Tuesday, September 25, 2007

On the mark, or not?

Mission Statement: Tunxis Community College offers it’s students a quality, yet affordable education in an accessible and supportive environment, fostering the skills necessary to succeed in an increasingly complex world.
I think that the Tunxis Community College Mission Statement is right on the mark. It covers what we as students need from a school. Tunxis offers many opportunities like great education, great facilities, and a great environment. The mission statement is really short and brief but it does get right to the point. I think that the staff of Tunxis Community College really grasped the idea of what students want and also what they need.
Tunxis Community College offers quality yet affordable education; this gives many people the opportunity to get a great education. Getting a good education will absolutely help students either further their carrier, or start a new one. Tunxis is great because it has a lot of flexibility, students and teachers are able to work full time jobs and still go to classes at night. Going to school in a supportive and accessible environment also helps student’s futures. Tunxis is accessible because you can go to the computer lab, library, and cafeteria almost anytime you want to. You can set up study sessions with other students or meet teachers in between classes for a quick question. Tunxis makes sure that it creates a supportive environment with all the resources there that you need to succeed while in school and out in the real world. The world is constantly changing and I personally feel that the staff at Tunxis makes a huge effort to teach us not only class related things but also real world related things.
While attending Tunxis Community College I know I will take things from my experience and apply them to the future. Going to Tunxis has enabled me to further my education and finally take the steps to starting my carrier but on the other side still let me work full time.
I feel that the mission statement of Tunxis Community College truly captures what they actually do here. Tunxis creates an awesome learning environment with great resources like teachers, fellow students, computers, books, but most of all the information, knowledge, and tools to succeed later on in life. Tunxis gives the students all the tools; it’s all up to them on what they do with it.

Is the mission statement of Tunxis off the mark?

In a word: sort of. Tunxis has created a mission statement that succinctly states the goals of the College but is, I believe, very generalized and somewhat vague. By definition, a community college seeks to provide an affordable education to a broad range of students in a convenient location. Tunxis' mission statement simply restates that basic premise then adds a few words about "fostering the skills necessary to succeed."(1) There is no further explanation or clarification. To my way of thinking, that comes up a bit short. To expand on this point, I'd like to contrast it with portions of the mission statement released on Harvard's web site.
With its reputation and long history, Harvard could have simply rested on its laurels when preparing a mission statement. Instead, it opens with this general declaration of purpose:

In brief, Harvard strives to create knowledge, to open the minds of students to that knowledge, and to enable students to take best advantage of their educational opportunities. (2)

The statement then continues with a detailed description of just how Harvard will carry out this plan for its students, encouraging them to "respect ideas and their free expression," "to rejoice in discovery and in critical thought," "to pursue excellence," and to "assume responsibility for the consequences of personal action." It goes on to say: "Education at Harvard should liberate students to explore, to create, to challenge, and to lead." And finally:

The support the College provides to students is a foundation upon which self-reliance and habits of lifelong learning are built: Harvard expects that the scholarship and collegiality it fosters in its students will lead them in their later lives to advance knowledge, to promote understanding, and to serve society.

Note that there is no mention of cost or convenient location. Instead, the focus is on learning for the sake of learning, on the many benefits that a good education can bring to the life of a student, and on the lifelong consequences of the Harvard experience. The statement acknowledges the development of the individual student and the college's potential for helping them realize their personal goals in life. It recognizes the individual's place as a member of society as well, and promises to support them as they go on to become potential leaders within that society.
It goes without saying that comparing these two colleges – Tunxis and Harvard – is like comparing apples and oranges. Yet to my way of thinking, they have many similarities. They both serve to educate, support and prepare their students for life after college. Both strive to create self-reliant individuals who will (hopefully) use the knowledge they have acquired to create a better society. But the implied focus at Tunxis seems to be on financial success – a good job – rather than the more spiritual/creative advancement proposed at Harvard. Perhaps this is simply a function of past experience at each school. Perhaps Tunxis has learned over the years that its students are more interested in a better job or better pay than in expanding their minds more creatively. And perhaps the Tunxis mission statement was written merely to state the obvious and reinforce what its perspective students hoped to hear about the college and nothing more. I would like to think that the typical Tunxis student deserves better than that, however. I would like to think that at least some students at Tunxis have many of the same goals and dreams as their fellow students at Harvard. Why not give the prospective student at Tunxis the benefit of the doubt?
This is where I believe the Tunxis mission statement falls short. It gives its students the basics, nothing more. It doesn't mention individual potential, or knowledge for its own sake, or the joys of learning, as does Harvard's statement. It does little to inspire hope or generate excitement about the learning experience. Tunxis does not give itself or its students enough credit and, to me, that is more than just a disappointment, it is just sad.

SOURCES
(1) "Tunxis Community College Mission Statement." 17 September 2007
(2) Lewis, Harry R. "The Mission of Harvard College." Faculty of Arts and Sciences Student Handbook. 23 February 1997

What should colleges do?

When asked the question, “What should colleges do that they don’t do now?” I feel a good response would be to pay student athletes. I feel this way for a couple reasons, for one, college athletic programs make an outrageous amount of money that goes straight to the university. Another reason is, if the team is good enough it draws lots of attention to the university and it makes other students want to go to that school. And finally, students risk their lives playing everyday and if anything were to happen they may not be able to afford the medical bills.
First I will talk about the money that colleges make off of student athletes. Athletic programs for big universities make millions of dollars per game, and the players that the fans come to watch play don’t receive a dime of that money. When people go to a college football game they don’t go buy their ticket just to give the university money. They are buying their ticket to watch hopefully the future stars of the NFL. But that’s not how it works, the student athletes, who everyone paid to see don’t get any of that money. All of the coaches get paid lots of money the program director gets paid lots of money it would only be fair if the players got paid lots money. Plus, nobody pays to see the coaches or the program director; they pay to see the student athletes.
Next I will talk about the amount of attention that universities receive when they have a good athletic program. When a college has a really good athletic program more students tend to want to go to that school opposed to a school that doesn’t have a good program. For example, over these last few weeks Michigan who at the time was ranked number 5 in the country for football played an unranked Appalachian State. Nobody ever heard of Appalachian state before this game, but they pulled off what could have been one of the greatest upsets of college football history, and now I’m sure everyone in the country has heard of Appalachian state university. It made the news, announcers in the NFL were talking about it, and even broadcasters for major league baseball were talking about it. I don’t have any statistics because it’s still to early but I can almost guarantee that this year Appalachian states application for student enrollment is going to rise drastically.
Finally student athletes should be paid because they risk their lives every single time they go out on that field. Football players practice six days a week, in the summer and winter. Every year you hear of a student dying from a heat stroke or dehydration. Also, when students play during real games one wrong hit, or one wrong tackle and they could be injured or even possibly die. A perfect example is two weeks ago, a man named Kevin Everett played for the Buffalo Bills. He is 27 years old and he is going to be paralyzed for the rest of his life because he tried to tackle someone the wrong way. Doctors are saying that he is lucky to be alive. If that happens to a student and their family isn’t wealthy how are they going to pay the medical bills? Students should at least get a little money just for insurance reasons in case something does happen.
In conclusion, student athletes should be paid because believe it or not they really are what make or break the college. Plus, it keeps the other students who attend the university proud of their school.

Financial burden lifted

It’s another day in your already stressful life worrying about how you’re going to obtain money to get into a good college. To ease your mind you pick-up the morning newspaper and come to realize you’re staring at a headline that reads, “College is free to those who maintain a high GPA.” Now wouldn’t that be a sight to see in our morning newspapers. Unfortunately, this is an opportunity that hasn’t been presented to people in this country. Although financial aid is available it doesn’t apply to everyone. For the people who aren’t chosen to receive financial aid, student loans are available but you need good credit in order to be accepted and if you can’t get it, then you obviously will have a hard time attending any college. It surprises me that this isn’t an option for people because there is so much potential for students who actually want to go to college but can’t take on the financial burden of attending with out some kind of aid. I believe if we provide this opportunity in the present we will see the benefits as a society in our future.

Students, who are given the opportunity to attend school free-of-charge if they maintained their grade point average (GPA) at a high level, will ultimately separate the slackers from the hard workers who are our future. I feel that this approach towards educating people will filter out the people who commonly attend college simply because their parents are pressuring them into it and not entirely because their child has the desire to be educated. I personally know these types of students who could careless what their GPA is let alone if they attend college classes. I have yet to come across parents who feel obligated to stop funding their child’s education because their GPA slips below average, there fore these types of students aren’t obligated to maintain a high GPA because they aren’t faced with any threatening consequences. This behavior doesn’t create model employees for companies in the “real world.” I believe this is a unique opportunity and could draw people with good work ethic skills who could enter the work force prepared.

If students were able to attend school with out having the financial burden hanging over their heads they would concentrate harder at not only maintaining their GPA but striving for better. There are so many people who attend school that work part and full time jobs just to be able to put themselves through school, and that’s not to mention other bills that they may have. This inconvenience not only takes a toll in their financial life but it will also affect them mentally and physically. I strongly believe that this would be a great incentive for people to work hard for their education without the financial issue coming in the way of that.

There are too many people in this country who would give anything to attend a good college but who have a hard time achieving this goal. Imagine a college who looks out for these types of people who have a strong will to become someone one day and we all know to be that someone a degree of some sort is required. To give a chance for people to attend school for free, only if they keep their GPA high is a gift that just keeps giving. This will drive people to work hard at every grade and hopefully will inspire them to work hard, not only in the classroom but in life as well. I know that this will give the unfortunate people who have been struggling to get off the streets or people who are poor and don’t have a strong support systems an amazing opportunity to build self-esteem. This will also be a good opportunity of the community to give back to its deserving citizens who want to go somewhere and be someone in life.

For the time being this is just a dream of mine that I have for worthy people in this country. To be able to provide this chance to people who would actually appreciate it would be life-changing experience for them. College is great way to further your education while obtaining work skills needed for your future, but many things can come in the way of that and one of the most concerning is the financial part of it. People who would be given this opportunity would excel not only in work but also in their future period. They could concentrate on school and not have to worry about balancing school and a job. I feel that this is an idea that needs to be researched in order to better our country and people as a whole.

Mission statement

Mission statement: “A formal document that sates the objectives of a company or organization. That is the dictionaries definition of a mission statement.
Now here is Tunxis’s “mission/vision statement,” Tunxis Community College offers its students a quality, yet affordable education in an accessible and supportive environment, fostering the skills necessary to succeed in an increasingly complex world.
Do I think this is on mark? Absolutely not; I do not think it could even be considered a mission statement because, the lake of actual “mission.” When I think of a mission I think something you strive to accomplish as a whole. Tunxis’s mission statement is trying to sell you the idea of the school.
I disagree with Tunxis’s entire statement; I don’t think that Tunxis is in any way affordable or a supportive environment for learning. Accessible? Maybe other then the parking situation, I am not accessible to a parking spot, so in return students are late to class. I absolutely disagree that in anyway Tunxis as and educational institution is supportive. In the two years that I have enrolled at Tunxis I felt that no matter how much I asked or look for the support I needed it was not there. The teachers, consolers, and staff did seem too interested in helping. People come and go so often it’s like I am just another face in the crowd.
If you were to read other college’s mission statement you would feel that they actually achieve their mission. At Tunxis there is nothing to achieve with the statement given. How does Tunxis expect to motivate there students to learn and strive for something if they don’t have a quality mission statement? Tunxis attracts most students that need a credit class that isn’t offered at other college, people that really don’t know what they want to do, and or continuing education.
In no way has Tunxis given me the skills necessary to help me succeed in a increasingly complex world. I mostly gain the knowledge and material if I wanted to write a book on going to community college. My experiences at Tunxis have been mostly good and I c ant complain to much because the first two years I went to Tunxis it was paid for. I took a lot of classes that I actually enjoyed. So in a way I have learned a lot , and its not the materiel given that I disagree with . I disagree with the teachers and staff and the lack emotion and caring they have for the students and other faculty. The lack of motivation and disrespect the staff shows to each other comes through in their teaching.
Tunxis community college in my opinion does not have a real mission statement. The mission statement they have is being fulfilled either, so they are not on mark. Working with the statement they provide to their students and is in no way motivating people to wan to go to Tunxis. I believe as well as the poor attempt of a mission statement and the lack of useful staff that Tunxis should revise how it works with its staff and student body. The president of the college should start with improving her staff's moral which in return will advance the students experience. Then she should rethink and rewrite the Tunxis mission statement to something as a college we could strive for and advance the students experience. Then she should rethink and rewrite the Tunxis mission statement to something as a college we could strive for and achieve.

Essay on Tunxis

Tunxis Community College offers its students a quality, yet affordable education in an accessible and supportive environment, fostering the skills necessary to succeed in an increasingly complex world.

The question I chose to write about was question number two.Is the mission statement of Tunxis Community College on the mark. Why or why not?

I will go phrase by phrase through the sentence to show why I believe that the mission statement chosen by Tunxis Community College is a dead on accurate portrayal of their goal as a community college. Before I look into the actual sentence I think of what I believe any college’s goals should be as an academic and educational environment. 1st obviously an educational staff that does their job well and teaches the students with enough one on one access to give every student the opportunity to excel, while also teaching them life lessons that they will eventually have to apply when they become active individuals in the community. The first part of the mission statement states that Tunxis Community College offers its students a quality yet affordable education. With that said I myself have had the opportunity to experience the quailty of the educational environment and from a students perspective I believe it to be as beneficial and helpful environment as any college could offer. The teachers seem to love what they do, many of them coming from high-school teaching positions, one of whom was my own 11th grade geometry teacher, and give plenty of opportunities for one on one time to learn the information being taught along with easy access to communication outside of school to contact teachers via email or phone. As for the affordable ending to the phrase anyone who knows anything about college tuition knows that it can cost applicants a large percentage of their income even with financial aid along with an arm and a leg thrown in. Tunxis’ rates are very competitive with other community colleges and make it very easily affordable to go to school for those low on funds. The next part of the statement claims an “accessible and supportive environment.” I have already covered how supportive the teachers are but also the staff working as guidance counselors, transfer counselors, secretaries, the tutoring staff and the educational resource staff make it easy for students to learn how they can be helped by Tunxis’ resources along with how they can help themselves. As for accessible Tunxis physically is a very open campus, and small enough for no one to possibly get lost in at least for not more than a minute or so until they find a campus staff to direct them. Obviously applicants are not discriminated against and anyone who applies can go there. The last phrase says while “fostering the skills necessary to succeed in an increasingly complex world.” Anyone living in society nowadays knows how complicated life has become in this new millennium. As an educational environment I truly believe Tunxis meets and surpasses all standards of a community college that it wishes to fulfill.