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| Understanding AUBG’s strategy |
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| Opinions |
| Written by Nol Sahatciu and Donika Valeva |
| Sunday, 25 October 2009 20:08 |
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What is important for the university should in theory be important to students as well. The future vision of the American University in Bulgaria has been in discussion for a while now, but students have blissfully ignored the whole procedure in a nonchalant way fitting of the AUBG student body. This charted vision of the course of the university's future has been aptly dubbed "Fulfilling the Promise, A Strategic Plan for AUBG." Thus, the goals have been set for future generations of students committed to joining the AUBG family, as well as for those currently under its care. The Executive Summary of the plan focuses concisely on the individual strategic goals, making it the centerpiece for understanding and closer observation now and in the future. If the goals of this summary are realistically attainable in the next five years, then the young peers of our community will most definitely have cause for being optimistic, if not for outright celebration. It might seem cynical to put it this way, but the plan is quite simple in its foundation: Make life better and cheaper, fast. Perhaps that is why it is called a "Strategic Plan" and not simply "an idealistic vision of the future," though there is quite a bit of idealism in the making here. There are ways in which the main goals can be achieved, and these are called the strategic goals of the draft plan. Technical details left at a minimum, there are a few major ways in which the plan will seek to progress. One of them is raising academic standards by introducing clearer differentiations between the different courses (so that first-year students or even sophomores do not take 400-level courses, no matter how much they want to). There will also be an addition of new majors and minors, and in the words of SG President Alexandru Panici, "Minors will now be much more than simply light versions of majors." An honors program will also be introduced, leading to a higher standard of specific courses for distinguished students who are willing to gain a better grasp in their respective majors. Every major will have one such honors course. Also the Undergraduate Research Fund will be established to assist students in achieving a deeper understanding of their area of interest, mainly through workshops. The Travel Fund as well will have more financial support, thus ensuring "that students are able to attend more conferences, which is vital for studies," as Panici said. It was about time that an institution which calls itself a "university" focuses more on the true purpose of most universities around the world, which is namely research. Engaging the students and alumni is another way in which the strategy seeks to better the university standards. What this means is that there will be rapid progress in broadening the student body not only in quantity but in quality as well. The student size is expected to increase to around 1,400 students, but this will not mean lowering expectations for future AUBG-ers. Increasing the SAT scores for acceptance at the university is also a priority, which, when stated in such a document for a future strategy, can only lead to implications that the current results are not high enough. Improving and increasing pride in the university is also a very important criterion. This is probably something that seems light years away from any average student's mind at AUBG, and yet pride in the institution is surely an important factor, no matter how much we would prefer to complain instead. Loyalty and pride provide greater stability as well as quality of education. According to the plan, this goal can be achieved through a greater push for cooperation between students, faculty, and administration, and, of course, our ever-loving and (possibly) solvent parents. The final pillar of the strategic plan structure is the investment in facilities and technology to support excellence in our community. The student center building will be established as an essential complement to the current facilities, wherein students will be able to basically play, eat, socialize, and perform activities such as theater, music, arts, and sports. This would solve the problem of the current fragmentation of our community, and would truly improve life at AUBG more than any student life improvement fund that we might passionately argue over during an All-Student Assembly. A bit of information which students might also be interested in is that according to the document, and also briefly mentioned by Panici, "tuition will begin increasing by less and less, since fixed costs will decrease as more students enroll." This alone merits a thumbs up, at least until more results are seen. There might just be enough reason for careful optimism here. Even if all of these promises do not meet the deadline, the ones that do will be enough to warrant the proposition of a "good start." There is one particular phrase which is quite rightly used in the paper itself, and it states that "Strategy is only the start - making it happen is what counts." Though we are not a solid decision-making body at this institution, we, as students, should not underestimate the power of our opinion and voice. Now that it is in a way too late to contribute radically to the creation of the plan, maybe it is at least time to help make it happen. Otherwise, we do not have any right to complain. But we could try and take pride in an institution that is acknowledging and targeting the spheres in which it needs improvement. |
Comments
Guys,
You are wrong on this one!!! Indeed, thanks God, the Board of Trustees has approved the Strategic plan as a strategic plan - but, it has been stated by the Board, that the Administration of the University has to come up with Action Plans vis-a-vis the implementation of the Goals on a year to year basis. Everybody has to understand that the Plan is a Long-Term (5 years can be considered long term in this context) strategy, and that the students input shall be required at every step of the process.
And I would really like to welcome all the gossipers on this campus to start being part of this process and finally open their eyes to reality - no wonder some of them still don't have a job considering that during their four years stay in AUBG all they did is criticize the administration of the University for not doing their jobs, criticize the Board for not listening to students, the SG for being "corrupt" and life in general.
Nol & Donika & all the reporters,
Maybe the newspapers should have a column about specific issues within the Plan. This is the most direct way for students to express their concerns??? There are plenty of things to write about.
Panici was quoted as someone who has participated in the creation of the plan on the part of the students. This piece is basically entirely a student's perspective on the draft plan, a student's understanding of it, and Panici is the one who is the representative of the connection between students and administration - and has detailed knowledge of the plan.