Flagstaff College: A New Institution Focuses on Ecological Challenges and Positive Change

The Arizona Daily Sun featured Sandra Lubarsky and Marcus Ford in "Big Idea: College on a 'micro' scale" as the two former Northern Arizona University faculty members seek to welcome their first students in the fall to Flagstaff College.

Flagstaff College will initially feature a two-year program of intensive study focusing on the ecological challenges facing the world and ways to implement positive changes.  

Reporter Sam McManis notes that students "...will either transfer existing general-education credits from other schools or take core classes at Coconino Community College, with which Flagstaff College has partnered, and then focus their study on all aspects of sustainability."

You visit the Flagstaff College website to learn more about the institution's mission and values or academic program. 

The article notes that a number of microcolleges have emerged in recent years and includes references to several like Outer Coast College in Sitka, Alaska or Sterling College in Vermont, Deep Springs in California and Wayfinding Academy in Portland, Oregon. You can read more about these and other micro-colleges in previous Small College Garden posts:

• November 15, 2016 Small Liberal Arts Colleges: Positive Report from a Gathering of Presidents
• August 28, 2016 A Call for more UltraSmall Colleges
• March 30, 2017 Partnership offers Path to Degrees for Single Mothers

Wayfinding Academy is Featured for Initiative to Address Historic Inequality

The Wayfinding Academy is featured in "Portland college offers free tuition to Black and Native American students," with reporting by Meerah Powell and posted by Oregon Public Broadcasting on January 25, 2021. 

Powell interviewed founder and president, Michelle Jones, along with staff and students. There is also a short audio clip accompanying the article.

The Wayfinding Academy "...offers one degree: a two-year associate’s in “self and society” with a focus, Jones said, on helping students figure out what they want to do after college, and how to get there."

You can also learn more in a Small College Garden post from April 2, 2018, "Wayfinding Academy: New 2-Year College Featured on EdSurge."

TEDxSalem posted a segment by Michelle Jones, "How To Do College Better," where she shares her path to the founding of Wayfinding Academy.

Goddard College Prepares for the Future

EdSurge posted "How Goddard's New President Plans to Save His Struggling Experimental College" by Jeffrey Young on May 14, 2019. 

 Young interviews president Bernard Bull about his ideas for the college and why there should be more small-scale colleges using a variety of educational approaches. The article includes a link to the EdSurge on Air podcast and a partial transcript.

You can also visit the Goddard College website to learn more.  Goddard is located in Plainfield, VT and enrolls 496 students.

Wayfinding Academy: New 2-Year College Featured on EdSurge

EdSurge published an interesting post on the Wayfinding Academy in Portland, OR, "This New 2-Year College is Unlike Any Other, And That Could Be Its Biggest Challenge."  Jeffrey R. Young provides an overview in the article of Wayfinding's unique curricular approach focusing on self-discovery.  Wayfinding Academy is now seeking applicants for its third cohort of students that will begin in fall 2018.

You can also read previous Small College Garden post on other artisanal or microcolleges:

• Tuesday, November 15, 2016 Small Liberal Arts Colleges: Positive Report from a Gathering of Presidents
• Sunday, August 28, 2016 A Call for more UltraSmall Colleges
• Thursday, March 30, 2017 Partnership offers Path to Degrees for Single Mothers

Small Liberal Arts Colleges: Positive Report from a Gathering of Presidents

Rick Seltzer's post from November 11, 2016, "The Future of the Tiny Liberal Arts College," presents an interesting summary from a meeting of fifteen small college presidents held earlier in the year. Seltzer reports that the presidents addressed opportunities and challenges faced by their institutions and that conversations emphasized the ability of the smaller institutions to try different approaches rather quickly when they see an opportunity.

The Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation provided support for the meeting and the foundation's president, Julie J. Kidd, commented in a summary that the “...discussion affirmed the benefits of small scale: small class size, meaningful faculty-student interactions, and participation in a strong academic and campus community...” 

Seltzer also interviewed others from the higher education community for the article and their comments underscore the notion that these institutions thrive when they focus on a particular niche or approach and then are consistent over the longer term in hiring committed faculty and staff.  

I particularly appreciated the comments of Hal Hartley, senior vice president for The Council of Independent Colleges.  He indicated that his organization is working on an analysis of the financial strengths at its member institutions and noted one preliminary finding is that small institutions are demonstrating greater financial stability than some with more than 3,000 students.  Hartley concluded, "…size isn’t necessarily your destiny.  Just because you’re small doesn’t mean that you can’t survive financially, that there’s not a viable model.”

A Call for more UltraSmall Colleges

"Why We Need Tiny Colleges," provides an interesting rationale for considering small colleges and reflects a call similar to one issued last year by Susan Henking, president of Shimer College, when she urged consideration of an Artisanal College Movement.  

Marcus Ford argues that we are more likely to see a focus on students at smaller institutions.  His article refers to some better known small institutions like Deep Springs College in California and Sterling College in Vermont.  Ford also mentions several lesser known initiatives to create new smaller institutions:  Flagstaff College in AZ, Outer Coast College in Sitka, AK and Thoreau College in Viroqua, WI.  The article for yes! magazine and it was posted August 26, 2016.  

In addition, Ford provides a link to the site of UltraSmall Colleges that provides some more information and has links to a few other small institutions.

You can scan through previous posts on the Small College Garden blog with links to additional articles on Sterling College, Outer Coast College, Shimer College, and other similar institutions.