For too many high school seniors and their families, deciding where to attend college is all about prestige and price — try to attend the so-called “best” college for the lowest cost.
A generation ago, however, when many of today’s parents went to college, the decision was more about fit and feel.
“That’s the way it ought to be,” said Hamilton College Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Monica Inzer. “I know the right choice has been made when, after visiting a campus, the student says, ‘I can see myself here. It just feels right.’ That may not be so reassuring to Mom and Dad, but choosing a college is all about picking the one that feels right.”
But how do students know, really know, that they have made the right choice from among all those sun-drenched, leafy campuses with the happy students, erudite professors, spacious residence halls, culinary-enhanced dining halls and state-of-the-art technology?
Colleges can help by identifying those characteristics that form the core of their academic and residential experience. For the past several years, Hamilton has undergone an extensive self-examination, using surveys, focus groups, exit interviews and other assessment measures.
Since 1999, for example, the College has been engaged in a comprehensive, multi-method longitudinal study funded by the Mellon Foundation to assess student learning in a liberal arts setting. That project was recently renewed through 2009. Simultaneously, in the winter of 2005, Hamilton asked George Dehne and Associates (GDA), a higher education market research firm, to survey current and prospective students, alumni, and faculty and staff members. The goal of the year-long project was to identify the areas in which Hamilton excelled and determine if those factors were motivating to the high-ability students the College was seeking to enroll. The student responses were especially revealing.
Questionnaires administered to current and prospective students asked their views on a series of attributes often ascribed to Hamilton or identified by the College’s Mellon Assessment Project as being noteworthy. In particular, the survey sought student opinions on five core attributes: the College’s open curriculum, its emphasis on writing and oral presentation, and the opportunities for students to conduct research and to study abroad. Students were asked if, as high school seniors, they were aware of these attributes of a Hamilton education and whether the attributes were important in their enrollment decision.
The data in Table 1 indicate that students were generally well aware of the College’s five core values, with the curriculum, study abroad opportunities and Hamilton’s emphasis on writing scoring particularly high for awareness and as motivating factors in the student’s decision to enroll. “The data confirmed what we knew intuitively,” said Inzer.
The core of a college education is the interaction that takes place among students and professors, but, especially on a residential campus such as Hamilton’s, students learn from each other and from everyone else with whom they come in contact. In other words, every voice matters in a Hamilton student’s education. It is, as the Dehne research suggests, a total learning experience.
As such, according to Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Monica Inzer, the importance of having people on campus with varied life views and experiences is understood more clearly because when students encounter different ideas and different perspectives, they take another step toward finding their own voice. They may, as part of their educational experience, disagree and argue and debate, but for learning to take place, every voice — every viewpoint — must be heard. That is the definition of a true educational community, Inzer said.
Once students find their voice, it is important, even necessary, that they make their voice heard, for they are both consumers of a Hamilton education and providers. Their ideas, viewpoints and life experiences often provide the basis for educating other members of the community, be they other students, faculty members or alumni.
“A person’s voice is much more powerful when it is shared with others,” observed Hamilton Vice President for Communications and Development Dick Tantillo. “Our alumni carry the voices they find at Hamilton into their communities and make those communities better. Everyone who passes through Hamilton carries part of what is special about this place into the world, and by association, takes Hamilton to the world.”
Alumni also play an important role in a Hamilton student’s education, Tantillo said. Not only do they personify the ideals of a Hamilton education, but, as part of an enduring community, they often interact directly with students through career guidance, serving as guest lecturers on campus, and providing financial and moral support. They are the “collective voices” of Hamilton.
“Hamilton Voices” is the framework for a new campaign that seeks to show how the College’s core messages (curriculum, including writing, speaking and research; community; and outcomes) contribute to each student’s education at Hamilton.
