A US perspective on England’s new private ‘liberal arts’ college

A US perspective on the New College of the Humanities in the UK, which will charge students £18,000 per year and will offer eight undergraduate courses in the humanities and social sciences taught by prominent academics. Brian Leiter suggests that New College will “free professors from the increasingly idiotic requirements of higher education in Britain, which will work to the advantage of both faculty and students”.

Do you agree with this optimistic perspective? What does this new institution mean for higher education in the UK? What are the implications of shifting humanities and social sciences away from students from non-affluent backgrounds? How should academics in the UK respond?