Themes Sorted by Prompt: I Wish...

Download the spreadsheet of participant responses for all prompts.

I Wish...

Top themes, in rank order by number of mentions

1. Getting Started: Eagerness to implement the idea quickly, paired with a desire for more specifics and a commitment to implementation  

Column N in the spreadsheet

Representative Comments

  • I wish we鈥檇 done this 10 years ago.
  • I wish we were further in the creative process (prototypes).
  • Promise to come true
  • We could pivot at an institutional level faster than we do.
  • Still wonder how this is going to work.
  • Details of implementation are vague. This is the important part.
  • I hope we actually implement.
  • I wish we would move faster. Things could/should change already not next year.

 

2. Culture Change: A longing for a shared vision and collective implementation and an acknowledgment of the gap between the vision and where we are today  

Column G in the spreadsheet

Representative Comments

  • Everyone saw opportunity.
  • A plan for change
  • I wish leadership understood the difference between intent and impact.
  • More focus on excellence in standards
  • I wish we could be more flexible in policies that will benefit students.
  • I wish we didn鈥檛 have to do so much working backward to move forward.

 

3. Strategy Refinement: Thoughts on how to refine the strategy and the process of doing so  

Column Y in the spreadsheet

Representative Comments

  • Real objectives + authentic assessment = demonstrated knowledge
  • More research before developing implementation
  • I wish there was more thought into who are on committees; people that have never served.
  • How we will make the importance of community and how to build it
  • How does this work with SRM? How will we pay for this?
  • I wish we could see some practical implementation of these values Programmatic prototypes.
  • Details on How
  • That this new direction was easier to describe/encapsulate
  • Wish for a greater sense of direction from president and senior leadership.
  • The process didn鈥檛 feel rushed.

 

4. Staff/Faculty Engagement: A wish that the faculty/staff ratings of the institution were better and for a high level of engagement across all faculty and staff  

Column W in the spreadsheet

Representative Comments

  • There were more opportunities to work with people across campus.
  • I wish the support for this new idea will be consistent among all faculty and staff.
  • I wish for those around the table to be given equal voice. You can bring people around the table, but if their ideas, voice, value are not given equal power鈥t doesn鈥檛 matter.
  • Kind of wish there was even more involvement from more people.
  • I wish 澳门六合彩官网直播 faculty/staff had a higher opinion of this institution.
  • Faculty had more faith in themselves and 澳门六合彩官网直播.
  • I wish 鈥渓ower-tier鈥 faculty and staff felt more supported by higher ranking faculty and staff.
  • There were more connecting between the big idea and employee engagement plan.
  • I wish we believed in ourselves.

 

5. Setup for Success: Thoughts about resources and details that enable faculty and staff to successfully implement Think Big  

Column X in the spreadsheet

Representative Comments

  • Wish staff/faculty have basic technology skills
  • I wish we could get more feedback from staff/faculty about how they would meet students鈥 wants and needs.
  • I wish we had more of a focus on more administrative support (front line staff).
  • Toolkit to enact desired culture/behaviors
  • Provide a set of resources and practices to assist making this work.
  • I wish the new staff had better onboarding offered.
  • I wish onboarding was more related to daily needs.
  • I wish the 鈥渞eveal鈥 had included ways in which ideas also relate to staff/faculty.

 

6. High School Counselors: Disappointment of 澳门六合彩官网直播鈥檚 rating among guidance counselors  

Column M in the spreadsheet

Representative Comments

  • Personal visits with targeted marketing materials going to guidance counselors
  • Wish we had better relationship/outreach to high school counselors
  • I wish 澳门六合彩官网直播 used some of GVSU鈥檚 techniques for recruiting H.S. guidance counselors. They bus them in and wine and dine them. 

 

7. Specific student offerings: Participants offered a wide variety of additional or more specific offerings they wish we offered students

Column AA in the spreadsheet

Representative Comments

  • I wish Western provided more opportunities for graduate students to travel/participate in conferences
  • More face-to-face in-person opportunities
  • I wish students could learn a second or third language.
  • I wish every student would study abroad (not as a tourist).
  • I wish all colleges had dedicated student success staff.
  • I wish campus services were more centralized and communicated to students.
  • I wish we had funding for student intern program.

 

8. Branding: Wishes for 澳门六合彩官网直播 marketing to be better, more focused and more specific, with a large focus on visual identity

Column C in the spreadsheet

Representative Comments

  • I wish we had a defined W brand instead of athletics vs. everyone else.
  • I wish our 鈥渂randing鈥 was inclusive鈥攊n ads were more inclusive.
  • Our brand was actually unique.
  • The idea was more concrete.
  • I wish we came up with a compelling, concise tagline that encapsulated all this.
  • I wish we had cool commercials about this responsiveness like the University of Phoenix.
  • That the new logo does not have a custom mix ink color. Pick a PMS color.
  • That the message was simpler. I know it鈥檚 getting there.
  • 澳门六合彩官网直播 promote itself far better
  • There was less focus on brand.
  • Enforcing the school brand colors

 

9. Tuition/Finances: Wishes that we had more external financial support and that we could lower costs to students  

Column AC in the spreadsheet

Representative Comments

  • I wish we would share that 71% of the general fund is from tuition compared to 20% 30 years ago with the public.
  • I wish we could make higher education affordable to all.
  • I wish the university made funding decisions based on this plan.
  • I wish helping students financially was part of the conversation.
  • There was more focus on the student debt crisis.

 

10. Curriculum/Program Considerations: Comments that contemplated the implications for curriculum and programs

Column F in the spreadsheet

Representative Comments

  • I wish there were examples of the ways we support time needed for exploration and efficient timeline for graduation.
  • Faculty training: design classes to meet the needs of generation Z.
  • Wish we had more project-based learning
  • Banish Scantrons. Rethink assessment... Focus on authenticity.
  • We had the financial resources to lower class sizes.
  • Had service-learning and experiential learning
  • I wish we did not look at assessment as a burden but rather as a tool to help be better.

 

11. Faculty Engagement: A longing for more faculty engagement in the process  

Column J in the spreadsheet

Representative Comments

  • We could engage more faculty.
  • More faculty would get involved with student success.
  • I wish faculty felt supported in holding up academic standards (Culturally).
  • That young faculty were encouraged to be more involved
  • I wish that university college had more academic heart to it to attract faculty.