive tenure, so as to avoid so-called “dead wood.” Further, the college started without an endowment, so all expenses of the college were paid solely by tuition and fund-raising.

Among the Highest Tuition in the Country

Added together, the high attrition rate, the high staff turnover, and the lack of endowment meant that when I attended Hampshire in the early eighties, the school was one of the most expensive in the country, costing $20,000 per year. Today, Hampshire College’s tuition is more than $50,000 per year.

Hampshire College Collapsing to Conformity

The way that Hampshire resolved its complicated educational model was to become more conservative. Students are now selected based on their SAT and other standardized scores and on their parents ability to pay for the school. Further, students may not do independent studies, and may only choose from standard courses to develop their Divisional exams. The idea of independent study exams no longer exists. In time it would not surprise me if evaluations are phased out in favor of a more traditional grading system.

Another College in an Overfilled Niche

Hampshire College is becoming yet another high priced, small New England Liberal Arts college in an area that doesn’t need one. Furthermore, Hampshire has begun catering to the local community, offering non-credit courses just to bring in more income. In this way, Hampshire is becoming a community college in a place where there are already several community colleges.

An Expensive Failed Educational Experiment

In all, Hampshire College is a failed educational experiment that now maintains accreditation by conformity rather than innovation. If you are looking for a small, New England Liberal Arts College, I recommend you look elsewhere. There are better schools available for a fraction of the price.