reinventing residence life @ MIT : discuss : Scott Feamster

reinventing residence life at MIT discuss

"Scott Feamster" <sf@matrixpfw.com>
Imagine you are the parent of a prospective MIT freshman. What will you look for that will convince you that MIT will provide your child with comprehensive preparation for the world of work and life.
We looked for a total educational environment for our son Nick.
1. Academics. Nick was pursuing EE/CS (Course 6). We put MIT first among East Coast universities because of third party ratings. We were also impressed in informal meetings with students, faculty, and staff.
2. Atmosphere. Nick had interests beyond EE/CS. We liked the availability of Harvard courses. We were impressed with the variety of non-EE/CS courses and extracurricular activities.
3. Attitude. Nick had intelligence and initiative. We liked the concept of the RO freshman living choices. We were impressed with the MIT attitude of treating students as adults.
Our major suggestions are outlined below. More detailed suggestions are outlined in the attachment.
1. Students should be treated as young adults (with emphasis on young). Once a parent always a parent. We could have helped NIck more. For example, insufficient residence information was provided to incoming freshman and parents during the preceding summer.
2. Parents should be proactively involved in the MIT community. Parents are paying for the MIT experience. Parents can offer support at difficult times that MIT cannot provide. Parents can offer experience and expertise to MIT as well as to their own children.
Capstone:
The Residence System Steering Committee faces a major challenge now but it should also be an ongoing Committee.
1. MIT should consider the objective of a total integrated educational environment.
2. The quality of the student/faculty/staff interaction is more important than the time.
3. MIT should critically assess interaction and time benchmarks from leading universities.
Student involvement.
1. Course credits for residence research projects.
2. Compensation and recognition for participation.
Faculty and Staff involvement.
1. Involvement beyond the classroom and office.
2. Recognition, salary deltas, and bonuses for residence involvement.
The major objective of the Committee should be to increase student satisfaction and success. Correlations of alumni/ae successes with residence experiences would be useful. In-school and post-graduation surveys can track the impact of future changes, particularly if baseline surveys are conducted now.
The Enrolled Undergraduate Survey showed substantially higher satisfaction at MIT than at peer institutions. The 1994 Senior Survey showed that 93% of independent living group residents were satisfied/very satisfied as compared with only 80% of dormitory residents. Residence experiences leverage academic and extracurricular experiences. The Committee should work to improve the total educational environment.



	"Scott Feamster" <sf@matrixpfw.com> Imagine you are the parent of a prospective MIT freshman. What will you look for that will convince you that MIT will provide your child with comprehensive preparation for the world of work and life. We looked for a total educational environment for our son Nick. 1. Academics. Nick was pursuing EE/CS (Course 6). We put MIT first among East Coast universities because of third party ratings. We were also impressed in informal meetings with students, faculty, and staff. 2. Atmosphere. Nick had interests beyond EE/CS. We liked the availability of Harvard courses. We were impressed with the variety of non-EE/CS courses and extracurricular activities. 3. Attitude. Nick had intelligence and initiative. We liked the concept of the RO freshman living choices. We were impressed with the MIT attitude of treating students as adults. Our major suggestions are outlined below. More detailed suggestions are outlined in the attachment. 1. Students should be treated as young adults (with emphasis on young). Once a parent always a parent. We could have helped NIck more. For example, insufficient residence information was provided to incoming freshman and parents during the preceding summer. 2. Parents should be proactively involved in the MIT community. Parents are paying for the MIT experience. Parents can offer support at difficult times that MIT cannot provide. Parents can offer experience and expertise to MIT as well as to their own children. Capstone: The Residence System Steering Committee faces a major challenge now but it should also be an ongoing Committee. 1. MIT should consider the objective of a total integrated educational environment. 2. The quality of the student/faculty/staff interaction is more important than the time. 3. MIT should critically assess interaction and time benchmarks from leading universities. Student involvement. 1. Course credits for residence research projects. 2. Compensation and recognition for participation. Faculty and Staff involvement. 1. Involvement beyond the classroom and office. 2. Recognition, salary deltas, and bonuses for residence involvement. The major objective of the Committee should be to increase student satisfaction and success. Correlations of alumni/ae successes with residence experiences would be useful. In-school and post-graduation surveys can track the impact of future changes, particularly if baseline surveys are conducted now. The Enrolled Undergraduate Survey showed substantially higher satisfaction at MIT than at peer institutions. The 1994 Senior Survey showed that 93% of independent living group residents were satisfied/very satisfied as compared with only 80% of dormitory residents. Residence experiences leverage academic and extracurricular experiences. The Committee should work to improve the total educational environment.