Everything wrong in higher ed is here in the thinness of this advice "stop by the advising office for their intended department" and maybe sit in the class. NO. The lack of attention to who exactly is teaching your child is why universities can get away with underpaid and unqualified teachers. Unless parents and students start asking better questions on their campus visit, nothing will change. Sitting in class is fine but that puts the burden on the teacher, not the institution. Be interested in who is teaching, not the dining hall, or you'll get a poor education.
You make a very good point. Prospective students and parents 100% need to ask about faculty access/course sizes/undergrad time with tenured profs, as opposed to simply sitting in on classes. Dartmouth is in active session for sophomores ("sophomore summer"), so it's an opportunity to get a real sense of the academics. And you're right that "stop by the advising office" is thin. A better question to ask the student tour guide specifically...how many of your core classes in your first two years were taught by a professor vs a grad student or adjunct? Did you ever have a professor who knew your name before you introduced yourself?
There's certainly more to work with than the dining hall. The visit holds more than one job, though. It's the only way to see if a kid lights up while exploring the campus, if it feels like somewhere they'd grow and enjoy living at for four years, if existing students seem engaged, "if the vibe is right", so to speak. This isn't a superficial concern; a student in the wrong environment won't succeed, even if the faculty is extremely strong. The adjunctification problem IS real and worth mentioning (we're about to update the post, so thank you for your thoughts).
I just don't think the campus visit is where that fight gets won or lost. Families are stacking visits one after another, so treating each forensically isn't always realistic. But asking the tour guide pointed questions while they're right in front of them? That's totally reasonable and SHOULD happen. Doing otherwise would be a miss. Doing the homework beforehand is equally important. Rate My Professors, Reddit, College Confidential, alumni LinkedIns, "why I transferred" YouTube videos are great and not sanctioned by a college's marketing dept, should be reviewed in advance.
Parents gaining info on whether full-time professors (vs. adjuncts or T.A.s) are actually teaching their kids is HUGE.
I also invented a metric a few years ago for parents that highlights important data on how a school uses it financial resources before they decide to take that tour. See two articles here:
Yes and tell them to read my substack, which is all about looking under the hood. Universities do not want parents and students to look under the hood or kick the tires.
Everything wrong in higher ed is here in the thinness of this advice "stop by the advising office for their intended department" and maybe sit in the class. NO. The lack of attention to who exactly is teaching your child is why universities can get away with underpaid and unqualified teachers. Unless parents and students start asking better questions on their campus visit, nothing will change. Sitting in class is fine but that puts the burden on the teacher, not the institution. Be interested in who is teaching, not the dining hall, or you'll get a poor education.
You make a very good point. Prospective students and parents 100% need to ask about faculty access/course sizes/undergrad time with tenured profs, as opposed to simply sitting in on classes. Dartmouth is in active session for sophomores ("sophomore summer"), so it's an opportunity to get a real sense of the academics. And you're right that "stop by the advising office" is thin. A better question to ask the student tour guide specifically...how many of your core classes in your first two years were taught by a professor vs a grad student or adjunct? Did you ever have a professor who knew your name before you introduced yourself?
There's certainly more to work with than the dining hall. The visit holds more than one job, though. It's the only way to see if a kid lights up while exploring the campus, if it feels like somewhere they'd grow and enjoy living at for four years, if existing students seem engaged, "if the vibe is right", so to speak. This isn't a superficial concern; a student in the wrong environment won't succeed, even if the faculty is extremely strong. The adjunctification problem IS real and worth mentioning (we're about to update the post, so thank you for your thoughts).
I just don't think the campus visit is where that fight gets won or lost. Families are stacking visits one after another, so treating each forensically isn't always realistic. But asking the tour guide pointed questions while they're right in front of them? That's totally reasonable and SHOULD happen. Doing otherwise would be a miss. Doing the homework beforehand is equally important. Rate My Professors, Reddit, College Confidential, alumni LinkedIns, "why I transferred" YouTube videos are great and not sanctioned by a college's marketing dept, should be reviewed in advance.
Parents gaining info on whether full-time professors (vs. adjuncts or T.A.s) are actually teaching their kids is HUGE.
I also invented a metric a few years ago for parents that highlights important data on how a school uses it financial resources before they decide to take that tour. See two articles here:
https://mattspivey.substack.com/p/helping-families-make-safe-choices
https://mattspivey.substack.com/p/make-the-safe-bet-for-college-what
Yes and tell them to read my substack, which is all about looking under the hood. Universities do not want parents and students to look under the hood or kick the tires.
Great advice here--there's a lot going on at college campuses that the marketing department and the tour guides aren't telling parents.