By: Ross Miller

I recently took on the role of director of assessment at a proprietary business school, bringing my background as an aging white guy educated as a musician, experienced in both public school and college teaching, and employed for nine years by AAC&U.  The session on Liberal Learning and Business Education (with William Sullivan and Anne Colby of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching) was of interest to me as I ponder  how to make general education and elective liberal arts study engaging, useful, and even life-changing for the students at my college.

With both associate’s and bachelor’s degree programs in business, my college is very successful at enrolling students attracted by our promise of small classes, friendly and attentive faculty, and an excellent job placement rate.

But far too many of our students leave before they finish even a year of school. It seems like there is some Maslovian need that interrupts students’ plans to complete a degree and venture forth to careers and lives as engaged citizens.

While I love brainstorming about creative integrative teaching and learning strategies, foremost on my agenda these days is finding ways to keep our students in college and engage them instantly in their learning.  How can my students get a really quick, nearly addictive learning experience their first day on campus to keep them coming back for all of the great projects and experiences the faculty have planned for them?

I know our students are not fragile, but in terms of college persistence, they seem to be very weakly attached to the idea of going to college.  I have speculated with colleagues that they need to be taught how to go to college. (Although that notion seems somehow presumptuous, I know that there are things college students should know and be willing to do to facilitate their success in learning).

So, I am left with questions.  How do you give students a really great start to learning in college – one that will hook them on the experience of learning and help them to believe that they are indeed capable of college-level work?  Can the same kind of integrative learning that will prepare them well for graduation also jump-start their initial attachment to college? Can this be done without requiring an expensive Outward Bound-style experience?

What do you do?

Ross Miller is the senior director of assessment at Berkeley College in New York and New Jersey.

Tags: AAC&U 2010 Annual Meeting, assessment, college readiness