Future of Higher Education Research Team Report

National Alumni Association Council Envisioning

Mark Caprio

Thursday, February 16th, 2017

¶ 1 Leave a comment on paragraph 1 0 National Alumni Association Council Meeting
Alumni & Family Weekend
Friday February 10, 2017
Slavin Soft Lounge (SPSC members present/facilitators: Botelho, Keefe, Sjovall, Zapata)

¶ 2 Leave a comment on paragraph 2 0 On February 10, members of the Strategic Planning Committee held a Strategic Planning Focus Group with members of the National Alumni Association Council. The questions posed to meeting attendees during the focus group are as followed:

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1. If Providence College were to be best known for one thing within the next 10-20 years, what should it be?
2. What should the College be doing in the next 10-20 years that it isn’t doing today?
3. If Providence College had $100M new dollars to spend, how should it be spent?
4. What should be the most important measure or indicator of the College’s success? Why?

¶ 4 Leave a comment on paragraph 4 0 The group was divided into four groups, and tasked with discussing one question in-depth with a committee liaison present to record responses. Below please find detailed notes and interpretations of the group discussions around each core question.

¶ 5 Leave a comment on paragraph 5 0 Question 1: If PC could be best known for one thing in the next 10-20 years, what should it be?

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• Accessibility and excellence
• A value-based liberal arts education, boasting the Catholic & Dominican “brand” of a liberal arts education
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  • We need to differentiate between liberal arts and Dominican perspective
• Academic excellence
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  • Academic reputation should frame PC as a top-rate higher education institution
• Culture of Compassion and Care
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  • Service beyond our campus should be of the utmost importance
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    • More than “one and done” service
  • Students need to be engaged over the longer term to really learn from it, be transformed by it
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    • Not “service for service sake” but service for the sake of personal and community growth
• Welcoming and Inclusive
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  • Part of this will be being able to meet the financial need of all qualified who students who want to come
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    • Including diverse students of less-privileged socio-economic backgrounds

¶ 11 Leave a comment on paragraph 11 0 Question 2: What should the College be doing in the next 10-20 years that it isn’t doing today?

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• More “blind” admissions process
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  • PC should be moving towards accepting students and making admittance a reality despite level of need
  • Meeting 100% of need must be a priority for the College
• Re-embracing Catholic identity
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  • Expanding the horizons of our students past what they want to do in the world of business – have students tackle more faith-based issues
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    • Off-campus relations, race
• Increase regional outreach
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  • Student base may be from NE/tri-state region, but will leave post-graduation
  • Develop ways to better reach these alumni after graduation

¶ 15 Leave a comment on paragraph 15 0 Question 3: If Providence College had $100M new dollars to spend, how should it be spent?

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• Create more mentoring and training opportunities for students outside of PCSB
• Eliminate the financial aid gap
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  • Will make PC more competitive with more robust financial aid packages at other Colleges
  • Offering more aid will allow PC to take in more diverse population (race, region, etc.)
• Concentrated recruiting efforts outside of New England
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  • Northeast is aware of PC, but is the rest of the country?
  • Continue to push brand awareness of the College outside of immediate states
• Improved technology around campus
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  • Upgrade classrooms and older buildings on campus to better accommodate technological advances in teaching software
• Invest in faculty
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  • Recruit more advanced faculty and “experts” in fields to elevate academic reputation of the College

¶ 20 Leave a comment on paragraph 20 0 Question 4: What should be the most important measure or indicator of the College’s success? Why?

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• Caliber of graduate coming out of PC
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  • Ability of alumni to find a career that they find meaning in
  • Employment opportunities and job placement rates after graduation
  • Employers’ of these alumni appraisal of the quality of education their employees received
• Retention rates, graduation rates, admissions acceptance rate, etc., other typical metrics for higher education institution
• Alumni giving participation rate
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  • Should this be a successful statistic?
  • Continued success of alumni giving and participation
• Well-roundedness of students coming out of PC
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  • Ability for alumni to thinking ethically
  • Live responsible adult lives
  • Be meaningful contributors to society