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Volume III, Issue 2 November 2006 |
Quinsigamond
Community College |
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Staff
Development Home Staff
Development Staff
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Staff
Development Erica Merrill
Staff Development Room
114 Ahlfors Hall
Upcoming
Events:
In accordance with the college's strategic initiative to optimize the use of technology for improved and cost-effective communication, this newsletter is being distributed via email as the best means for information-sharing with faculty and staff. |
Editor: Erica Merrill "NEACAC Annual Meeting & Conference 2006" by Daniel de la Torre "Accreditation Seminar" by Linda LeFave
Reality: The Escape Clause Out in the middle of nowhere, it all waits for me, sitting in solitude, surrounded by leafy, dew-drenched oaks, great pines, apple trees, and white birches; a tiny goldenrod-colored cottage – complete with attached sunroom, front porch, tinkling windchimes, porch swing, white picket fence with a swinging latch door and stone walkway, flowerboxes at each lattice-shuttered window, nearby babbling brook with mini waterfall rushing over a smooth stone ledge, vegetable patch and flower garden with fountain, reflecting pool, sundial and birdbath. Inside, every window is open to fresh air and streaming sunlight. The afternoon breeze flutters the lacy curtains ever-so-slightly, wafting in the lazy buzzing of the busy bees, the faint chirping of the twittering birds, and the tangy-sweet aroma of the freshly-baked apple pie still cooling on the window sill. There are no gas-guzzling, horn-honking cars here, no ringing telephones (mobile or otherwise), no TV blaring the latest horrible, tragic news of death and destruction. Even lashing rain, icy drafts, frosty snow, and invading overcast skies never dare to show their ugly faces here. There is only love and light and laughter here in my special little world; a place where I run free, as the universe is my playground – our playground, actually, since I am never alone here. It is our special place, where we sit on the porch swing in the early evening and watch the sunset drench the sky in orange and red and the last of the blue hues. We talk over steaming mugs of hot chocolate (complete with non-dehydrated mini-marshmallows and dollops of real whipped cream), and swap stories and jokes in-between bites of a shared slice of that luscious apple pie (still warm but also a la mode). We talk and laugh and reminisce, but soon, the once well-known voice grows faint, the old familiar face fades away. My eyesight dims, my world spins uncontrollably around me. I call out, but my own voice is lost in the whirling dervish of memories. I wake up, and it is all gone. Reality creeps back in, sinking my spirits. But I let go, start a new day, and then wait patiently for the wonderful escape the new night-dream brings.
NEACAC Annual Meeting & Conference 2006: Who says the creativity of college admissions and secondary school counselors is limited to persuading students that a given college is “right” for them!? Clearly someone with a droll sense of humor came up with the title of this year’s New England Association for College Admission Counseling (http://www.neacac.org/) conference. If nothing else, this at least ensured that the host institution (University of New Hampshire – UNH) received extra “subliminal” advertising throughout the gathering! Nevertheless, the play on words in the title did in fact signify an important historical milestone for NEACAC: the association enters its 40th year as a professional association serving more than 2500 members across New England. And if the size of this year’s conference is any indication, with over 700 high school guidance and college admissions counselors making the trip to Durham for the three-day event, the association is as relevant as ever. I have been actively involved in NEACAC for close to six years and have participated in a number of leadership development opportunities during this time. At this year’s conference, I made a series of presentations capping my biggest contribution yet to the organization. Over this past academic year, I led a task force made up of college admissions and secondary counselors from across New England, all volunteering to assist in the revision and development of a strategic plan on behalf of the association. This year-long process included many elements: an environmental scan (and SWOT analysis), electronic member survey construction and deployment, environmental scan and survey analysis, goal development, and composition of the final document. The results of this effort are available online under the “Leadership and Governance” page at the NEACAC website, or by following this link: http://www.neacac.org/lg_strategic.cfm. At start of the NEACAC conference, I presented the strategic plan to the Governing Board, the voting directorate of the organization, for their formal ratification. Subsequently, during the general conference proceedings, I led a panel of presenters in a session highlighting the development of the strategic plan, with a focus on future implementation by NEACAC Governing Board and Standing Committee chairs. Finally, on the third day of the conference, I presented the strategic plan to the general membership of the association. I took the opportunity to publicly recognize the task force members in attendance (thankfully, a number showed up to the meeting!), and invited members to become engaged in the activities and initiatives that will emanate from the plan in the years ahead. The beauty of the strategic plan is in its simplicity – while much detailed analysis went into construction of the plan, it was developed broadly to allow for tailored use and annual revision. I am confident that the future leadership of the association will rely on this document for some time to come. And I feel a measure of pride in leaving a lasting “fingerprint” on this association that has provided much to my own professional development since coming to QCC. Now, as a conference attendee … the most compelling session I went to was a keynote talk given by Marilee Jones, Dean of Admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Coming from a professional representing one of the most prestigious institutions of higher education in the country (if not the world), this insightful and gripping presentation carried extra clout in chronicling the emergent mental health issues facing today’s high school students and graduates as they transition into higher education. Ms. Jones cited timely research being published in the June 2006 issue of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, highlighting increased rates of self-injurious behavior by college students. She then broke down various elements contributing to this increasingly unhealthy process. She pointed out the increased stress on guidance counselors to get students in colleges (“only the best colleges”) as well as the high expectations from college admissions offices in terms of ever higher performance (AP courses, high SAT scores, unrealistic extra-curricular profiles). She counterpoised this trend with the standard of adolescent development: “… teens are messy, imperfect, immature … and their brains and bodies are disorganized” (M. Jones, NEACAC Conference, June 2006). She went on to chronicle the oft-named American generations of the last 70+ years: the Matures (61 million), the Baby Boomers (77 million), Gen Xers (52.4 million), and the Millennials (77+ million). She emphasized that this last group, Millennials, are not only the largest in size, but are also the demographic group most bombarded by stimuli. This group is characterized as being oriented to please adults, which these days means that they are taking on more and more activities (sports, music, multiple membership in organizations and activities), “… in effect turning these youth from human beings into human ‘doings’” (M. Jones, NEACAC Conference, June 2006). In connection with this, she pointed out that, since 1995, there has been an increase of greater than ten percent (10%) in stress-related symptoms reported by teens to their medical providers. Symptoms include GI upset, skin disorders, eating/sleeping disorders, headaches, depression, delinquency, suicidal behaviors, cutting, and chemical dependency. Her culminating point was to illustrate how the process of high school to college transition has become overwhelmingly detrimental to the mental, physical, and emotional health of American teens. She directed her closing remarks to the college admissions representatives in the audience and gave the following recommendations as first steps to address this disturbing phenomenon:
After my experience leading strategic planning for NEACAC, I saw Ms. Jones’ thoughtful and compelling presentation within the larger vision for the association. One of the new strategic plan goals involves providing leadership on relevant policy issues. Clearly, ensuring a rational and healthy transition from high school to college is an issue that should continue to draw attention in years to come. Next year’s NEACAC conference, at Endicott College, will be a good time to review progress on this topic.
Accreditation Seminar: The faculty of the Radiologic Technology program attended a one-day seminar in preparation for renewal of program accreditation by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRC/ERT). This process involves the completion of an extensive self-study report and subsequent two-day site visit by professional peers. The self-study document requires evidence of compliance with nine standards reflecting various aspects of the program; these include:
The seminar was conducted by Thomas Brown, RT(R), M.A.Ed., Accreditation Specialist, JRC/ERT and Joanne Greathouse, RT(R), Ed.S., CEO, JRC/ERT. Over the course of eight-hours, they reviewed the Standards and highlighted the key components in order to assist the participants in constructing the self-study. Much useful information and clarification was provided and suggestions given for providing the required documentation in support of the Standards. Participants, in turn, offered questions and experiences that extended the information needed to effectively review and reflect the program’s strengths and needs. The program faculty will be sharing the specifics of this seminar with the clinical instructors provided by the affiliate clinical education settings. Each of the seven professionals will be responsible for contributing to the responses and documentation of those Standards directly addressing the clinical education segment of the program. QCC’s Radiologic Technology program has been accredited by the JRC/ERT since its inception in 1973 and has always fared well with the review process. The full accreditation award is for eight years with a written Interim report due after four years. The current self-study will be completed in June 2006, and the site visit is expected during the next academic year.
© Staff Development, Quinsigamond Community College 2006. |
