STUDENTS
AND THE STRATEGIC PLAN
As a follow up to the article in the last issue on the Strategic Plan and the Learning Commons, I have interviewed Sanjeev Pushkarna, Executive Vice President of the Students’ Union and Student Representative on the Board of Governors.
Talking to faculty about the strategic plan elicits some cautiously hopeful statements, at best. I thought the Writing Centre was an interesting case because it had a solid footing as a faculty driven initiative, yet harnessed to a creature of the Strategic Plan (The Learning Commons). Therefore it is perhaps an early indicator of the Plan in motion. As I indicated, there seemed to be a worry that by getting on board with the Strategic Plan the Writing Centre might spin off in unexpected directions. Yet, to date, there seems to be some cautious optimism in the process.
I must say, talking to representatives at the Student Union produces an entirely different impression. The student body is racing along with the strategic planning process, having already attended a dinner held by the Vice President Academic, Ralph Nilson, which was part of an information gathering conversation. Since then, the Student Union has produced a report analyzing the information gathered and is proceeding with the formal submission of recommendations after a meeting of a student council. The students are therefore in step with the Core Academic Strategy.
Can the same be said of faculty? I am not at all certain.
Sanjeev Pushkarna has reflected that students have been very impressed with the willingness of the Administration to let the students voice their concerns and submit their recommendations as part of the process, rather than offering the student body a perfunctory opportunity to respond to a fait accompli after the process has all but concluded.
Let’s face it, many students are not even aware of the Strategic Plan. Yet, discussions indicate that students welcome the opportunity provided by the Strategic Plan to air their concerns, concerns such as class sizes, the value of Acadia Advantage, high tuitions, exclusion or segregation of low-income and international students, curriculum review, the first year declared Major, few offerings for multidisciplinary minors and majors, the inadequacy of existing career services, and misguided investments in residences and other community-based infrastructure at the expense of academics.
The biggest issues are financial aid, curriculum, and the engagement of students in the decision-making process at the highest levels of the university. But these concerns have not produced skepticism about the Strategic Plan. Rather, initiatives like the Learning Commons seem to have won approval, as has the Administration, for at least making students feel as if they are helping to steer the process.
Jamie Whidden
Student and Faculty bodies out
for a spin with Gail.