The Monster's Inferno

Doom and Gloom?

The Monster is Born
No one is really to blame, unless you want to blame everyone. Decades ago, as colleges and universities started to more aggressively compete for students, they sought every possible competitive edge. At its core, the student higher educational experience should be about access, quality instruction, available courses and majors, and reasonable outcomes, many of us are selling the whole experience. This makes sense. And while the major part of a student's education occurs in the classroom, a great deal of learning happens elsewhere on campus. Students learn self-advocacy, how to live in a community, and have ample opportunities to explore their identity and character in a vast array of settings. We know that having students engaged with peers and involved in meaningful activities increases their satisfaction and likelihood that they will persist to graduation. For traditional campuses, such as Trinity University, we also know that providing a safe, comfortable, and dynamic environments are important to the student experience and retention.

But it costs money to do all of these things. And as school's compete for students there is pressure to outshine competitors in EVERYTHING. Consumers (parents and students) are seeking the best places, the best deals, and the perfect match. So campus A may have a fantastic library, while campus B has the best Art facility, and campus C has the top Business program. This works against all institutions as pressure increases to have it all. "Yes, I like campus X because of their residence halls, but campus Y has better food, while campus C has the best workout facility I have seen yet..." Schools are in an arms race to have as many top experiences and stuff as possible in order to compete. The campus rock wall became a symbol of excess.

Of course, this means we all have to spend more and that means charging more. And thus the arms race is in full bloom as schools are being crushed under their own desires to offer the best while students and families, expecting the best, bemoan the rising costs. Thus the refrain, "For what I pay, I expect this... and this... and this." So all schools struggle with choices. The amount Trinity has spent on high-speed internet is staggering. But we have to have it, though streaming Netflix or porn is not really part of the core academic mission. Complaints about food, parking, library hours, and fitness areas drive improvements while at the same time we have to keep pace with faculty salaries and instructional support. It seems backwards. Sometimes we have to make tough choices and we simply can't have everything.

Excellence versus Perfection
This has been on my mind in recent years and I have talked more and more about it, publicly. We strive for excellence at Trinity. It is one of our core values. After over 30 years here I have seen firsthand that by-and-large the faculty and staff are all pulling the same direction and are committed to offering a top caliber academic and collegiate experience. In offering excellence, though, we have created an expectation of perfection. Every issue and concern, big or small, is presented to the campus authorities as a broken promise of what we sold when we were recruiting our students and families. With each "failure" to deliver, the chorus of disappointment grows louder, harsher, and more dramatic. Recently an old pipe burst, creating a lengthy repair and inconvenience (though no interruption in hot water for a significant time). Nevertheless, some expressed unhappiness that Trinity was somehow falling short on its promise. We are being crushed by the expectations we have created, that every class, every teacher, every dorm room, every roommate, every facility, and every meal is simply perfect. Indeed meeting and managing expectations has become exhausting.

Broken Promises
Students and families are not wrong to have high expectations. In recent years, many issues have percolated up where the University needed to (and needs to) improve. These include dining services, academic support services, and the residential facilities. We are making headway. Currently, there are pressing issues related to advising, Pathways, class availability, student mental health, Chapman-Halsell, more residence hall issues, and diversity. (People are right to express deep concern about being able to have course availability in order to graduate on time. It is the promise we have to keep.) All of these issues are being addressed and our strategic plan has gone a long way in shrinking the list of wants and needs. However, all of these things have heavy price tags that require choices and prioritization, and they can't all be addressed at once. And yet... The expectations we have created bury us in our failures to deliver in every aspect of the Trinity experience. And so we hear, again, "For what we pay..."

Chasing Happiness, Managing Complaints
I hear time and again how for the most part, students and families love their Trinity experiences. The quality of the faculty tops the list as does the supportive community. We offer, and usually deliver personal attention and the campus facilities and grounds are incredible. Students, families, the Board, the administration, the alumni, and the faculty and staff all care deeply about this place and what it represents and what it can be. Mostly, life is good.

So how do we manage complaints when they arise? There are some that are simply minor distractions. Parking is a perfect example. With all the important issues on campus, this is simply low on the priority list, given that there are always spaces, just not always convenient spaces. But there are some really important issues that need attention, several of which were mentioned earlier. As I moderate the parent Facebook page and advise the student government, I routinely hear the issues that are being raised. Myself and some of my colleagues often agree with the issues as presented, though admittedly we are fatigued with the tone, level, persistence and vitriol in some of what we hear. And we don't know how to address the competing needs that all come with associated facility and staffing costs. Again, this is the monster we have created.

The TU Parent Facebook Page and the Student Government Association are perfect venues for parents and students to test out their concerns. Many often begin with "Is anyone else noticing this, frustrated with that, or experiencing what I am?" That was sure effective in getting our attention this August on some residential facility issues. Unfortunately, these issues often evoke everything this post is about: expectations, perfection, disappointment, anger, and resentment.

I have increasingly been coaching students and parents that the best feedback is that which is direct, specific, and immediate. Many issues are isolated. Some are not. Testing the waters with others to see if there are shared concerns should lead to an elevation of issues to the proper departments. If those departments are unresponsive, then contacting the corresponding Vice President is the next best step. In my experience, my colleagues are all-in and extremely responsive to this type of feedback. In many cases minor issues can quickly and effectively be resolved. And bigger issues that require resources are much more likely to be addressed when the decision-makers in the administration hear firsthand the legitimate, impassioned, and powerful concerns of students and families. This is far more effective than throwing comments into the abyss where lower-level staffers like me have to relay concerns that we have no authority to address.

There is Hope
We recently revised our student complaint process, offering students more structure in expressing their grievances. This Complaints Web page may be helpful to parents and families as well, in at least identifying where to register complaints and concerns. Direct, specific, immediate...

We can only improve when we hear from all of our constituents. That can't stop. Feedback stokes change. We have created high expectations and we need to deliver on these, no question. And we also need understanding, patience, and support as we make very difficult decisions to best move this institution forward, and manage the very expectations that sometimes are crushing us.