Student focus in Self-Study leads to campus improvements

oe now most of us have withdrawn cash

om the bank machine installed in the
concourse a couple of months ago.

It’s nice to have that service on campus,
but what most people don’t know is that a
bank machine on campus was one of the
recommendations of the 1991/92 Institu-
tional Self-Study. That study focused on
students, and resulted in a report called
Student Needs, Involvement and Out-
comes. A number of recommendations
came out of it, many to do with services to
students, College spirit, facilities, and
flow of information.

Librarian Jean Cockburn was Steering
Committee Chair of the Self-Study. She’s
happy to report that some of the
recommendations contained in the report
have already been implemented. The
reason why, she says, is simply that they
made a lot of sense.

"Some things were done even before the
Self-Study was over, because the momen-
tum was there, such as the Student
Success Task Force. The first Nations
Advisor was a recommendation made by
the external team, and that position will be
filled soon."

The new Learning Centre evolved from
another recommendation. Also as a result
of a Self-Study recommendation for more
student/faculty interaction, faculty and ad-
ministrators participated in the new
student orientation sessions this past sum-
mer as an opportunity for them to mix
with students.

The report’s recommendations have been
drawn up in an action plan on what needs
to be done, when, and by whom.

Cockburn is pleased that many of the Self-
Study recommendations are in the process
of implementation. "I felt that implied that
our efforts were worthwhile and our work
is moving forward. In a way, it’s the con-
crete things that have been done and that’s
good. For some of the less tangible things
such as improved communication within
the College and an increase in students’
identification with the College, we ha-
ven’t seen action yet. With a commuter
college like Douglas it’s difficult, but I
think that we are moving ahead, and the
College is paying attention to it."

If you would like a copy of Student
Needs, Involvement and Outcomes,
contact Bob Cowin at local 5348. A

College’s future continued from page 1

 

"We are now coming to a time when
change is catching up with us."

As the pressure to respond to external
forces increases at Douglas College more
and more people are asking why now?
What's the hurry?

Day uses an hourglass as a metaphor to de-
scribe the situation that the College is
facing. Before the sand reaches the bot-
tom, he says, we need to make some hard
choices and be clear on where we’ re head-
ing.

"The bottom of the glass is where we
should be in five to six years," says Day.
"We need to have dealt with matters be-
cause our external environment will have
changed."

Planning our future now will enable the
College to maintain control. While we are

not independent of government, Day is
convinced we can choose our own path.

"IT am 97% certain that ultimately we can
set our own direction." He says. "If that di-
rection is inertia, then decisions will be
made for us by government."

Not all questions were addressed at the fo-
rum. But they are all considered
imperative to future planning and will be
used as reference when planning strategies
and administrative changes at the College.

"Forum questions have been compiled by
Bob Cowin (Director of Institutional
Research)," says Day. "They will be taken
to the next round of strategic and tactical
planning and synthesized as a test to be
applied against our current edition of the
strategic plan."

 

 

 

 

 

Librarian Jean Cockburn, Steering
Committee Chair of the Institutional Self-
Study, says some recommendations of
that report have now been implemented.

 

The notes and questions collected at the
forum will also be circulated to appropri-
ate departments for consideration when
doing operations planning for next year.

The full notes of the forum, including a
list of all questions are available from Bob
Cowin at local 5348 (Room 2303). &