Job Shadowing

For my shadowing experience I followed the president of the Art Institute of Washington. I had the pleasure of sitting in on an Executive Committee Meeting and then conduct my interview. Although I knew the president fairly well, I thought it would be interesting to see what he actually does on a daily basis.

The committee meeting was fairly standard housekeeping. The issues that were brought to the table were mostly being reviewed and there were very few pressing issues to tackle. The numbers for the school were discussed and, as usual, retention was a key point in the discussion. The president showed that he was trying to coach others to become leaders by pointing out things that were working in helping students. He specifially pointed to cases where a member of the staff went beyond their duties to help students through the process or institute change.

What I am sure more people are interested in is the questions about for-profit v. not-for-profit. I did ask him what his thoughts were and other questions that related to this "debate." The discussion mostly fell along the line that no matter the school, there is always a "bottom line" and the goal of student success. Without student success, no matter the model, the school will fail. The school will fail because it doesn't meet the needs to keep the institution afloat. Even not-for-profit models will fall apart or shut down if there is no students for the school.

What is interesting is to look at particular aspects of the models as they relate to their mission. For-profit institutions like the Art Institute typically have a narrower focus than univerisities or community colleges. Their focused goals allow them to specialize and direct their funds in particular ways that might make their facilities stronger than these larger institutions thus meeting the needs of the students they are targeting. In this way there are benefits to a profit based model that might clearly outweigh similar degree programs at larger colleges or universities. (ex: Graphic Design at Art Institute v. Graphic Design at GMU)

The job shadowing experience was fun. And in a recent survey of my campus, it seems that this broader understanding of the campus is needed by everyone. There are some common complaints that students get the run-around or there is a lack of respect for certain departments within the college. Most of this is due to the lack of understanding of the majority of the employees, both faculty and staff, as to what goes on daily in the institution. I think it will be an important team-building exercise to get more members of the college to participate in this sort of activity to come to a broader understanding of what is required of other positions.