All the presidents of the colleges that make up Claremont University Consortium in California visited Asia recently to highlight their commitment to attracting top students from the region and continue their collaborative research programmes with local institutions.
The university is comprised of seven leading liberal arts colleges, namely Claremont Graduate University, Claremont McKenna College, Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences, Pitzer College, Pomona College, Harvey Mudd College and Scripps College.
The faculty and senior management take a unique approach to executive education, including MBAs. This starts with students being able to enjoy the individualised attention of a small college with the resources of a major university.
A recent example of this was a US$200million donation by Robert Day to Claremont McKenna College, one of the largest single donations to a college in United States history.
It is this kind of support and the commitment of the Consortium's leaders to provide excellent education that is attracting Asian students, who now make up a significant percentage of overseas students attending the colleges.
The question is, how to convince business-minded people to take their MBAs at a liberal arts college? Simple, according to Robert Klitgaard, president and university professor at Claremont Graduate University. Show not only that liberal arts provide a practical angle to business (because management is a liberal arts area), but pair it with a unique undergraduate programme that provides students with two degrees in five years.