Campus Blogs

Yesterday Fresno Pacific University announced that it would not raise tuition levels in any of its programs for the 2010-11 academic year.  This is the first time that we have not raised rates in 30 years (that's as far back as we checked).  We, of course, cannot "collaborate" with other universities on this kind of a decision so we don't know what others are doing.  That might be considered price-fixing. The administration proposed no increase to the Board of Trustees last weekend.  They approved it without dissenting votes, and with what appeared to me to be firm conviction that this is what we should do.  It was a bold move for the Board. For the news story see http://www.fresnobee.com/updates/story/1688501.html I would guess that most other universities will raise their rates at least minimally, as we have in the past for a couple of reasons. First higher tuition signals to the market place higher quality. Education "consumers," contrary to what might be thought, do not always choose the lowest price option.  They only buy once, or at least seldom, and they think about what university's name they want on their resume, what university they want to be associated with, where they want to be an alum.  It is often about prestige, name, and academic tradition.  This makes sense practically when the second reason is added. Second the demands of the market are intense, even in a down economy.  Students expect wireless access, a rich set of resources, online if possible, up-to-date facilities and labs, academic specialists, comfortable classrooms, extra-curricular activities, counselors, and a Starbucks-quality coffee shop on the campus (we have one, and all the rest).  Without these and other amenities, they go elsewhere. So the tuition costs go up--for the last twenty years, above the cost of living indices. No matter what the tuition level, every not-for-profit university I know of has annual fund raising campaigns to help with buildings, scholarships, and student programs that cannot be funded from tuition.  Tuition never covers the cost. This year, despite generous donors, fundraising has been tough. Our donors know our commitment as a Christian institution and to the success of our students, and they have stuck with us.  But we all have faced losses. We chose to limit our fees, despite these pressures, because of the economic situation students and families are facing, especially here in the Valley, where most of our students reside. We have worked with many, many students this year facing economic difficulties, helping them with additional scholarships or assistance has they have sought other forms of aid. The pressures on our students and their families right now are intense.  The pressures to fund what the market demands are intense.  This is our risk.  Will students sense that they can get the quality they demand if we do not raise tuition--if we are lower than other similar schools? Our ongoing task is to show the quality of an FPU education in the most direct ways we can--graduation rates, students receiving jobs after graduation, employers who look for FPU grads, those who become leaders in their professions, communities and churches, grads who represent the commitments and values we teach, and who get into top ranked medical or graduate schools (we have two at Yale right now).  It is easier to do when your tuition is higher. It is a difficult market, an interesting profession, and a strange world.

In the last 24 hours I have spent some time explaining the world of financial aid and getting into College to both prospective students to our Board of Trustees.  It seems like such a foreign world with strange acronyms (FAFSA), and programs (Cal Grant, Pell Grant, ACG) and forbidding bureaucracies and their own deadlines and mystifying rules. Let me offer my simple guidelines for making your way through it--a simple list of what to do and not do to survive and to receive whatever you or your student might be eligible for. First---do what they say. There are several financial aid bureaucracies and you can get caught in a labyrinth of  unforgiving rules with seemingly no way out. So, first, do what they say.  If they say fill out an application, do it. If they say you must request something (a GPA verification from a high school for instance), it is probably because there is a rule somewhere that says you must, and no one else can.  Swallow your pride about what you should or should not have to do and just do it.  The Federal Department of Education controls the process, calculates what they think families ought to be able to pay, allots federal grants and loan eligibility on this basis and tells the universities what they can and cannot offer.  They control it. Just do it, and you might be eligible for something.  In fairness, I should say that most of it is not too complex. Even I have made it through for the last couple of years. Second--do it on time.  Don't get on the wrong side of a deadline.  The earlier the better. But if later, apply anyway. Third--make sure it is accurate.  Take care with the information you submit. Some bureaucracies are do not allow corrections.  And some, the DOE for example, may require the university to verify that the information you have submitted is accurate.  They might require you to submit your tax forms for instance.  If the forms do not match the information you submitted, the university will be required to revoke the offer of aid they have sent to you.  When this happens, everyone has a bad day. Fourth--when in doubt call the school you are working with and ask for help.  They really do want to help.  They don't want you to get caught by a rule or on the wrong side of a deadline.  They want you or your child to become a student, to have a good experience, and to graduate. I have had to ask for help when I messed something up, even though I work in the field.  My colleagues had a good laugh, and a good day. Fifth--apply for everything.  There is a lot of aid out there--"grants" for "need" and "scholarships" for "ability." They might come from the university, from a donor to the university, from a corporation, from a group that wants to support certain kinds of students, from your church, from a credit union, from and ethnic support group, from many, many organizations.  Do a little research, fill out some applications, and write some letters. You might gain a few hundred dollars, a couple of thousand, or a find some major support for your education.  And always send a note of gratitude. Our system of private scholarships and grants is amazing in its wealth and dedication to education. Knowing what I now know, I should have said much more in the notes I sent. Sixth--if you get an "award package" of scholarships and grants, but you don't know if it will work for you, call the university and explain your situation.  The Federal rules do allow administrators to exercise "professional judgement" within certain parameters.  And each university has its own guidelines for how to help in certain situations. They may not be able to give you any more, but they might be able to give you some ideas on how others make it work, or other places to look. We, and others, really will try to help. We want to make it possible for as many students as possible to gain their education. It may seem like a maze, but it is really not that difficult, and there are many place to find grants and scholarships Good luck in the coming year.  I would enjoy hearing your experiences.

The year for high school seniors who are working on college applications is moving rapidly to the dates when applications are to be submitted, test scores and transcripts ordered, and scholarships researched.  It is never easy, and I am often (really--often-- as in many, many times a year) asked how parents can negotiate it all.  It is difficult to figure out where to start, what to look for, and how to move forward. But there is help available.  I rarely recommend "how to" books, but here is one I particularly like: Get Into College published by Hundreds of Heads Books ("Great Advice from Hundreds of People") and edited by Rachel Korn and Jennifer Kabat (2009). Get Into College is a compilation of quotes from students, parents, admissions counselors, educators, experts, people with common sense, and bits of information that can bring some sanity to the process.  What I particularly like is that the editors have broken through the recent trends that have sent students scrambling around the country for just the right university, the big name, the specialized curriculum. Here's what they say: "there is good news: there are thousands of colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada.  Although it feels like a race for the prestigious, "name" schools, those are not always the best places for you.  There are marvelous educational opportunities everywhere" (p. 5). Do you need to apply for "early decision?" (I was asked this not more than two weeks ago.) There is good common sense on p. 36.  The answer: for most people, no, and if yes, then only when have narrowed your choice to one school. There's good stuff on SAT prep and test-taking.  Should you take a practice test? Yes (p. 64). Hire a consultant? No (p.64) although it can help some (p. 77).  Drink coffee or  an energy drink before the test?  Think twice about this one--they don't allow rest breaks (p. 106-8). If you are not satisfied with your first score, take the test again and study with a test prep book. It may raise your eligibility for financial aid awards that are based on academic scores (that's my advice--it may be there, but I didn't see it in the book). Throughout there is help for parents understanding their students, and students negotiating with their parents (see p. 157).  And there is a good dose of reality. Finding a school that has your area of interest is important (p. 391), but most students change their major two, three or four times, and equally important is the general ethos (the social, emotional and spiritual tone) of the school  (p. 395).  After all, you commit four years to a school. It should be a place you want to live, to be a part of and feel good about. Throughout there are 'parents' pages,' 'counselor corners,' and advice from the experts, most of it very practical. Perhaps some of the most helpful for parents are those pages (chapter 14) where students describe what it is like to be in college now.  Its a big transition, but then it settles into the normal routine.  Ask any parent when they drop off their second or third child at a university. Most of us who work in the university world are more than willing to help parents and students find their way through the maze, even if they do not end up at our particular school.  Talk to someone who works at a school, ask other parents what worked for them, let students tell you what they are doing and why they choose the school they did.  Get Into College lets these 'hundreds of heads' offer their experience and advice. It comes from those of us working at it daily.

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/6797698[/vimeo]Education is in the news.  I think it should always be there, but then I am a bit biased in its favor. Earlier  this week Fresno Pacific's good enrollment news was on the local TV stations--we're up 11% overall.  On Tuesday we had a little celebration on the campus green--ice cream and good cheer all around for anyone who wanted a treat--students, faculty and staff all showed up. The mood on our campuses is good! Students are digging into their studies (mid-terms already in three weeks).  Last week the news was about the opening of our new centers in Visalia and Bakersfield. Enrollment reports are now being circulated about enrollments from the Christian schools (and other independents) from around the country.  Most schools are either flat (even with last year, in enrollment jargon) or up on average 3-6%. Last there were reports about the community colleges high enrollment, and the difficulty of students finding classes.  Next week we expect more enrollment reports from schools around the state and valley. Yesterday students and faculty protested at the campuses of the University of California, according to a front page AP story in today's Fresno Bee, over "deep budget cuts that have led to layoffs, furloughs, enrollment cuts, course reductions and higher fees." One union held a staged a small strike.  Other parts of the state systems are also reducing enrollments, or cutting class sections, facing layoffs and/or furloughs, and otherwise reducing costs and services.  And they will have to continue to do so for the next year or more, until the state regains tax revenue, or otherwise sorts out its financial mess. We faced our own cuts last year--it is painful, difficult, and unfortunately necessary sometimes. We didn't see protests on campus (our protests go on in meeting rooms and hallways).  Because we are dependent on tuition and donations, when the economy started to go south, we saw the effects immediately as people made hundreds and thousands of individual decisions about their own situations, their readiness to step into a new endeavor, and their sense of what the future would bring. We had to react quickly and respond with programs that met students' needs, additional financial aid, and with responses to students' questions and concerns. The state legislature took longer to address the issue of funding, and the crisis came later to the public schools. We will each weather what appears will be, in California at least, a protracted storm, according to our own institutional and economic cycles. Last night I witnessed another feature of the rich variety of our universities, but it won't make the news.  Fresno Pacific hosted the Fresno area College Fair of the North American Coalition of Christian Admissions Professionals (www.naccap.org), this year held at Northwest Church (where one of our grads is the high school pastor--thanks Northwest!).  More than three dozen schools set up displays--most of the west coast Christian colleges and universities and some from the east as well.  Compared to last year, the attendance was way up (probably more than tripled) and students brought energy and enthusiasm to the room. I barely had a chance to welcome those representing all of the schools to Fresno there were so many students and parents gathering information, talking to counselors, and going to financial aid seminars conducted by our Financial Aid staff.  Future students walked away with bags of materials and a lot to think about.  Some looked giddy, some bewildered. If we aren't watching closely we will miss the this unique quality of American higher education, the variety of the forms of higher education that are available for us, and the possibilities for our future. American education, like its politics, is sometimes wild and unruly, and full of opportunity.

This week we are out on the road again at College Fairs for traditional undergraduates sponsored by the various county offices of education, next week the Christian College Fairs.  There is always a good turn out with busloads of kids with their teachers, and parents with their kids.  It is noisy, exciting, intimidating.  Students and parents walk away with bags full of brochures and glossy "view books" from dozens of schools.  At the Fresno fair this week all of the regional public schools will be there, as well as all of the regional independents like Fresno Pacific, independents (and a few publics) from up and down the state, and some from across the country. Some, like Notre Dame (I remember from last year), will have alumni representatives who live in the area.  It is a good time to do some comparisons, ask questions, and gather some information.  It is a welcome sign, I think, to see the variety of schools that are available to our students.  This is part of the genius of American higher education. But it is also bewildering--many of our schools sound the same, promise the same things, and look the same. It is difficult to distinguish one from the other, or know how to choose one from another.  Every year parents beginning the search, and planning for tours ask me what to look for, how to think about what they are seeing.  So for those parents and students who are beginning the tour, here is my personal list, some of which I don't  think you will find in too many other places. There's no magic, just good, common sense, I hope:

• Visit the campus and take a tour.  Listen to how the school portrays itself.  Does the tour guide talk about the things that are important to you? Do you like what you see? Is the campus well taken care of? Ask questions.
• Walk around the campus on your own and get a feel for the place.  Do people greet you? Who are the students there? Does it look like all are welcomed? Look at the bulletin boards.  Are there activities and events on the campus that you would like to be a  part of, that bring an added dimension to the campus?  There may be things you see that you are uncomfortable with--universities bring many kinds speaker and events to their campuses to stimulate discussion. But overall, does the atmosphere of the campus attract you? Does it encourage a sense that you would like to be a part of it?  If it is a Christian college, visit a chapel time.  Does it encourage you to join in and enliven you? Do you feel welcomed?
• Visit a class session and sit in on a lecture or discussion. Ask for one in a subject you are interested in.  The Admissions office will choose one of the most admired and well liked professors, so take note.  You are likely to see one of the best.  Were students and the professor engaged in the topic at hand?  Were they asking questions, digging into the data or problem?  Ask yourself whether you learned something and whether you can see yourself as a student in the class? I have had parents and students talk to me after a class session of mine that they visited to ask about how I taught, how I liked teaching at Fresno Pacific, or something about the class session. Introduce yourself and see how they respond to you.
• Visit the university's website.  Ask all of the questions above. Could you get the information you wanted?  Or was it difficult to find out anything?  That might be a clue.
• Talk to students.  Ask them how they like it there? How are classes? What are they planning to do after graduation? What do they do on the weekends?  Have they made friends on campus? Do the proferssors make time for them?  What do they look forward to every year? Get the students talking. You will get a feel very quickly.

A university is a place where you will spend a lot of time, and where you will invest a lot personally and financially. It should be place where you become part of a community of discussion, learning, and scholarship. It should see you, the student, as a valued member of that community--the most valued.  We hear a lot about rankings, and they do give you at least some indication about a university.  But they are only one indication, and there are literally hundreds of very good colleges and universities with very good faculties, which are looking for good students. Often the test is what is sometimes called "fit."  Does the school fit?  Is it a good fit for you?  Will it wear well? I had to take a break while writing this to attend a meeting (what else?) and on my way back stopped to speak with Peggy the director of operations in our Continuing Education division.  She gave me a new one.  A parent had just called whose child is a potential student here, and wanted to speak directly with one of our Biblical studies professors.  He wanted to know what we were about, how classes were taught, and probably had a theological question or two to ask.  That's another way.

The fall semester has started or perhaps exploded. All year students and families have been hesitant to commit to the year, traditional aged and adult students.  They have visited us more times than in past years, asked more questions, and presented more problems that needed solutions (often financial) before they could make the commitment to begin and in some cases to return.  We have had a blizzard of applications--in all of our programs and program levels in the last six or seven weeks.  The last ones are registering for courses now.  Never have we seen it all come together so late in the year, with so many hurdles for students, and with such fear and anxiety. We are finishing the first week; we've had our opening class sessions, and president's convocation. Students are finalizing their financial aid arrangements, makings sure their schedules are leading them toward graduation.  Books have been acquired and some papers have already been written (I will grade some this weekend!). All of this has reminded me of the necessity of keeping the process and requirements (the bureaucracy) simple and practical, and of the need to translate sometimes technical "educationese" into common sense, everyday speech. We have been working hard at this. The same goes for teaching.  Like my faculty colleagues, I am back in the classroom, and learning again that the art of teaching is really about communicating, one person and mind to another.  Today we might emphasize the whole person, and their multiple forms of intelligence, and rightly so. But this week I was reminded of how difficult thinking and learning is, how much energy it takes, and how often we try to avoid it. In teaching we have to translate the technical language of a subject into the common sense language the student brings with them, then initiate them into the technical language and the purpose it serves and into the process of re-translation back into everyday experience and speech. In my ethics class I found myself illustrating "consequences" of actions, whether "intentional" or "unintentional," and whether with full knowledge or in ignorance.  Then we had to consider fairness or justice in practical and abstract senses, and how a person might or might not develop in ethical awareness given those consequences.  This can be hard going, but with the help of  practical common sense examples and cases students made the jump from one to the other, and we are off on the exploration of ethics as it applies to business (and yes, for the skeptics, it does apply). As we at Fresno Pacific rise up out of the chaos that our economy had blasted into all of our work this year, as the wind of anxiety and frustration dies down, we will settle into our studies, faculty and students like.  We think that education is best done in a community of trust where we work together in the exploration of a subject or field of study and its interaction with multiple other subjects and fields (we call this interdisciplinary study).  It keeps all of us in contact with the issues, problems and mysteries that present themselves in our daily lives, and in the broader world.  We attempt to overcome the isolation of pure individualism and of a narrowly segregated curriculum.  Faith, reason, and experience all have their place, the Biblical scholar, the historian, and the scientist, for example, and often their place is in a common space where we witness a fruitful interaction.  Students, we think, leave with a rich education. We wouldn't ask for the last year over again...ever.  It has been the toughest I have experienced in more than 25 years at it.  We still have a lot of work to do. But students have returned enthusiastic and ready. Enrollment is strong. The staff  throughout the university (at all our campuses) has been working hard and with a good spirit to bring it all together.  The faculty are working at the communication that is teaching and learning.  I'm going to take some time to read and think about some of those problems and mysteries, and how to communicate them. We can't ask for a lot more.

Time to make amends. A few months ago I complained in this space about the media and their seeming relish in reporting bad news. Today the Fresno Bee reported good news in our enrollment picture, and how we are helping students find a place to study. You can see the article here. The article was as detailed as the previous ones I complained about from last fall and spring. I guess they were just doing their job. But it's much more pleasant this time around. And students are wonderful!  One of our incoming freshman who had signed up for our new four-year graduation guarantee was quoted as saying, "They have committed to me as I have committed to them." We've got to use that again. It says exactly what the guarantee is about no matter whether we consider class availability, teaching, or mentoring. Education is newsworthy--it drives the economy of the information and knowledge age (two different things--more on that some other time), but more importantly it is a requirement for individual development and maturity, as well as for the health of our community. It opens up insights into what is good, worthy and possible. An education that builds moral and spiritual topics and values into its core, adds a dimension that makes it rich.  A long time ago I heard a professor explain that at a Christian University students have to work harder--they study and master everything you would at another school, plus the biblical, theological and moral learning of the Christian faith. Then they have to put it all together. That adds richness. It seems to me that the professor got it  just right. (I would think our alumni would verify his assessment about the amount of work.) Those who cease to learn, cease to grow and develop. Those who commit to learning with depth find the world opening around them, and their communities receive an added benefit. It's not easy, quick or cheap, but worth the investment, and worth a column or two in the newspaper. So to the Bee, thank you for the article. I won't complain again.

A couple of weeks ago we had three TV stations on campus reporting on our enrollment, the room we have at Fresno Pacific University for students, financial aid avialablility, and our new four year graduation guarantee.  (You can see one of the reports at http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/video?id=6919536 .)  While we were waiting, as the room full of students pooring over schedules was being filmed, the reporter asked me who was advising the students. I answered that we were watching some of our natural science and math faculty members work with the new students--all freshmen--as they began their university careers. It was the second question that amused me a bit--'the faculty advises the students?'  And after thinking about it, for many schools, especially large ones, it would seem odd that a faculty member would take time to advise a beginning student. Or at least, if not odd, not usual in these days.  The question gave me a minute to explain how important it is for faculty to take this time with students.  For me and for the faculty at FPU, this is one of the building blocks for student success. Advising gives us an opportunity to help get students started right, to check on how they are doing as they proceed through their studies, to "mentor" or guide them into their chose professions or vocations, to help prepare them for graduate schools, and to be available when they want to talk or have questions. Their questions might be academic, or personal, or spiritual.  If we can't help personally, we can get them in contact with someone who can. We call it mentoring--active guiding--rather than advising.  And it is something we as a faculty at FPU take pride in--whether in the traditional undergraduate, degree completion or graduate programs. At our three registration days this summer for new traditional undergraduate students we had as advisors chairs of departments, a couple of deans, faculty members known for creative teaching, a chaired professor (I am not using their names becuase I did not get their permission to do so), those who took time away from family and from research they are doing, from all of the universities schools, and most of the departments. They even let me help out. Just today a former student, a former "mentee" stopped by, one who I had helped mentor. He's now completing his doctorate, and on a brief leave from teaching in Africa. We have become friends in the fifteen years since he graduated with his BA. We caught up on family stuff, the pains of doctoral committees, and future professional plans. This is what can happen when faculty and students work together--in the classroom, in research, in "advising," and as students continue in adult life and their professions. It can be rich for both--it has been for me.

We are heading into the final weeks of summer, the weeks before the semester begins.  Teachers and professors everywhere are beginning to have dreams, literally, about the academic year.  Some of these are nightmares, and some are pleasant.  They are part of the rethinking process.  What will I do differently this semester?  What worked and what didn't?  How did students respond to a particular discussion or project?  What new information needs to be incorporated?  What new resources are available? This is really why we are here doing this thing called education. Soon we will see more faculty members around campus (there are already some) working in their offices. (We used to head to the library, but now we can get current journals online at our desks, as can students--this has set a new standard for currency of information in both student projects, and in teaching.) We will be working on syllabi, lecture and discussion outlines, setting up discussion boards for student use, taping and cliping videos or use in class, or simply rereading and rethinking. I am doing the same for my business ethics class which I will teach twice this year--a required course for business majors. This is a tricky course to teach.  In many places and among many students, the current wisdom is that all morals and ethics are based on subjective "values," the free, unconstrained, choices of individuals, about which we cannot judge whether one or another is better.  Judgment would imply the existence of an objective standard beyond the subjective choice of the individual. This notion is so prevalent that it shows up in the reasoning of supreme court opinions. Another prevalent opinion, which also shows up in Christian instituions like Fresno Pacific, is that our values can only be received as a divine command through revelation--for example the ten commndments, or the explicit commands of Jesus.  All other values are merely subjective choices.  Or people are generally so corrupt, in theological language so sinful that they, or we, cannot know or choose values that are in some measure good. Sometimes I find that these two claims go together.  A student might say that they realize that all values are subjective, they would not want t impose their's on anyone, but they have chosen to follow Christian values simply as a personal choice.  In both cases this imposes a particular burden on the teaching of ethics for business.  We can, I suppose, turn to conseqences.  For example people who do not trust a business will not become or remain customers.  And so a business person should want to adopt the value of truthfulness even if there is no deeper, truer reason why one might want to become truthful, that is, even if truth is not good itself. But then we are all capable of finding our way around values that we choose.  We are especially adept at this when we endorse them not in-and-of themselves because we know they are good, but instrumentally for another purpose. I will present students with another bit of evidence this year.  The Institute for Global Ethics (http://www.globalethics.org/mission-and-values.php)  has identified five core values that are found in every culture.  They have adopted these as their core organizational values and committed themselves to be (the following is a direct quotation):

• Honest and truthful in all our dealings
• Responsible and accountable in every transaction
• Fair and equitable in each relationship
• Respectful and mindful of the dignity of every individual
• Compassionate and caring in each situation

Some ethicists might call these "hyper" or "meta" values.  They touch a deeper level than say, I value having a new car, or even I value education. It would seem that something that is found everywhere, in all cultures, might indeed be something more than merely subjective.  A couple of writers, Lennick and Kiel in Moral Intelligence use a similar set of "universal" values (integrity, responsibility, compassion and forgiveness--it seems to me they leave out the meta-value of justice or fairness, but still there is a basic similarity) to form the basis for their moral intelligence test and counsel for organizational leaders. I will couple the discussion with a reading of C. S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man. Lewis makes a philosophical case for the existence of universal values, what he calls the Tao, and offers a list from a variety of cultures throughout history. Some see The Abolition as his most profound piece of writing. It can be difficult for some, but is well worth the reading. The anthropoligist Donald Brown in Human Universals offers another slant on the topic, as does James Q. Wilson in The Moral Sense. In answer to the Christian student who understands the scriptures to point to a divine command theory of basic values, I think I will point to the classic passage theologians used throughout the early and medieval church (and later) from St. Paul in the letter to the Romans(see 1: 18-2:16, here quoting 2:14-15 from the NRSV): "When Gentiles, who do not possess the law, do instinctively what the law requries, these, though not having the law, are a law unto themselves.  They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, to which their own conscience bears witness..." Lewis as a Christian writer will help make the case as well. It seems to me that without this recognition of basic, hyper-, or meta-values we won't get very far in teaching ethics. And when presented with a basic list like the one quoted above, no one whom I have met wants to deny that they are truly good values that we all ought to embrace. At least this is my experience from the classroom. Today we have to make strong case for the existence of these universal values. If what I intend to outline and argue for with my students is correct, we should be able to get some kind of rough and ready agreement.  I hope it will be a good discussion. If not, I will be re-thinking again for the spring semester.