Staking a claim: The decoupling of liberal arts mission statements from baccalaureate degrees awarded in higher education

This study uses data from synopses of academic mission statements at 303 U.S. colleges to examine the relationship between liberal arts claims and major field of baccalaureate degrees. Hypotheses are developed from an institutionalist perspective that focus, first, on the extent to which academic mission statements are decoupled (inconsistent) from major field of baccalaureate degrees awarded at "liberal arts" colleges and, second on the relationship between several organizational characteristics of colleges and the likelihood of decoupling. Descriptive statistics reveal that 70 percent of colleges making liberal arts claims award degrees primarily in professional disciplines. Legit analysis is used to lest institutionalist hypotheses concerning the effects of denominational affiliation, selectivity residentiality, and endowment on the probability of decoupling. Results support the institutionalist model.