Cornell’s distinctive approach

By The Gazette Editorial Board

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Jonathan Brand's new job took him to a small college in Eastern Iowa. One of his big tasks as president of Cornell College in Mount Vernon will be to objectively quantify the outcomes of its flagship academic structure.

Brand believes the results will do nothing but prove the value of Cornell's one-class-at-a-time system. We hope that's the case. It would further validate the private liberal-arts college's reputation, and help keep this rare option available in our region. And who knows, the one-class approach might even be adopted by others.

Cornell is a bit of an oasis in the post-high school education world. The school prides itself on a strong, face-to-face faculty-student relationship, built on an academic system aimed at enhancing such interaction and the depth of study.

Brand, who grew up in St. Louis, started at Cornell on July 1 after six years as president at Doane College, Neb., following seven years as assistant to the president at Grinnell College.

Brand said he expects the federal government's increasing scrutiny of higher education will require Cornell to measure the effectiveness of its one-class system for students, so developing suitable measurements will be a focus. Cornell began one-class instruction in 1978 and is one of the best-known among a half-dozen U.S. schools that use the system.

Other than beef up the school's endowment fund that supports operations and student aid, Brand wants to strengthen the school's niche - not make big changes. Using current technology in the classroom, labs and field is vital but don't look for a move to expand online classes under Brand. “That doesn't fit well with our student-faculty relationship approach.”

Cornell, like most small private schools, comes with a high price tag - about $40,000 a year for tuition, room and board. But the college's assistance cuts that cost in half, and the average debt for graduates is about $22,000 - below the figure for students at Iowa's public universities.

Cornell's enrollment is about 1,200 - up more than 200 since 2001 - and Brand wants to grow it at least another 200. He'd like to see more Iowa students - only 17 percent are from this state - while maintaining the school's appeal to students beyond Iowa's borders, including minorities (now 25 percent).

Such diversity should be preserved. It enriches all students' experience, and supports the goal of a liberal arts education: Well-rounded graduates with strong skills in communication, critical thinking and collaboration - stuff that is highly prized by most employers and is a building block of stronger communities.

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