1. Applying to & Working at a Small Liberal Arts College (SLAC)
Courtney M. Dorroll, PhD University of Arizona
Assistant Professor at Wofford College

2. Discussion Overview Please ask questions throughout
Vocab Overview—terms associated with SLACs
1st Would you want to work at a SLAC
2nd For those that decide yes I’ll then move into tips on applying to a SLAC

3. Terms to know SLAC - Small Liberal Arts College
PUI - Primarily Undergraduate Institution
SOTL - Scholarship on Teaching and Learning
TT - tenure track
Gen ed - general education classes undergrads have to take to graduate that are offered across the entire campus/required as opposed to major or minor
Lower level courses - usually at the 100 or 200 level generally taken by first years and sophomores
Upper level courses level and generally populated by juniors and seniors
High impact practices– ways of teaching that are engaging and involve a lot of professor/student interaction ex: writing a thesis or capstone paper with a mentor professor
Teaching load: how many courses one teaches each semester (3/1/3; 4/4)
Student professor ratio: how many students per professor (on average across the campus) example 11/1= the average is a class size of 11 students
Cap—the maximum students allowed in a class (ex: my lower level courses/gen ed courses are capped at 25 students. My upper level classes are capped at 18 students

4. Small Liberal Arts Colleges
Range of sizes (<4000 students)
No (or very few) graduate programs
Often emphasize “whole” student
Classes emphasize writing, critical thinking, and speaking skills

5. Teaching Teaching is valued Small classes
Pros
Cons
Teaching is valued
Lots of support!
Small classes
Opportunities to teach outside subdiscipline
High pressure for engaged teaching
Lots of grading
Not a lot of demand for “boutique” courses

6. Research Even relatively “small” achievements are celebrated
Pros
Cons
Even relatively “small” achievements are celebrated
No/little pressure for grant funding
Engaged, talented undergrads
Resources vary
Small participant pools
No graduate students
Few campus collaborators
Progress is slow

7. Service/Community Can feel like you have a voice
Pros
Cons
Can feel like you have a voice
Opportunity to think about higher education beyond your field
Campus-wide politics
Can be hard to “disengage”
Have to be a team player

8. Work-Life Balance (Fairly) easy to keep a 9-5 schedule
Pros
Cons
(Fairly) easy to keep a 9-5 schedule
Very little travel
Student expectations regarding phone and —set firm boundaries!
Expectation for campus engagement (sporting events, plays, etc.)
A lot probably depends on individual department and colleagues!

9. Getting the Job! Tailor to individual schoolDo
Don’t
Tailor to individual school
Small liberal arts, generally
Specific culture of school (we’re not all the same!)
State how you can conduct your research successfully at a SLAC
Say you can teach the classes in job ad
Mention your desire for location (if applicable)
Use the same materials you send to research- oriented jobs
Write research statement that is incomprehensible to someone outside your specialty
Forget to mention that you can teach Intro to courses, Methods/Theories, first- year seminars, etc. (“service” classes)

10. Additional Online Resources
Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning Theology and Religion
Specifically their blog from scholars that focus on teaching /
AAC&U Association of American Colleges and Universities
Specifically their section on High Impact Practices
Specifically their section on Student Success

11. Questions? My Sources & Gratitude to:
My colleague from Kalamazoo College, Dr. Autumn Hostetter, for guidance and expertise on this PowerPoint
Colleagues at Wofford who helped me prepare and think through this topic
Colleagues from across the US who responded to my Facebook Survey on this topic—giving me SLAC information from various fields, regions and institutions
& especially to the Center for Middle East Studies for organizing this brown bag presentation