Jupiter, FL – Is there any greater struggle between instructor and student than the dreaded “group assignment”? From the day it is assigned, students begin the process of passive-aggressive resistance and instructors have the difficult task of grading an assignment they know was basically completed by one overachiever. However, we keep giving these assignments to our students because we realize the value of working together in a collaborative environment.
Virtually everything we know about group dynamics tells us as educators that the wisdom of crowds almost always gets a better result than the lone-wolf approach. The reason is simple: When people are working together on the same project they all tend to see the same problem with a different lens – and that results in added perspective. That is the central focus of the Florida Consortium of Metropolitan Research Universities; to work and collaborate with an eye on results in career readiness and student success that would be unattainable without each other.
On January 25 and 26 four members of the Florida Consortium took the time to attend the John N. Gardner Higher Education Partnership Forum. This event was focused on achieving the highest return for your collaborative efforts through effective collaboration efforts. In all, 14 universities and over 60 higher education professionals attended the two-day seminar. Sessions ranged from developing effective partnerships through common values-based outcomes and best practices for creating a collaborative campus for student success. A number of plenary speakers also echoed this theme including Dr. Dennis Pruitt, Vice-President for Student Affairs and Academic Support at the University of South Carolina and Dr. Gwen Hall, Associate Provost for Academic Effectiveness and Student Success at the American Public University System.
Florida Consortium participants got an opportunity to not only spend time learning from the experts in attendance and other universities but also had an opportunity to strategically plan for the next year for the Florida Consortium. “The Institute balanced presentations by experts and teamwork/reflection time well. Just enough presenters to inspire creative thinking followed by time to further develop our ideas. I came back with a list possible initiatives. The focus on collaboration and partnerships is precisely how the Consortium will give our institutions an advantage.” said Dr. Allison Cleveland-Roberts, Assistant Dean for the Office of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies at the University of South Florida. Consortium members came away from the session with three potential projects for strategic planning and program development.
- A survey tool designed for strategic planning among Consortium members. This survey tool will allow respondents to build consensus through a series of timed questions and responses. The information gathered in the future will be presented at the Florida Consortium Student Success Conference, March 21st on the Florida International University Campus.
- A model for a case management style advising model designed to target all students with just the right amount of advice at just the right time. Consortium members will work together to design an approach to early alert and student advising that will include student affairs professionals who want to learn more about advising students in an academic setting.
- Is ready to develop a collaborative model for surveying students who have graduated to find out more about their first destination after college. This personalized approach can help follow-up for career services professionals and assist universities better understand how our students find and define career and personal success.
The Florida Consortium is looking forward to future work with the John N. Gardner Institute in the years to come. Currently all three universities have engaged with the Institute on a number of projects including Foundations of Excellence, Retention Performance Management, and Gateways to Completion.
The Florida Consortium of Metropolitan Research Universities aims to produce more career-ready graduates with lower debt, better training and workforce skills that meet the demand of Florida’s growing economy. The Florida Consortium is a collaborative endeavor between Florida International University, the University of Central Florida, and the University of South Florida. Operationally formed with consultation and support from the Helios Education Foundation, the Consortium will grow the number of degreed professionals and positively impact Florida’s economic development. Consortium institutions serve 47% of State University System total enrollment and 54% of the state’s undergraduate minority enrollment.