Wednesday August 22, 2012 • Page 22
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Continued from page 21 “What a beautiful model we have that exists in higher education because it would support meeting all those unique needs on the part of students within the structure that already exists,” Frederick said. Students partner with a “significant other,” or a mentor to help in their development as they evolve from a dependent state where the mentor works closely with the student, to an independent state before finally reaching the “state of interdependence” where they can take on leadership positions and maintain a state of independence while also working with others. “It doesn’t appear to be a really sophisticated approach,” Frederick said. “However, it hits on all the points that we’ve been talking about in what we’ve learned over the last six years.” The significant other’s role would be similar to a mentoring position in certain organizations or extracurricular activities, such as an athletic coach or a team captain. While students receive an education through their classes and other coursework, Barratt and Frederick hope that the new plan provides additional lessons for students to develop additional skills highly sought by employers, they said. “A highly educated citizenry is more than just people who have skills in one targeted area, and higher education has bought into that notion for decades...,” Frederick added. “At the same time, they’re getting this other insistence to get students out in four years because that cuts their cost. We have to find a way to combine the two.”
They have already met with several state and national education officials in Indianapolis and Washington, D.C. They are still getting the message out, as no university or organization has implemented the newly designed metatheodel. The results have already turned heads, not the least of which are the UniLOA creators themselves. “I have not been a fan of collegiate athletics nor a fan of fraternities and sororities,” Barratt said. “The data has made me change my mind. I’m now a believer.”
“I have not been a fan of collegiate athletics nor a fan of fraternities and sororities. The data has made me change my mind. I’m now a believer.” William Barratt, professor, department of educational Leadership William Barrat, professor of the department of Educational Leadership (Photo courtesy of ISU Communications and Marketing).