Announcements:

Recently we completed the first formal assessment of our Evening degree program, including a survey of all graduates since the mid-1980's. Our graduates report a high level of satisfaction with their Wittenberg experience and a close connection of that experience with the career and personal activities that make for a fuller life. They express particular regard for our program's emphases on "big picture" thinking, writing, and speaking.

Our conclusion from these and other assessment data is that we need to continue these emphases. To ensure effective outcomes in these key areas for all students, we need to strengthen the relationships among our courses and to provide clearer information to our students--in continuous fashion--concerning their development as writers and speakers. An initial step has been the creation of a Mini Manual for Adult Student Writers, incorporating the needs and concerns of actual students over the last few years. As part of the continuous improvement process that, in the Evening program, begins with our introductory Colloquium course and concludes with our Senior Leadership Seminar and associated Executive Briefing presentation, we give the Mini Manual to every adult student enrolling in this program and to every instructor as a course reference. We also provide it to our students enrolling in the various Day majors and teacher licensure programs.

A final high point that emerges from the assessment is the value that our alumni and current students place upon the personal encounters they experience here—with professors in small classes, with other supportive adults in the program, and with competent and caring SCE advisors. For many this "whole person" quality stands in marked contrast to their experiences at other schools; it constitutes the core of Wittenberg. We pledge to continue this quality in our program for both Evening and Day students alike and to do whatever we can to enhance it.