Thursday, February 05, 2009

Problem solving, a.k.a., we'll see where this goes...

...in light of the conversation I had with my colleague last Friday (and the subsequent blog post last Sunday) on student perceptions of our university, I've just sent an e-mail to our new chief admissions officer, requesting a meeting with her at which we might discuss outreach activities involving area high school guidance counselors, whether that outreach takes place at the level of the university or at the level of the department.

To be continued, I'm sure...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Patrick, you know there are a lot of teachers in the area that went to UNCA, perhaps partnering with some of them to produce a more fluid communication chain about the positives of a Liberal Arts education could be helpful. Although that would have to include UNCA keeping an eye on its Liberal Arts mission and not touting a focus of vocational readiness to the exclusion of its full educational goals. Many of the teachers I know that went to UNCA believe very strongly in the philosophy that lead them to, or they found at, UNCA. They are in constant contact with those very students we would seek to educate about the benefits UNCA could offer. One option might be to push for better contact with that particular group of alumni. Just a thought. I know Reid Chapman has taught in both capacities. Perhaps there are some other faculty working at the school that have in roads as well. I for one, would love to see the kind of environment that I experience at UNCA become one of the predominant goals of education. But I do think that that concept must pervade the mindset of the whole university for a successful campaign to that effect. You would be pretty surprised to hear how often I have heard what vocation can be gained from a particular area of study as the first and main motivation offerd many of my classes.