At
our residential, liberal arts college, when we commit to student
success, we serve our institution in several important respects. As I've
outlined in my two State of the College addresses, recruitment and
retention of students are the central goals of our enrollment plan and
vital to the overall budgetary health of Virginia Wesleyan. Just as
important, we need to be alert to opportunities to enrich students'
experiences through expanded academic and co-curricular options.
To support these goals, we need to grow the First Year Experience of our newest Marlins and expand Winter and Summer Sessions.
The First Year Experience (FYE) is designed to help students prepare for the transition from high school to college. FYE programs often foster the participation of students in co-curricular events such as common reads, concerts, art exhibits, and guest lectures. As we know from research, engaged students are likely to remain enrolled. Additional advantages of the FYE include sharpening students' study skills and exposing them to unfamiliar topics that may spark interest in pursuing a particular academic field.
Winter and Summer Sessions are usually concentrated/unusual course offerings focusing on close interaction, field experiences and study away. Although fall and spring semesters are the core of the Virginia Wesleyan educational experience, our Winter and Summer Sessions can enable students to experience the College from another perspective. Expanding Winter Session will improve cohort graduation rates and build supplemental revenue. It is my hope, too, that we offer some online courses for our traditional students during these periods.
Increasing Summer Session offerings, including recruiting students from other colleges living in this community over the summer, will enhance revenues, utilize campus facilities on a more year-round basis, and give students academic options they need for on-time graduation.
I am pleased that two distinguished colleagues will fill vacant directorships of these programs, effective immediately:
To support these goals, we need to grow the First Year Experience of our newest Marlins and expand Winter and Summer Sessions.
The First Year Experience (FYE) is designed to help students prepare for the transition from high school to college. FYE programs often foster the participation of students in co-curricular events such as common reads, concerts, art exhibits, and guest lectures. As we know from research, engaged students are likely to remain enrolled. Additional advantages of the FYE include sharpening students' study skills and exposing them to unfamiliar topics that may spark interest in pursuing a particular academic field.
Winter and Summer Sessions are usually concentrated/unusual course offerings focusing on close interaction, field experiences and study away. Although fall and spring semesters are the core of the Virginia Wesleyan educational experience, our Winter and Summer Sessions can enable students to experience the College from another perspective. Expanding Winter Session will improve cohort graduation rates and build supplemental revenue. It is my hope, too, that we offer some online courses for our traditional students during these periods.
Increasing Summer Session offerings, including recruiting students from other colleges living in this community over the summer, will enhance revenues, utilize campus facilities on a more year-round basis, and give students academic options they need for on-time graduation.
I am pleased that two distinguished colleagues will fill vacant directorships of these programs, effective immediately:
- Dr. Rebecca Hooker, Director of First Year Experience. Dr. Hooker is a Batten Associate Professor of English at Virginia Wesleyan College. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Carleton College, a Master of Science in Education for College Student Personnel Administration from Indiana University, a Master of Arts in English Literature with a concentration in Cultural Studies from George Mason University, and a Ph.D. in English Language and Literature/Letters from the University of New Mexico. She has been at the College since 2008.
- Dr. Deirdre Gonsalves-Jackson, Director of the Winter and Summer Sessions. Dr. Gonsalves-Jackson is an Associate Professor of Biology at Virginia Wesleyan. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Randolph College and a Master of Science and Ph.D. in Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography from Florida Atlantic University. She has been at the College since 2006.
We thank these two talented faculty members for accepting these responsibilities, and we look forward to enhancing our students' experience through additional options for their academic and co-curricular success, as well as career and life preparation.
