almost time!

School is about to get up and rolling again, starting Monday.
Yes, already.
And I'm ready for it.
I started building my new syllabi on Wednesday, in the comfort - and warmth - of my home. I completed all save one, but that, and my office hours, were done yesterday and submitted to the department to be filed away, should a student lose their copy and need another. Or some such as that. I think it's really to make sure we're ready for prime time in a timely fashion. Though I could be mistaken.
I certainly could.
Yesterday began in my dentist's office. The temporary crown on a lower left molar was to finally be removed and I was ready to have it gone. I'd spent the holidays gingerly chewing on that side, trying to make sure the rough-sided cap wouldn't find its way loose before its time. So, after an early lunch at home, I went to the dentist, her assistant removed the temp from my tooth, and the dentist herself secured the new crown in place. Polished and smooth and shiny, it now sits. And my mouth doesn't feel *quite* right yet, but I'm hoping it soon will.
Afterward, I rushed out to a mandatory school meeting. They had some snack foods and beverages to lure us there for the ninety minutes of diem interruptus, so I prepared myself a plate for later. I briefly saw my bfe, but he sat with his clan and I did the same. And there we all were, basically being told that we were all recruiters for the university, as the overall numbers of customers - oops! I mean, students - was down and, to protect our positions, we needed to try to increase those numbers enrolling.
I prefer not to think of education as a product, but it is. Learning is definitely NOT a product, but work which a student must do with the education they buy. Perhaps that is the distinction which must be kept before me. As an instructor, I help provide a light along the path, but the path is one the student alone must tread.
But if the issue is that of retention of students, and we are to be promoters of that goal, then we must find a better way to encourage students to STAY. I suggest that those who promote gym memberships have the same problem we face. You can show potential customers the data for the ultimate goal, but, somehow, those same customers don't get the message that they must do the WORK for the goal. The trainers can give them lessons and tips all day and all night, but the trainers cannot do the endless rounds of repetitions needed to achieve the goal.
And so, after usually a brief and enthusiastic beginning, the customers realize all of the effort THEY have to put into achieving the goal. And they realize all of the time THEY have to put into achieving that goal. They believe the small gains are too outnumbered by the daily costs. And a large percentage of the customers decide not to continue, after all, or at this time, toward the goal.
The gym, having received the money in advance, survives to promote memberships and dreams of better bodies to other hopefuls.
The university, having received the money in advance, survives to promote education and dreams of better minds to other hopefuls.
The difference is this: the university doesn't seem to pay attention to the pattern. The university wants the numbers enrolled to be continually increasing.
The gym knows that new customers are not a year-round constant. For the gym, the numbers of new members greatly increases at the beginning of a calendar year, in response to new year resolutions. Another surge occurs in the spring, when swimsuits and summer dresses arrive with the first flowers. And then, in the fall, there is a renewal of interest as the summer ends and new school years begin and folks try to get into shape before the holiday treats threaten their physique.
So, the gym administrators plan for those lulls in financial activity, if they're wise. If they are not wise, then the gym may survive for a couple of years, but then they will not have the bankroll to continue.
The university knows that new customers are not a year-round constant. Mostly, this is due to the organization of the dispensing of education at the university. To accomplish the goal of achieving a better mind, a customer must adhere to a schedule of classes. To the university's credit, these classes are now offered in a variety of schedules, designed to lure in customers of all persuasions.
Unable to take classes in the day? We provide evening and weekend schedules!
Can't commit to fifteen weeks of a class? Try these five-week and seven-week variations! Even in the summer!
No time for commuting to and from school for classes? Here are online courses you can do at home!
You need a completed course of study in a short time? Have a certificate instead of a bachelor's degree!
Lots of variety for the customers.
Lots of different start times available for them, too. In fact, every eight weeks or so, a customer could begin a course of study at the university. The customer would only have to pay for the class(es) taken at that one time. No need to decide on an ultimate goal and pay upfront for all the trainers needed to accomplish that goal. No, just pay as you go, essentially.
And if it turns out that the time is not right for that project of self-enrichment, then not much has been lost, except a small expanse of time and some money. The customer can walk away with little personal cost and can, usually, return at some later time.
That presents the real problem.
The university spends much of its resources on customers who never complete the course of study to a goal. The university's resources are repeatedly used to provide education for customers who will never proceed past the first thirty weeks of training. The number of customers who require the more in-depth, specialized classes is quite small compared to the vast number needing the basic, preliminary courses.
But there is a marked difference between the gym and the university in staffing. The trainers at the gym can handle a wide variety of customers, from beginner to expert. The trainer plans a series of exercises to achieve the customers' goals, then the customer must do the work. At the university, the trainers, or educators, are not able to be used for all of the customers. Each of the educators have a different specialty for education of the mind. The university must always maintain a high number of educators with different specialties, different guides through the major courses of study to a certificate, a diploma, an official marker of completion. Those specialized educators aren't cheap and must be paid whether they are teaching first-level courses or upper-level specialized courses.
So, much of the time, the university is under-utilizing its resources.
Spinning its wheels, so to speak.
And, now, looking to those resources to fetch new customers.
Shouldn't it mean that the marketing staff needs to work more effectively at recruiting customers who are serious about being at the university?
Shouldn't we be more concerned with the qualifications of the customers using those valuable resources?
Aren't students supposed to be treated as people trying to enrich their lives, not customers trying to buy a piece of paper?