2008 Woodie Awards
Macalester's own Tocqueville examines liberal arts college culture
By: Peter Wright
Issue date: 4/18/08 Section: News
Chunchun Wang, a Ph.D. student from China, is studying Macalester this semester to detail the "core essentials" of a liberal arts education, something that is rare in her home country.
"In China we don't have liberal arts colleges at all," Wang said. "Something that may be very common for you may be new to me."
Provost Diane Michelfelder said that Macalester invited Wang to study here because her work can provide a fresh perspective on the college. She said Wang can help Macalester learn more about the needs of the higher education system in China and how to become more involved.
"There is a lot of interest at the moment in China in expanding general education as part of a student's educational experience," Michelfelder said.
Wang has been at Macalester for two months and works out of a cramped office, normally used as an independent study room in the library. She still has more research to do, but some of her initial observations have shed light on two different cultural approaches to education.
She said that syllabi and homework schedules handed out at the beginning of the year are rare in China.
In addition, she said, professors speak to much larger crowds and small classes are rare. Huazhong University of Science and Technology, where Wang is getting her Ph.D., is one of the top schools in China and has 56,319 students.
She said writing is not emphasized in her university as much as it is at Macalester and said she was surprised at the amount of writing professors expect from students here.
Wang was also surprised at how much time American students have to choose a major. In China, she said, students are required to decide what their focus will be before their first college class.
"We have very specialized education," she said.
On an institutional level, Wang said, Chinese colleges are not as interested in trying to keep students as are American institutions, particularly the private ones. She said that colleges in China never worry about losing funding because almost all of them are run by the government.
"In China we don't have liberal arts colleges at all," Wang said. "Something that may be very common for you may be new to me."
Provost Diane Michelfelder said that Macalester invited Wang to study here because her work can provide a fresh perspective on the college. She said Wang can help Macalester learn more about the needs of the higher education system in China and how to become more involved.
"There is a lot of interest at the moment in China in expanding general education as part of a student's educational experience," Michelfelder said.
Wang has been at Macalester for two months and works out of a cramped office, normally used as an independent study room in the library. She still has more research to do, but some of her initial observations have shed light on two different cultural approaches to education.
She said that syllabi and homework schedules handed out at the beginning of the year are rare in China.
In addition, she said, professors speak to much larger crowds and small classes are rare. Huazhong University of Science and Technology, where Wang is getting her Ph.D., is one of the top schools in China and has 56,319 students.
She said writing is not emphasized in her university as much as it is at Macalester and said she was surprised at the amount of writing professors expect from students here.
Wang was also surprised at how much time American students have to choose a major. In China, she said, students are required to decide what their focus will be before their first college class.
"We have very specialized education," she said.
On an institutional level, Wang said, Chinese colleges are not as interested in trying to keep students as are American institutions, particularly the private ones. She said that colleges in China never worry about losing funding because almost all of them are run by the government.
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