>From fox Fri Jul 19 11:25:00 1996 Date: Fri, 19 Jul 1996 11:25:00 -0400 From: fox (Edward A. Fox) To: trad-l@listserv.vt.edu Subject: please reply ASAP re "trad" meeting, questions Cc: jkmcbee@vtvm1.cc.vt.edu, kwolfe@vtvm1.cc.vt.edu Dear Subcommittee on Traditional Undergraduates (and Janice McBee, helping as research assistant, who will assist with the survey / data collection requests we make, plus Kathy Wolfe, who will help with meeting scheduling and other related tasks): Anne and David have assigned us a number of tasks to be completed if possible by Aug. 1. So, I ask that we have a meeting as soon as convenient. Please send Kathy Wolfe kwolfe@vtvm1.cc.vt.edu (and cc to me) a list of all of the open times you have in the following ranges, and she will try to find the earliest intersection. a. Tue July 23, before 10, or 11:30-12:45, or 3-5 b. Wed July 24, before 1, or after 4 c. Thu July 25, before 10 d. Mon July 29, before 12:45 or after 2:30 e. Wed July 31, before 2 or after 3 In preparation for that meeting, please do the following. If possible, send me your comments (requested below) by 22 July, but if you are away and can not do it till later, please do so at your earliest convenience. 0. Read over the recent email from Anne and David, especially that sent on 11 July. (If you do not have a copy, ask them or me at happy@vt.edu, conn@vt.edu, or fox@vt.edu) 1. From the list of subjects our subcommittee has already drawn up, identify two that you think are of greatest importance (or, if you like, are of greatest interest to you). Send your list to me. 2. Try to think of one other subject that is important to you, that we left out of our lists. It would be fine to pick a subject that another subcommittee mentions, or to come up with something totally new. Send me your thoughts on this. 3. From our prior list of questions (see Anne's msg, section (1) 3) or your own new thoughts identify two types of data that you think are most important for us to obtain to help us find answers. This could be a type of survey, some data file present or obtainable, etc. Send your list to me. 4. If you think there is some topic that warrants concentrated study, by a subset of our subcommittee, possibly with the help of outsiders, please send me a description of that topic. 5. From the list of cross-cutting issues at the end of Anne's msg, or your own thoughts, please send me one issue that you think warrants a separate working group, e.g., a team of people from the Steering Committee and beyond. I know we are all busy, but hope you can work on this. I expect it should only take 1-2 hours. Just to prod people, I attach my replies to 1-5 below. Please don't just agree - we all have different perspectives and your comments are important! If you prefer, you can stop reading this message now so you are not influenced by my opinions. I look forward to your comments (sent to fox@vt.edu) and to seeing you at an upcoming meeting. Many thanks, Ed - - -my quick reply to questions 1-5 follows after blank lines- - - - 1a. We should study the desires and expectations of parents. My assumptions are that: i) They are paying more and so have keener interest. ii) Many more have college education and experience. iii) They are less willing for their child to be lost in the crowd; they expect professors to offer quality time. iv) They want their child to be able to get a job after college. v) They will be less tolerant of exceptions to "total quality". vi) They are unwilling for costs to escalate beyond cost of living. 1b. We should study the desires and expectations of employers. My assumptions are that: i) They expect students to be mature and disciplined. ii) They expect students to know how to learn, lifelong. iii) They expect a grounding in modern technology. iv) They expect a broad background of knowledge and skills that provides flexibility in job assignment. 2. How can a traditional student shift in and out of that status, becoming a non-traditional student over summers, or when "on leave" for personal or financial reasons, and then return to being a traditional student? 3a. How can we learn about parent expectations and assessments, longitudinally, from time of student orientation through graduation through 2, 5, 10 years past? 3b. How can we develop a model (e.g., spreadsheet or simulation) that predicts how changes in pedagogy and use of technology will effect the required staff and faculty sizes as well as other costs that are a part of the total university budget? 4. Whole Person Subgroup: i) We need to gauge the impact of having a higher % living off campus. ii) We need to re-evaluate our approach to this for the growing body of older students, some with families, some with work experience or in coop programs. iii) We need to re-assess the growing role of athletics. iv) We need to balance this with academic time pressures. 5a. Integrating Research and Education: How can students at all levels and in all locations work together with each other and with faculty so that they discover new knowledge (e.g., engage in and learn how to research, especially with a practical or applied orientation)? 5b. Evaluation and Reward: How can our institution develop a comprehensive infrastructure with a set of practices and mechanisms for evaluation and reward of faculty that: i) considers their role as educators, not just teachers, ii) encourages innovation, iii) incorporates formative evaluation, iv) includes specific, relevant aspects for each type of student audience (e.g., considering level, location, learning objectives) 5c. Lowering Cost and Maintaining Quality: How can we become more efficient in carrying out our missions, yet maintaining quality? (This calls for a deep analysis of what we spend money on, how we can change our approach to carrying out our mission, and how we can change the allocation of human resources - faculty as well as staff.)