The following are unedited notes taken by Walker of the Community Conversation - Strategic Plan. For those who weren't there, read up on student concerns and admin responses. Also e-mail tblum@sarahlawrencecollege.edu with your own concerns (top 3 preferably).
Community Conversation – Strategic Plan
Microphones available in audience.
Panel: Mary Porter, Kristen Sands, Leah Olsen, Vera Kelsey Watts, Al Green, Daniel Licht, Tom Blume
Past Tuesday: document (explaining cornerstones)
Why are we here?: College last created a long-term strategic plan more than ten years ago. Environment changed an awful lot since 1996-97. Reassessing priorities, setting out goals to carry for the next few years. Last large fundraising campaign was 04-05.
Objectives: inviting audience reflections, recommendations, sense of priorities
Three general areas: Building of a coherent course of study, priorities for development of curriculum going forward, ways to assist students who are graduating/career/etc.
What are our wants? What are our needs?
Strategic coordinating committee has responsibility for day-to-day action.
Conducted series of surveys dating back to Spring ’08. Amassed a lot of data, some quantitative, some qualitative.
Cornerstones: things that absolutely have to be addressed for the college
Pedagogy
Size of college
Financial equilibrium (one thing can be said absolutely not achieved since ’96)
Working at SLC (faculty, staffed)
Living/learning at SLC
Marketing, visibility
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MARY: "We all love this institution, it is important to recognize what we have and move forward."
Notes are being taken. Video being made. Information from this meeting being taken into constructive meetings. Welcome input.
-Building program of study with don (30 min). What do you like? What's working? What would you like to see? What things do you think you need to have that happen (skills, money, organization)?
-Content of Curriculum (15 min).
-Being prepared for life beyond SLC (15 min).
BUILDING PROGRAM OF STUDY WITH DON:
Alexis Gordon: dealing with requirements, especially lecture requirements. Upper-class keep getting bumped from lectures, while we have requirements. What works? Don is always pushing in direction of things you wouldn't necessarily think of, stepping outside of comfort zone, and often fits perfectly. Want to see happen? Even just being clearer about lecture requirements as first year.
Elizabeth [Row] (senior): Does not agree with Alexis, feels all that was clear. Her issue: what about students that have gone over requirements and fulfilled, then get to their senior year and have a course they've been waiting to take and are bumped. Seems to be a disconnect between don-student and registrar office. How do you form a relationship so that doesn't happen.
(Resp:) Important that have open curriculum. Many were talking about priority of seniors and juniors, question is how does that mesh with open curriculum.
Hana Denson (senior): Love curriculum! Happy with transfer. Issue: been very frustrating to come as a junior and not feel that have any priority. Don't think that priority would be against "egalitarian concept that's going on." Could be things in place like having juniors/seniors register first. Giving priority list more weight.
Daniel Licht (response): Don't hear much from lower class about whether upper class should get priority. Open curriculum is not predictable. "Last chance class" could happen in sophomore year, not just in senior year. So not as cut and dry. Also: if more traditionally oriented to giving priority, what does composition of classes become. Are we comfortable with classes that are exclusively or primarily seniors? Is that in keeping with history of college? These questions ought to be considered.
Al Green (response): Question: does priority take out faculty flexible in terms of the way they think about teaching and how they want to build the class.
Danny Young (senior): Interviews work very well. Encourage dons to speak with students about how to maximize that. Critique/question: how do we go about labeling what counts as intermediate, advanced, etc. Often presumed knowledge in open classes, or "easy" intermediate classes.
Eliza Snelling (senior): props to doc about how registration works.
Joe [Lizowskis]: Good experience with don. Process of selecting don. When here, suggested to take first year studies in something you haven't taken yet. What does that imply for your college life. Priority list vague.
Leah: over priorities: how many seniors actually get bumped? need more data [ed: prolonging when you already hear students have problem?]. trying to move to two-year design of courses. flexibility is at risk if they must plan too far in advance. always trade-offs.
Kristen: labeling courses a simple problem--go back to facutly, compare syllabi, educate on how to clarify what constitutes int. adv., etc.
Leah: disagree a little, some diff. between what they think., sometimes it's not knowledge you need, but a certain way of learning and being able to approach studies.
Mary: Often not possible to know what people will want later; don can often help figure things out outside of focus area
Angelina (senior): re: adv. etc., advantages to crystallization--in advanced it's mostly seniors, first years intimidated. often first years can do fine. sometimes just scare tactics. also: don is head of dance, Ang. does Theology. Is there a way (workshop?) to better explain what things like conference work are?
Lucy (senior): Different experiences in terms of don advising. Great disparity between different proffessors and donning philosophies. Some just want to sign forms. A lot of dons also have many seniors, this is unacceptable.
Jesse (sophomore): thing that works: diversity and dynamism of faculty. science faculty so enthusiastic about area of study. classes that are very base level and needed as prerequisites: very easy to be bumped, in event that higher level classes aren't offered. Bio huge field, but general bio can only have 15. Don single most important faculty member. WRONG THAT THAT'S THE ONE PERSON YOU NEVER INTERVIEW. FYS needs polishing.
Tate (senior): awesome students, faculty, staff. discrepancy when it comes to people knowing what they want to study and those that don't. desire for people to come and do what they want to do--get to point where they've taken same teacher for many semesters, gets problematic because they can't take any more credits in that field.
Lindsey (first year): process of registering very difficult, had FYS, wanted to be theatre third, got bumped twice from third class. if seniors and juniors have priority, getting bumped early on is better because you can look forward to seniority
Andy [Drachenburg]: All elements of theatre (e.g.) is not the same, to limit them, you cannot get full exposure to your chosen field. Abroad programs through theatre
Sara Aonan: came to SLC with a plan with several requirements, but has been bumped from biology every single year--core requirement for premed. internships (that might sub for credits) have requirements as well.
Sarah Weiss: similar predicament, being able to try different things, able to discover passion through that. now has been bumped from psychology. is there a way to let college know that you have a specific drive.
CONTENT OF ACADEMIC CURRICULUM:
George (first year): wants there to be more film classes, esp. hands-on like film-making that are not just fys.
Bacchus: important to remember diversity of why we're here. build into phil. that there is a diversity. Don't make assumptions about any categories. Allow for agency within system to achieve own goals. During registration, you can list whether something is your passion, etc.
Mary: would you actually say you didn't want a class?
YES!
Two words: Chinese, Arabic
: semester-long visual arts courses, not many art history courses second semester, language: No ASL (HAS STARTED EXTRA CURRICULAR CLASS)
Diana [Shawns]: not able to receive credit if you've taken something on your own time.
Kristen Sands: policy is changing, because there's a lot of difficulty working with other institutions and the quality of the program. past attempts have not worked out, so SLC is stopping. language studies a high priority for the college.
Al Green: when you make a decision to go to college, you've made a choice--sometimes to a place that can't satisfy everyone's needs. choices have to be made. hard when a small liberal arts college.
Lauren [Plotzman]: Not enough artistic classes. given number of art-related students, only one faculty in each discipline. supporter of open curriculum, but have found frustrating doing higher-level advance studies when it's people's first course in a discipline. in classes with people who consider art a hobby.
Mali Irvin (senior): Matriculation--maybe with workshops, talking about what SLC grads experience.
Roland Dollinger (German): not enough opportunities as senior to study as senior. SLC used to have senior seminars, he thinks they worked very well. created by faculty members, program died. would take incentive from dean's office to push these kinds of courses. would be wonderful for students and teachers. could fulfill a lot of wishes. shifting ratio between semester-long and year-long courses. many more one-semester courses recently, in attempt to offer more courses. needs to be addressed.
Mary: more semester-long classes means more opportunity to be bumped
Neil (senior): conference work sole reason came to SLC. all gripes with classes that this is only half of what we do. dissappointed that we do amazing projects that stay on hard drives and we forget about them. if we could encourage more practical use of conf work...why don't we have more evidence of where work can get published. sense of community could be solved if we knew more about what people were doing.
: most enriching classes--service learning. need to emphasize applying things. independent study should be emphasized. prioritize.
Claudia Martinez (senior): transfer. encourage survey course in art history. program a mess. friend took a course with someone asked to leave. should be established appeals process in regards to evaluations. many in a course not given credit deserved.
PREPARING FOR AFTER COLLEGE:
: career counseling not as effective as it might be. resorted to friends writing apps to grad school.
Mike (senior): support of being published, but don't force. good to be in space where you don't need to be worried about being published.
: step up offering art of teaching, undergrad and masters in five years.
William Forber: economic problems. since been student, experienced rise in tuition. how are you intending to represent needs?
Scott Calvin (Physics): good job of giving core, marketable skills; don't do a good job of letting students know that they have skills. sometimes average student at SLC gives you huge advantage over state schools.
Tyler [Mayo] (sophomore): often don't talk about applicability of skills--even now. important for people to know how people can make money with your life
(senior): lucky to have career part along with school part. we can't be expected to be handed something on a silver platter. but if you really need help, you can get it.
India Nicholas (senior): only complaint--lack of information about getting internships getting pre-approved. didn't get credit for unpaid internship.
: SLC core values are those of grad school. why award a bachelor's and masters in five years, but not MFA in five years?
: we're directed to the list that career counseling has for jobs (short list), but we need to be made more aware of other resources. have low-level, not just professionals, come back to speak.
Grace (senior): a few things about becoming a senior. being abroad, felt real disconnect, lost advantages. seniors shouldn't get bumped as often.
Bacchus: taboo against talking about conference work. we should appreciate each other a lot more. don't value how-to knowledge. nexus between practical and artistic is out-valued. comunication. communication. communication.
Eliza: more communication between special programs office.
Emily (senior): taken science internships here two summers, amazing. might not exist any more for economic reasons
Vera: EMAIL US! ADDRESSES AT SADIELOU.NET .
tblum@sarahlawrence.edu
e-mail 3 most important things you heard.
BLUM SUMMARY:
-appears that snaps are coming back
-student in audience thinks there's still capitalist economy in u.s.
for real:
-donning is working, curriculum working
-some inconsistancy in labeling of courses (int., adv. etc)
-maybe more mentoring with donning
-access
-exploring possibility for system of letting admin know that a course is very imp. to student
-chinese, arabic
-think through pressures of small lib arts
-film, film making
-value of conference work and importance of making students aware of peer work
-workshops in grad school, career.
-advising from dons
-need for workshops for practical skills
MORE TO COME! BE AGENTS ON-CAMPUS! SPREAD THE WORD!
AFTER-PARTY:
John Y.: people don't have time to do things, John is proposing global calendar--planned inter-disciplinarily. different groups/disciplines can collaborate and plan events together
Bacchus: create atmosphere of participation and you get participation.
Walker: music tuesdays, gaps should be filled by student stuff.
Ghost of Sarah Lawrence: WOKWOKBBABABSWOKKWOKK
Bacchus: plenty of fun things to do when you don't need funding. Amy doing sing-alongs.
From: operations@sarahlawrence.edu
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