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 President's White
Paper: Discussion summaries: National Alumni Executive Board School of Communications Advisory Board Martha and Spencer Love School of Business Advisory Board The NewCentury@Elon Strategic Plan was created in 2000. Click on the link below to find out more about the central elements of the plan.
|  Parents Council Question #1 – All groups – "If you visit Elon in 2020, what values and attributes of today's Elon would you want to have been preserved?
Question #2 – All groups – "If you visit Elon in 2020, what would you hope to find that is not at Elon today?
Group #1 question: What are Elon's primary competitive advantages over other colleges in recruiting/retaining students? How can we maintain and strengthen our competitive position ? Parents in this group said Elon's three main advantages are the following:
To strengthen the competitive position, they recommended improvements in career planning and placement and the career mentoring system, which they considered inconsistent. They also said faculty advising for students is inconsistent. Group #2 question: How can Elon further develop a culture of philanthropy in order to reduce dependence on growth and tuition? What are the most compelling messages to build the endowment? What is the role of parents? Of grandparents?
Parents also recommended an early focus on students, to help them understand the importance of giving to Elon and to focus on the linear line from students to parents to grandparents. Parents said successful alumni should be targeted and the university should promote their accomplishments. Finally, they said there should be broad communication about the need to support Elon financially. Group #3 question: A premier program of international education and top-rated pre-medical and pre-law programs have been suggested as prime foci for "deepening." Do you agree with those suggestions? Are there other examples? This group of parents suggested Elon concentrate on deepening the undergraduate liberal arts programs to "produce Elon men and Elon women as servant leaders" who are socially responsible, lifelong learners and critical thinkers with integrity, courage and passion. They said Elon is uniquely positioned to grow servant leaders. To do this, they recommend an honor code, developing self esteem and teaching the importance of giving. Group #4 question: What is the next level of quality for the Elon Experiences? Should we add another experience or are there ways to deepen the existing experiences? To deepen existing Elon Experiences, these parents recommended stronger corporate connections so that students can have greater access to research funds and internship opportunities. They said there should be more international students on campus, probably through an exchange program with another university, so that Elon students can study with others from around the world here. They also said that study abroad programs should put more emphasis on real-world, life-changing cultural experiences. They said some study abroad programs do not offer real cultural experiences and that international internships should be reviewed frequently to determine the value to students. More scholarships for study abroad are needed and there needs to be more funds for undergraduate research, perhaps through corporate sponsorships. Parents also recommended political leadership as a component of the leadership program and perhaps political internships for voter registration and local government work. They said more internship opportunities are needed, both with Fortune 500 companies and smaller businesses. As for new Elon Experiences, the parents recommended an ethics component that emphasizes identity and purpose. They said Elon should "give seniors a booster shot of ethics before they graduate." Group #5 question: Has Elon "arrived?" What should our future aspirations be? Have we been defined as a mid-sized liberal arts university with focused, distinctive and excellent professional and graduate programs, a national reputation for student engagement and a market niche serving students with B+/A- high school records? Are Elon students being sufficiently challenged academically?
Parents recommended three main aspirations: actively engaged alumni and businesses, competitive sports and less dependence on tuition. They said that some majors are doing a good job of providing challenging academics while others are not. For example, they cited business, communications and some science programs as challenging. They recommended a major-by-major evaluation of academic challenge. Group #6 question: On budget valves: How concerned should we be about enrollment growth? How much elasticity is there in our cost? How do we find the right price point? Parents in this group said they are concerned about enrollment growth and said that Elon must maintain its moderate, controlled growth as a bedrock value. They said there is some room to increase tuition: "We have a premium product and should price it like that … don't think about the past … be proud of what we're delivering." They recommended moderate price growth with greater discounting to help students who need financial assistance. These parents said Elon should consider starting a parents legacy program that encourages parents to make annual gifts in their students' names. The students would then continue giving to that legacy program after they graduate. They said more must be done to educate parents that tuition does not cover Elon's costs, and that giving is part of the financial equation of the university. Group #7 question: How would you advise the board of trustees on balancing the demand for facilities versus building the endowment in the next campaign? Parents in this group said Elon's most important capital needs are student housing (more Greek housing and apartment-style halls), remaining a trend-setter in the use of technology (for example books vs. electronics in the library), and continued improvement in athletics facilities, including a soccer stadium and improved/expanded intramural and fitness facilities. They said Elon should make a decision about housing juniors and seniors on campus. The parents said Elon is "under priced" and said there should be creative use of tuition increases to set aside funds for capital projects or the endowment. They also suggested setting up creative funding for capital projects that would allow parents to invest in Elon projects. For example, rather than use a private company to fund projects like The Oaks, Elon could allow parents to invest in that type of building through private bonds for endowment or capital needs. Asked to name Elon's peer institutions, parents cited these schools:
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Most
groups agreed they want to preserve Elon' current
enrollment size and its small class sizes. They value the
sense of community and the culture of caring, and want to
preserve "accessibility" at all levels, including
student services and faculty access. The Elon Experiences,
engaged learning and the focus on strong teaching were
mentioned frequently along with the beautiful campus and
quality leadership of the university. Other attributes
mentioned included the following:
Common
themes in answers to this question included more on-campus
housing that meets the needs of today's students,
enhanced competitiveness of Elon athletics, greater
diversity, expanded and deeper Elon Experiences, better
career preparation and career placement programs, a larger
endowment, more engaged alumni and an enhanced Town of Elon
environment. Parents mentioned numerous other things,
including the following:
Parents
in this group said to make the greatest and fastest gains in
building the endowment, Elon should identify and target
businesses and individuals who have ties to Elon. They said
people like to give to what they value, so those prospective
donors should then be educated about Elon's values and
the ways that those values align with the donors' values.
These
parents said "you've never arrived," but called
Elon "a successful work in progress" that is
becoming competitive on the national level. They said
Elon's reputation lags reality, especially in the South,
where more work needs to be done to improve the
university's image.