William Jewell College’s self proclaimed trademark,“The Critical Thinking College,” has become somewhat of a meme amongst students. After a recent announcement, however, it is starting to seem more accurate than once thought.
According to a new survey of Kansas City businesses, Jewell was found to be the indispensable suppliers of critical thinkers in the region. The declaration occurred ahead of the 2023 deadline for the strategic goal.
In earning the title, the College beat out schools including Kansas State University, University of Missouri-Kansas City and the University of Missouri by a wide margin.
“We only hire Jewell alumni. Their ability to think critically is unparalleled,” said one Kansas City company included in the recent survey. It seems like all of those Critical Thought and Inquiry classes are paying off after all.
Jewell isn’t just ahead of the pack here in Kansas City either – according to a recent study done by the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Jewell is ranked in the top 10 amongst all colleges in the country in terms of the percentage of graduates who are classified as critical thinkers.
How they got these results and how a critical thinker is defined and measured is unclear, but the results speak volumes: Jewell is one of the top schools in the nation at producing critical thinkers.
The results of the survey and the study done by the AERA bode well for recent Jewell graduates, as Kansas City companies like Cerner will look first to former Jewell students when hiring. This explains the high rates of recent Jewell graduates that get jobs within months of graduation.
So instead of rolling your eyes the next time you drive by one of those Jewell billboards on I-35, maybe you will look at them, and read Jewell’s moniker of “The Critical Thinking College,” with the respect they deserve.