As graduation approaches, seniors can expect a free gift from the College in their mailboxes: a sharpened number two pencil to accompany the senior surveys distributed this month.
The survey, conducted by the Office of Institutional Research and the Educational Plans and Policies Committee (EPPC) is the third of its kind to be conducted at Oberlin since 1994. The two-year rotation of senior surveys is countered by a survey of the underclass in the alternate years.
According to Ross Peacock, director of Institutional Research, these surveys have become a tool to gain information to contribute to the general College assessment process.
"If you can think of every aspect of your college experience, it is probably represented in this survey," Peacock said.
The nine-page packet provides students with an opportunity to comprehensively give feedback in all areas of campus life through a series of multiple choice and two free- answer questions.
The survey is just one part of a larger, continuous assessment process. Professor of Psychology Judy Beinstein-Miller, EPPC chair of the Assessment Committee, hopes to improve upon the evaluation and accreditation processes of the past with the aid of student input.
In past accreditation, institutions needed only to demonstrate the educational sources they promised to prospective students. "This demonstration has been inadequate in the past," said Beinstein-Miller.
"Now we want to demonstrate outcomes," she said. "It is not important just that students have opportunities at our institution, but that they are profiting from them."
Peacock agreed that students' success was a part of the accreditation that did not happen before this system of surveys. The survey inquires not only into students' professional or educational pursuits after Oberlin, but asks if an Oberlin education has met their needs.
While these surveys are an integral part of the institutional evaluation process, they are coupled with the work in each department under the supervision of the EPPC. Each department has a committee of faculty and students designed to address the changing needs of the department's faculty and the students they serve.
Professor of English Robert Pierce heads the assessment committee for his department.
"This is an evolutionary change, not a reversal," said Pierce. "It has been a beneficial change particularly as we move to a more systematic approach involving all departments."
The review procedure for each department occurs in seven-year cycles in which the information from student assessment leads directly to the work of the EPPC.
"The way we want to define desired outcomes was not from the top down, but rather a grass roots effort, which included faculty and students in each department," said Beinstein-Miller.
"Systematically there will be information available for each department's self evaluation and planning changes at the college," said Pierce.
After evaluating the curriculum, the English department has revamped the entire curriculum for majors, eliminating the unsuccessful 200 level course, and will replace introductory courses with smaller colloquium-style classes. These changes will be instated in the fall semester.
Beinstein-Miller stresses the importance of student involvement in this process, which includes filling out this senior survey for the benefit of future classes. "Students can have a role in the academic policies of the College," she said.
However, the evaluation was not flawless. Some concerns, including the need for a new Student Union, were raised by the NCAA, according to Haslun.
Student opinion on campus was aligned with this recent accreditation. Melissa Prager, a senior Religion major, feels she is well prepared for a career in Jewish communal services, working with Russian and Spanish speaking Jewish populations around the world.
"The people here, students and professors, influenced me most," said Prager. "Oberlin gave me the confidence to pursue a career that few people have pursued. I feel like my philosophy on life is 90 percent influenced by Oberlin in regards to academic, social and political aspects."
Many seniors said they are satisfied with the opportunities to attain what may at other schools be considered a more unorthodox education.
"I found a course of study that really changed my life dramatically," said senior Rosie Heritier, an Environmental Studies major. "As my ideals have changed, Oberlin has continuously offered me new opportunities to meet those goals. I don't think I could have found that at many other schools."
While students spoke positively about their academic experiences at Oberlin, the administrative and social elements of campus were not viewed as kindly. Many criticized the mandatory meal plan as one weakness of campus life.
"Dining is an item considered important by students, and did not stack up in past surveys," said Peacock.
Others were critical of the administration's response to various student needs. Many students view Oberlin as a campus where they can make effective changes, yet feel discouraged by an administration that does not always practice what it preaches.
"Students should have an impact on all areas of College policy, social and academic, but in reality the administration remains stubborn to their own agenda," Prager said.
Identifying student needs and eliminating such feelings of administrative ambivalence is a goal for the upcoming survey. These surveys are one way to gauge if the student life and academics of the College are consistent with the institutional image Oberlin promotes.
The survey was drafted by the Consortium on Funding Higher Education (COFHE). It is conducted in conjunction with 29 schools, including Ivy Leagues and small liberal arts schools such as Carleton College and Wesleyan University.
COFHE has been conducting these surveys since 1982. Oberlin joined the consortium in 1987. Not only will the survey assess the College individually, but will also provide information necessary to evaluate education on broader terms.
In addition to this year's survey is an addendum of questions focused on campus diversity.
"It is an attempt to get a measure of the educational benefits of diversity," said Peacock. "It is a first step in developing an even more comprehensive survey."
Seniors should be receiving their surveys in mid-April. Organizers said they hope all seniors will take the time to complete the survey so that students' opinions can be heard.
"It is a big picture, and we cannot develop it without our students," said Peacock.
Copyright © 1998, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 126, Number 19, April 3, 1998
Contact us with your comments and suggestions.