Survey: General trends
I sent a survey to the community last term in order to help in making sure that the programming of the LTC meets the community’s needs. Overall, it showed satisfaction both from faculty and staff. There are some issues I will discuss below, with some ideas for things we could improve. But the survey showed that the LTC is used, and appreciated.
We continue to have attendance at LTC events that is quite strong, showing that our mission of teaching and learning is central to our sense of purpose. It was clear from the comments that staff members have a strong appreciation for the LTC, feeling that it has helped them to feel more at the center of our learning community. Faculty are also generally appreciative of the LTC, but they expressed some desire for increased opportunity for discussing teaching issues, and they raised time demands and busy schedules more often as a barrier to their participation.
Survey: Programming
It was clear that people like to see some variety in the book groups, including occasional books that don’t related directly to teaching. There were a number of suggestions for different topics people would like to see at LTC lunches. Most of these suggested topics have not been submitted as proposals, and this brings me to a possible shift.
It occurs to me that people are eager to see certain topics, but probably shy away from proposing sessions due to time demands. There was also some sentiment that the sessions could benefit from more time for discussion, and less time devoted to formal presentations. Putting these two ideas together, perhaps we could encourage people to submit proposals by lowering the expectations of a packed and highly organized presentation.
We could have presentations that laid out issues in a smaller portion of the session, relying more on discussion from the audience and lessening the demand for a highly polished presentation. If we encouraged this, it would make it easier for people to lead sessions, requiring less time and organization. They would be prompting discussion on topics they feel are important. It would not work for all topics, but it could work for many of the good ideas that were raised in the survey.
This desire for more informal discussion has also led me to try the small group sessions for faculty that I have initiated this term. So far, that seems to have received a good response. I will keep these sessions going in the spring term. As the LTC moved to Weitz, and we increased attendance, we lost some of the intimacy that was helpful for discussion. I am interested in exploring ways to restore that.
Survey: Student Life Issues
Among the topics that were suggested, there was a trend to want sessions on student life. These included topics like what level of development our students are at, how social media affects their sense of community and students’ study habits, mental health issues, and the varied levels of preparation our students have for this kind of an environment.
We have had several recent lunches that focused on related issues that were very well attended. It seems clear that faculty and staff want to discuss these things in an effort to make sure that were making a positive environment for our students. I want to encourage any of you who might be able to contribute on these kinds of topics to consider proposing a session.
Survey: The Location in Weitz and the timing of sessions
LTC lunches moved to Weitz several years ago, leaving the previous venue of the Alumni Guest House. The lunches have always been held at common time. The larger space accommodated larger crowds, but even though it is one block from the AGH, people cite it as difficult to get to when they have a teaching schedule that runs up against common time. This is particularly true for many science faculty with class and lab sessions on the Tuesday-Thursday schedule.
While people raise concerns about the location in Weitz, it is hard to imagine another space suiting the current needs. The Alumni Guest House and the athenaeum would be too small for sessions that draw large crowds. Great Hall would be large enough, but it has issues of acoustics and projection that would be difficult. In terms of the schedule, if we chose a time other than common time, it would solve the problem for some people, but would probably create problems for another group.
Survey: Food
We order lunches for a group of 50. If I have a sense that the crowd might be bigger, I increase that up to as high as 70. We pay for 50 even if fewer attend, and we pay the per-plate cost as an additional cost for each person served beyond the 50, even if there was food left over. The average cost of a lunch is $11 to $12 per person.
Our lowest attendance in recent terms has been 30, but we have had some days where we had up to 90 people. Obviously, it is to be celebrated that our community feels strongly enough about the issues presented at an LTC event that we have an average of 50 people each week, and have some weeks that go far beyond that.
Without an RSVP system, it makes planning and guessing the right number quite difficult. Some people mentioned being discouraged by showing up after the food ran out. I think that has happened about five times during my three years at the LTC. When it happens, we send people downstairs to get a lunch on the LTC at the café. But this takes time, and I am sure that this is what people find frustrating. If they arrive after the session has started, and then have to wait in line for their lunch at the cafe, they miss too much of the program. We also allow people to get a lunch at the café after the session if they did not have time earlier.
We could solve some of the problem by increasing the food order at each session, but beyond the expense involved, I have also received concerns about wastage of food. I understand that sometimes the quality of the food is not what people would hope for. When I notice that, or when people mention it to me, I try to delete that item from future menus.
I suppose we could consider an RSVP system, but that would be a cultural change that would have some real drawbacks. Without RSVPs, I have tried to accommodate people as well as I could, and I think some of the issues around food are related to the time crunch.