Where Can YOU Take it from Here?
With all this learning and reflecting, what is the next step? Will you try to answer the question of “what is holding us back?” Or answer Professor Fost’s question from earlier in this newsletter—“Why do some students have full sails, while others merely drift?” Wherever your individual or institutional path may go from here, a few reflections from students and faculty who attended the Sudent Conference may spark your imagination and fortitude.
Student Reflection
“…In situations where you encounter hostility, it is easy to dismiss [their] views, to simply move on. However, it is in these situations where you can grow and affirm your passions through building mutual respect and understanding with the opposition; although you may not agree, you can be informed…focus on the individuals who are willing to engage in a productive dialogue with you. If you run into an insurmountable social obstacle, whether that be a student, staff, or faculty of the college, accept your loss and devote your energy toward your next goal. Not all of my projects and proposals have been accepted by the campus community. Accepting my losses and progressing in a different direction has saved me from wasted time, hurt feelings, and has allowed me to advance sustainability through a different venue.”
Erik Howard George, student,
Concordia College-Moorhead, MN
Faculty Reflections
“As higher education faces new challenges and opportunities, both faculty and institutions may need to reimagine themselves—in much the same way that the students at the conference did. As our vision of what it means to be a faculty member continues to change, we will need to exhibit resilience as we draw on different skills and abilities in an effort to reach new (and different) students. Administrators will need similar resilience in order to guide institutions through this process in ways that honor the ‘whole person’ humanity of both faculty and students.”
James Sloat, Associate Dean for Assessment and New Initiatives,
Washington & Jefferson College, PA
“A few months later [after the student conference], in my day-to-day work at the university, I feel energized to take on new and larger challenges. In addition to my usual work with the FYE student staff on multiple large-scale, civically focused public events for first-year students, I have asked some student staff members to develop a program for a fall Student Mentor Conference. The themes for this conference are currently emerging from a Student Advisory Board that brings together individuals working in our Learning Center, our departments of Biology and English, our first-generation support program, Housing, Advising, and other areas on campus. The BTtoP Student Conference convinced me that the most important immediate step educators can take on campuses is to provide venues where students can speak, invent, forge new relationships, and point the way for needed reforms that will make their education more engaging for themselves and more useful for the communities of which they are a part.”
Thia Wolf,
First-Year Experience Director,
California State University-Chico
From the Project
BTtoP exists to aid and support institutions in dealing with these questions and leveraging the good work that results in the answers. We are interested in student learning, civic development, and flourishing—and the relationship of all three to one another. We are committed to building institutional capacity and sustainability for initiatives that support the integration of this learning, development, and flourishing.
We encourage your reactions and interaction by responding to the newsletter (btp@aacu.org), visiting us on Facebook, and attending conferences and events to learn with and from colleagues interested in similar work. Visit our Web page for more information on available grants and upcoming conferences.
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