As you will recall, the Program Review Committee has implemented a seven year cycle for reviewing all programs in the College. The process asks a number of curricular and goals questions and requires that an outside consultant be brought to campus. The outside consultants completed visits to campus last week. In meetings with me, the consultants reported the same thing that was noted by the outside evaluators brought in last year. Drake faculty members have exceptionally good relationships with students.
Students report that faculty members are accessible, caring, helpful, and serve as mentors.
This is a compliment to the work done by the faculty and staff in the departments and programs that have been reviewed. During the past few weeks, I've met with quite a few prospective candidates for faculty positions. The impressions they report of Drake are often insightful and revealing. This year, for example, the candidates have expressed high praise for Drake students. One young man noted that the students here were as good as those he had in his classes at Columbia.