It is the start of a new academic year. Students are scrambling to find books or finish registering for classes, while faculty put finishing touches on syllabi. Opening meetings have commenced, a new cohort of first year students has been welcomed, and WCSU is abuzz with activity and optimism. Even the weather is supporting new beginnings with a hint of fall in that late summer air. It is impossible not to love this part of the year.
I have a long list of things I hope to accomplish this year, from the trivial to the impossible, but I don’t want to get overwhelmed by all of that yet. What I hope for at the start of this new year is to take the opportunity to see our campus with fresh eyes. This is the beauty of the summer break–when we pause, we have the opportunity to change our perspectives and start fresh. Sometimes, what we thought were problems aren’t really problems after all.
As we start this new year, I want to acknowledge that student engagement was something that I used to see as a problem to solve. Now I see it differently.
WCSU is a majority commuter campus. This has been true for the entire 116-year history of the institution, but for some reason we talk about it as if it is something that should be fixed. It isn’t! While it is true that the kinds of experiences we construct must be different from a majority residential campus, the ability for so many students in the region to attend college at an affordable rate, without racking up additional (any) debt for housing, is a true benefit to our community and our future alumni.
Instead of thinking about the loss of the experience that comes with life in the dorms, what we need to do is reimagine the ways we engage students. Instead of constructing entertainment activities to entice students back to campus (largely a silly endeavor in a Netflix world), we should connect commuter and residential students around community, career opportunities, and professional development in the major.
Volunteer efforts, like WCSU’s Annual Day of Service on September 20th, is one great example of productive student engagement. This year, our faculty have supported cancelling morning classes that day, so that everyone has the chance to participate. Students, faculty, and staff come together to tidy up neighborhoods, work in shelters, paint fences, and connect with the Danbury community. This very popular event has often led to internship opportunities or other service learning opportunities, and commuters and residential students alike are willing to participate. It is a bonding event that builds community and opportunity.
Our clubs linked to majors offer another successful model for student engagement. Clubs in Biology, Chemistry, Communication and Media Arts, Marketing, Mathematics, Justice and Law Administration, Psychology, and Social Work, and more, regularly bring students and faculty together to hear guest speakers, meet professionals working in the field, travel to professional conferences (often, presenting research and winning awards), and sometimes taking a canoe trip or going apple picking. As it turns out, our students and faculty mentors are highly engaged in these activities. Instead of asking why students aren’t frolicking on the quad, let’s acknowledge where they are. Let’s invest a little more in these clubs and celebrate the results.
Sometimes we feel a little bad about the fact that we must incentivize attendance at campus events–you know, extra credit or a trade for class time. We have this idea that students should just want to attend the presentations we value. Why? Faculty and administration do not choose to attend all of the events on our campus. We make decisions about value and relevance and how much energy we have left in any given week. So do our students.
On the other hand, these events do offer wonderful enrichment opportunities for all of us. So, let’s all take a moment to look at what we see as the best benefit for the students we are teaching and go ahead and offer that extra credit. Don’t worry about going to everything; let’s just focus on getting everyone to one or two things a semester. That really is enough.
Another area for growing student engagement is in career exploration. Our students (all students) want a great education, but they also want help figuring out where they will go after college. At WCSU, the Career Success Center has career fairs, alumni networking events, support for resume and cover letter writing, and guidance on getting an internship. They even have peer mentors so those who feel a little intimidated by the environment might find a supportive face to greet them. Just like our guest speakers, though, students need a nudge to get to the Career Success Center. Let’s give them that nudge. As students get started in the major, perhaps a small assignment on career exploration could open their eyes to the support available. This is engagement.
Campus activities, when tied to the student’s educational and professional goals, are productive and enriching engagement opportunities. They are less about the extra-curricular activities developed to support a vibrant dormitory life (don’t worry, we do that, too), and more about the co-curricular opportunities that are meant to help students see the connections between their coursework and the rest of their lives. Given the many claims on our students’ time, these professional opportunities are more likely to bring them back to campus than entertainment-focused events. Not only that, these activities are as valuable to residential students as they are to commuters. So, let’s not mourn the uneven participation in the Quidditch Team (one of my favorites), and celebrate the things that are capturing our students’ attention.
Here’s why. First, these kinds of engagement matter. They help us explain the value of the undergraduate experience by connecting opportunities to apply and extend learning to the curriculum. Second, and perhaps even better, these professional development opportunities build community. Students meet to work together on projects, talk with faculty about conferences or speakers, and get to know alumni in networking sessions. These experiences are just as likely to support friendships as attending a football game or the fall musical or a touring comedian. Interestingly enough, the co-curricular experiences might even encourage more students to head out to this week’s art show or a soccer game, because, well they were on campus with their friends for a workshop anyway so they might all go together.
So this is how I’m starting this semester. I’ve taken a breath and reimagined the situation. Student engagement. No problem at all.
