Mining Minds

I went mining recently. Pulled out my pick-ax. Flicked on a helmet light. Descended into an abyss. Only my trek wasn't through caves, but datasets.

We survey ONU students almost every year, then compare what they say about their experience against other schools. All the questions are the same, school to school.

ONU freshman rate their Olivet experience higher than our competitors in many ways. For example:

--a higher rate of quality instruction
--a higher belief that ONU faculty are interested in their personal life
--a higher belief that faculty are interested in their academic problems

ONU seniors also rate their Olivet experience higher than others in categories like:

--participation in a practicum or internship
--performing community service projects
--courses and faculty helping students clarify how Christian values work in their future profession.

Good news. Sometimes you find a little treasure when mining.

Writing behind the door

Writing on a door is graffiti. But writing behind a door -- an office door -- is gratifying.

Last Sunday, I published a story in the Chicago Tribune Magazine about ONU alumni who celebrated their "baptism" into mid-life together. You can find it at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/magazine/chi-mxa0928magazineguypgsep28,0,3276065.story.

I also published a book review in the Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies about Kelly Monroe's "Finding God Beyond Harvard." She catalogues how students at secular campuses from coast to coast yearn for God, and do so in a rather mindful, brain-engaged way.

Coming next month in Christianity Today magazine is an article I wrote about how our partners in Hong Kong now influence the Chinese goverment in faith-based counseling techniques, in the aftermath of the May 12 earthquake that killed 100,000 people. That proves that all earthquake after-shocks aren't so bad.

I always learn something in these projects. I want to keep learning.

White House, White Glove

I'm in Washington, D.C. today for a one-day crash course -- yes, administrators still have something approximating classes -- on changes to college accreditation. As of Aug. 18, the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act means the White House is still interested in doing a White Glove Test on schools.

Although the new law has about 15 accreditation issues, here are the crib notes on five:

1. The new law lets schools determine which measures of student achievement are most relevant to their mission, rather than copy-cat measures from other places. That's good for religiously affiliated schools like us because we look at academic achievement AND spiritual development.

2. They want more transfer credit agreements since more and more students start at one school, then finish at another. That's good for us because many students begin at a public school, then decide on Olivet for our distinctive culture.

3. They require regional accrediting agencies (ours is the North Central Association of Colleges and Universities) to provide more information about the accrediting status of schools. That's good for us since our accreditation status is not qualified. The White Glove is clean.

4. They define what a "degree mill" is. That use to be education slang for programs heavy on marketing and weak on quality. Now they specify their characteristics so the public can be made aware to avoid them. That's good for us, separating sheep and goats for people doing the shopping.

5. Distance education programs will not require distinct accreditation standards, but the schools offering them must now develop methods to verify the one who signed-up is the one actually doing the work on the other side of the computer. That's good for everybody.

With a job shortage coming of 30 million workers -- once Baby Boomers retire -- it will become increasingly important for schools like Olivet not only to teach studens, but teach them very well to fill all sorts of needs.

Puke and Plans

I just returned from two days with officers of the Student Council at Starved Rock State Park. This annual retreat for about 25 student leaders allows for a review of responsibilities, simple social time together, and prayer of dedication for the year.

As for my role, we spent an hour discussion their observations and recommendations about Olivet's academic program. Most of it themed on ways to improve the process by which students are advised on course plans, their value of passionate teachers in General Education classes, and non-curricular helps like internship development and training in personal finance.

There was also fun to be had. My memories flash like pictures:

Click. A string of about 15 pair of shoes tied toegether in a mangled mess and hanging from a balcony, each item female footwear. Hmm. I wonder who did that?

Click. The wavepool and lazy river of the Grizzly Jack's Grand Bear Lodge. Is it wrong for a 22 year old to dump buckets of water on a 10 year old one story below?

Click. At least four students puking from The Eclispse ride in the indoor amusement park.

Ah. Good times.

Faculty Thoughts About the Future

Two weeks ago, I set up focus groups for our faculty to reflect on where our academic program should go over the next five years. This week, I met with the faculty member and administrator who facilitated those discussions. We debriefed over 136 ideas that were offered, and found 7 themes. Here is what Olivet faculty are thinking about:
1. Becoming a better teacher
2. Better integrating Christian faith into their work
3. Understanding the needs of modern students
4. Making interdisciplinary connections, relationally and professionally
5. Getting useful data on the outcomes of their work with students
6. Fostering their own scholarship expertise, and that of their students
7. Shaping ONU's reputation for the future

I've also been thining about intercultural education. Experts say the current racial majority -- whites -- will become a minority by the year 2040. That's when current undergrads will hit their career stride, leading on issues affected by a new cultural landscape in America.

The other thing I've been thinking and reading more about is how committed we should be to online education. For our graduate programs, it's more about convenience, but for undergrads, the advantage of private, residential universities like us has typically been that we're "high touch," with a lot of personal contact in and outside the classroom. It wouldn't make sense to segregate education. But what if this were an educational goal: practice in mediated communication. That's going to be an increasing feature of the work world. We already do more of that ourselves through Webconferences.

We'll keep talking about these things throughout the semester.

Olivet People, Not Policy

This week, I sat in a conference room for about five hours with 13 new faculty members conducting an orientation to Olivet. "You'll learn more about us," I said, "through stories about our people than reading policy books." This place is defined by its people: faculty who teach, students who learn, alumni who succeed.

In that room were fascinating stories: a head of surgery from Indiana who feels called by God at this phase of life to teach Biology; an author or 13 theology books; an expert in teacher education accreditation; a former two-year resident of Thailand; a man who lived in Taiwan, Lithuania, Scotland and Utah. And on the story goes.

And yesterday, I gave a speech to a few hundred parents of new Olivet students where I highlighted alumni stories -- those who used Olivet to get from "here" to "there" (their dreams): Daryl Kreml studied History, went on to Harvard Law, and now lives in London as an international commercer lawyer; Robert Sidell completed a Psychology doctorate after Olivet and has counseled more than 5,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq; Cecil Crawford founded TicketMaster; Richard Jones was president of Sears. And on the story goes.

Tomorrow, 4,700 students and about 400 full-time and adjunct faculty begin or continue work on their story. I wonder what sort of greatness is hidden here.

If Olympic Champ Michael Phelps Worked Here

We educated 900 students this summer. There really isn't a down time or sumer vacation per se. But it is a more flexible pace in administration compared to the activity when all 4,700 are around. This week was the final round of prep for the launch of our ordinary schedule.

Think about Olympic champ Michael Phelps. He is featured prominently this season for a record-setting medal count. The camaras turn on him as he asends his skid, in countdown to a diving launch in the water. But the guy prepared for that moment with a very specific sleep schedule, breakfast and warm-up routine.

I did the same this week. If Phelps worked with me, here is what our prep would look like.

I had 15 formal meetings and half a dozen informal ones. We reviewed some legal issues (is everybody doing what is right for students?), assessment plans (how do we know our programs are working well?), vetted a creative proposal to merge a few job descriptions, interviewed and endorsed the recommendation to hire a key leader for a graduate program, began organizing a response to a last-minute resignation, finaled plans for leading three different full-day orientation meetings for three different groups, and something very different from all the others -- edited a story I wrote for the Chicago Tribune and writing the first draft of another for Christianity Today magazine. I like this variety.

In two days, we swim. I don't worry about the water being cold. After all, that's why we train -- to swim.

Nation's Biggest -- Our Best

I took a trip today into Chicago and discovered something unexpected.

Riding shotgun in my PT Cruiser was Dr. Bill Dean, the head of our Department of History and Political Science. I asked him along because a contact I made two months ago runs an organization he might be interested in. Within 30 minutes, we learned this simple outfit off Division and Wells ranks No. 1 in the nation at what they do.

We met with Rob Acton, executive director of the Cabrini Green Legal Aid society. This is the largest Christian legal society in America, serving 5,000 clients per year with 15 staff, half of which are lawyers with various specialties in poverty law. Their clients pay no fees, and the CGLA's $1.3 million annual budget is funded by donors. They expunge arrest records, where no convictions are achieved, so the impoverished can get jobs. They defend the evicted so they can remain in public housing, off the streets. And they do it because of a love for God and His commission to love justice, and to love people.

Bill and I checked it out because we'd like to find ways of connecting our undergraduate students interested in law school with a top notch service organization, a place where they not only become acquinted with the legal system, but work with top flight people on worthy causes that reflect our own mission.

Maybe there's something in this for us, a CGLA-ONU partnership. We would send the nation's biggest, our best.

Olivet Nation (Chicago to Hong Kong)

If you follow professional sports, sometimes you know teams have fans far beyond their home city: White Sox Nation, Packer Nation, you name it. During a trip last week, I found Olivet has fans in Hong Kong: Olivet Nation.

I visited a degree program we offer there, a Master's in Professional Counseling. More than 100 Chinese are enrolled specifically for the Christian perspective in counseling. They love the program, and are using their training already.

The May 12 earthquake in China killed 100,000 people and displaced about 500,000, so what is a Christian counselor to do? Go to the scene and comfort the afflicted. That's what our faculty and students did in China, with great results.

In fact, a high level official in the Chinese government gave special credentials to our group so they could slip in and out easily of the area to do their work. This official heads psychological services for the entire country and reports directly to Hu Jintao, head of the Chinese government. I talked with him myself. He said our students' training was "practical, beautiful and simple enough for other's to follow." And he said they served with "a humble attitude."

When you talk about impacting China, that's an example. I was proud of them. That makes me part of Olivet Nation, no matter where I am.