Higher Education is like an Onion...

When I say I have enjoyed this experience...I say that wholeheartedly. Higher education is forever evolving to adequately meet the needs of students, faculty, and alumni. That being said, in college organization and governance class, we talked about the four markets of higher education: students, faculty, funding, and prestige. The topics that we have discussed in this class this semester fit those markets.

Nearly all of our topics directly affects students. In my first entry, I discussed how economics are affecting students and their choices of studies. Continuing down the semester, we discussed how campus violence affects students. This was a very relevant topic considering that a fellow SEC university unfortunately had to deal with that tragedy. Campus violence and protection are topics that are on the minds of many considering how often and wide scale these senseless acts are occurring. While we talked about the physical ways universities can protect students, we also learned how to psychologically and emotionally help students in such trying times.

We definitely have had some topics that elaborate on the university's efforts to attract, recruit, and retain faculty members. Creating a campus that is open to thinking and revolutionizing our world are great ways to ensure that faculty members feel as if their academic disciplines and growth will be accepted, welcomed, and encouraged. Topics that aided this was freedom of speech and campus activism. I think that these topics seem attractive to faculty members who are looking for an employer who will challenge the culture to think past superficial or surface ideas and move the university further into the future. Freedom of speech and activism are great foundation blocks to encourage change.

Funding, in the light of the recent economic recession, has been a hot topic at colleges and universities. And with funding issues there comes budget cuts. In one of my blog entries, I talked about the effects of budget cuts on students' overall experience at their institutions. Because departments have to find ways to do a lot with a little, certain programs and actual employment positions are eradicated in order to maintain some kind of balance in costs and spending. Fundraising also plays a role which goes hand in hand with prestige.

Universities can ensure that they move up on the proverbial ladder by creating, building, and elaborating on their resources. We talked about student unions last week and how building a great one will not only make students happy, but can be a huge recruiting tool to get students here. Prestige upgrade #1. We also talked about the "Going Green" initiatives that universities are running to implement. Prestige upgrade #2. All of the topics that we have discussed have tangents that can lead to building prestige for an institution. Right now, our university is building a state-of-the-art law school that looks good, is environmentally friendly, and will put The University of Mississippi on the maps of student who had not previously considering us. Prestige upgrade #infinity.

Higher education is like an onion. There are so many layers that make up the whole. Layers that build upon layers. Non-metaphorically speaking, different departments, societal issues, students, faculty members, staff, and alumni aid to the culture, climate, and connotation of a university. Our class has really delved into those many layers and I feel like I'm all the better because I've been surrounded by different minds with different paths with the same goal.