The Colby Echo

Issue date: 4/23/08 Section: News

The NEASC report offers suggestions for the College of ways to improve various aspects of student life and academics from an outside perspective.

Every ten years, the College must earn reaccreditation by an evaluation team representing the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. The NEASC committee visited the campus in Nov. 2007 to make their assessments. This reaccreditation process was carried out after, and somewhat in response to, the College's own self-study. For full coverage of the self-study, please see the Oct. 31, 2007 issue of the Echo.

On Thursday April 12, 2008, President William D. Adams announced that the full results of the NEASC committee's study, done as part of the process of reaccreditation, were made available online for student use. This comprehensive report, prepared by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (CIHE), touches on myriad aspects of life at the College-many of which pertain directly to students and student interests. While the committee's findings were largely positive and praised the College for the progress it has made thus far, the committee also found room for improvement, writing extensively on JanPlan, Diversity and the First-Year Experience.

Jan Plan At the College

The CIHE report notes that conversations with students underscored the "sense that January is seen as a break between the more rigorous academic semesters, a time when many students and faculty are gone from campus and the sense of community is diminished." The is January term indeed often seen as a lull by students insofar as that many of their friends are gone, and the course load for many seems to be less difficult, as students have work for only one.

On the other hand, some students use JanPlan to capitalize on opportunities they may not have during the regular academic semesters.

Piper Haywood '10, a student interested in pursuing a career in graphic design, noted that her 2008 JanPlan course helped her gain an edge on her summer and study abroad applications for programs focused around graphic design. Haywood said, "JanPlan was essential for me. I took Digital Photography, which isn't offered during the normal school year. The class taught me not only photography but how to use Photo Shop as well, which I really need for graphic design." When asked about the sense of community, Haywood wavered, but admitted that she saw JanPlan as an essential option. "I see it as possibly a lull of activity on campus but it's also a huge opportunity for people like me [who want to do things that aren't normally offered]... JanPlan is what you do with it," she said. However, not all students shared her opinion, such as Lauren McGrath '11, who offered a different perspective. "I honestly don't think JanPlan is very useful-primarily because people don't take it seriously. And even for those who go off-campus and do an internship, three weeks is not really enough time to settle in and really learn something. And for the people who stay on campus, they don't really do much. I definitely agree that the general consensus is that JanPlan is a break."

Continued...

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