Monmouth College Magazine
message from the president
Volume 28 | Number 1 | Winter 2013 Editorial Board Molly A. Ball Vice President for Development and College Relations Timothy Keefauver ’80 Vice President for Strategic Planning
A best-laid plan that doesn’t go astray In the last issue of this magazine, we introduced a dynamic new set of guiding principles for Monmouth College titled “Fulfilling the Promise.” The four principles—active learning, citizenship and service, complex problem solving and discerning a purpose in life—serve as a key part of our overall strategic plan by providing a framework for all of our decision making, from curricular offerings to student support systems to campus planning.
Jeffrey D. Rankin Director of College Communications Barry J. McNamara Associate Director of College Communications Lucy Kellogg Thompson ’99 Director of Alumni Engagement Monmouth College Magazine is published by the Office of
Development and College Relations for alumni and friends of Monmouth College. All opinions expressed in signed articles are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the editorial staff or the college.
We welcome letters about the college or the magazine. Letters will be printed on a space-available basis and may be edited for length, style and clarity. Send letters, queries or submissions to: Monmouth College Magazine, 700 East Broadway, Monmouth IL 61462-1998, or email jeffr@monmouthcollege.edu. editor Jeffrey D. Rankin Associate Editor Barry J. McNamara COPY Editor Brenda Tooley ART DIRECTOR Nancy Loch Board of trustees Executive Committee William Goldsborough ’65, Charman William Trubeck ’68, Vice Chairman Gerald Marxman ’56, Treasurer Robert Ardell ’67 David Bowers ’60 (Emeritus) Peter Bunce (Emeritus) Karen Barrett Chism ’65 Nancy Speer Engquist ’74 Mark Kopinski ’79 Safford Peacock (Emeritus) Stanley Pepper ’76 Roger Rasmusen ’56 (Emeritus) Jack Schultz Nancy Snowden Mark Taylor ’78 Ralph Velazquez ’79 Richard Yahnke ’66 alumni board Executive Committee Kevin Kaihara ’77, President Jeff Miller ’84, Vice President Jessica Butcher ’94, Secretary contact us Magazine Editor 309-457-2314 jeffr@monmouthcollege.edu eNewsletter Editor 309-457-21 mcnamara@monmouthcollege.edu www.monmouthcollege.edu/alumni/pipeline Alumni Programs 309-457-2316 alumni@monmouthcollege.edu
The principles are intended to serve as a touchstone or guide for us to consult periodically to ensure we are on course. I like to call them our “North Star.” While much thought and discussion went into narrowing down dozens of potential principles into just four guiding ones, in the end our faculty, administration and trustees all agreed that the distillation we finally achieved was the right one. In order to be embraced and consulted regularly, the guiding principles had to be relevant to the intensely personal style of education we provide at Monmouth. Only time would tell whether the strategies we proposed would promote desired outcomes. Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait long for an answer. It came in the form of another written document—this one a standardized satisfaction survey prepared by ACT, which we conduct with our students every two years. The survey allows us to append 30 additional questions particular to our institution. In reviewing the results of this year’s survey, it occurred to me that 13 of the questions, devised by our Assessment Committee to measure how well we address our purposes, were directly related to the four strategies contained in our strategic plan. Even more significant, the responses to those questions strongly affirmed that we are indeed on track with the outcomes called for in the plan. The survey asks students if they strongly agree/agree, are neutral, or disagree/strongly disagree with a series of statements. Of the seven surveys conducted since we began polling our students in 2000, this year’s series of 13 questions related to the strategic plan all received the highest percentage of “strongly agree/agree” since the survey began. For example, a question about active learning garnered a 69.1 percent positive rating, compared to 60.7 percent in 2000. Student satisfaction with being prepared for lives of citizenship and service weighed in at 70.4 percent, compared to 59.7 percent in 2000. Helping students develop critical thinking skills saw a jump from 57.3 percent in 2000 to 74.9 percent in 2012. A statement regarding MC’s ability to help students explore their spirituality and purpose in life saw a full 27 percent increase since 2000 in the number of students who agree/strongly agree. One might argue that these positive ratings aren’t strong enough. Shouldn’t they be 90 percent or higher? Absolutely! But the point is, student satisfaction in all these key categories continues to grow steadily and we will not rest until the 30 percent or more who are currently neutral about the question become strongly satisfied. In the liberal arts, we are used to discussing theoretical concepts. From my previous career in analytical chemistry, however, I also retain a passion for using data to test theories whenever possible. I’m happy to report that these numbers, obtained through a respected surveying organization over a 10-year period, offer solid evidence that the strategies we have adopted to help our students discover the joy of lifelong learning and a strong purpose in life were chosen wisely.
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Mauri A. Ditzler President
monmouth | winter 2013