By Matt DeBlass
Earlier this month, Raritan Valley Community College opened its doors and its ears to students in a new way. The college held the first of what it calls its Strategic Planning Listening Sessions. These focus-group-styled sessions will be used to gather the opinions of students and community members about RVCC.
The Oct. 5 session marked the first time that the college has spoken so directly to students about their own concerns and priorities.
“One of the things that makes this college different said RVCC President Casey Crabill, “is that we want to engage our students in our long-range planning.”
“Our role tonight is really to listen,” Dr. Crabill said to those gathered in the school’s conference center. Students sat at round tables in groups of about ten. Moderators asked each group five questions about their own views on RVCC and wrote down the students’ answers.
Each group came up with as many possible responses to each question, and then collectively chose the top three. After the group made its choices, each person wrote them down according to their personal ranking on color-coded note cards.
The questions were as follows:
- In your experience, what is RVCC known for?
- In what ways is the college currently doing a good job?
- In what way could the college improve what it is doing and/or improve its outreach to you?
- What is the most significant contribution that RVCC can make to you?
- How is your community likely to change in the next five years?
While each group produced many different responses, certain trends appeared. Many student responses focused on immediate issues, such as parking and tuition costs, but attendees also reflected broader concerns such as whether an RVCC education would open doors to top transfer colleges or guarantee a desirable career.
This first session was attended by about eighty students and lasted for just over an hour. The college has scheduled a second on-campus session at noon on Wednesday, Oct. 25, followed by sessions for community and business leaders. RVCC will use the data gathered to help in developing plans for the next five years.
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