Columns:: Worth Repeating

since 12/15/98

Columns::October 29, 2001

Worth repeating

Richard J. Light, professor of education at Harvard University, delivered the 2001 Louise McBee Lecture on Oct. 18. He discussed the conclusions he has drawn from his long-term project at Harvard analyzing the factors which lead to a satisfactory college experience. Some excerpts:
“We decided that the best way to learn about what works for our students is to do the obvious--ask them. . . .
“Our ‘biggest deal’ result: how important good advising is, and how many universities, including mine, could do one heck of a lot better. . . . One of the questions that all of us asked our 1,600 undergraduates is so simple . . . ‘Think about all the advising experiences you have had in your entire time at college. What was the single most helpful bit of advice that you got? . . . And what was the least helpful advising experience you got?’ . . .
“What we learned to say [to new freshmen] was: ‘Your job this semester is to make an effort to get to know one faculty member reasonably well, and have that one faculty member get to know you reasonably well. It might take a little bit of extra courage, . . . but even if you fail half the time, you’re going to be here for eight semesters . . . so that means you’ll get to know four faculty members. . . .
“That’s what we learned from the students. Student after student said: ‘That was the best advice that I got.’ . . .”

--Beth Roberts

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