Communication all right with non-traditional student

From my perspective as a commuter student, I haven’t found communication to be problematic. In fact, I’ve been captivated by the individual attention I’ve received since enrolling at Piedmont in January 2005. For example, when I have registered for classes I have been amazed at how quickly the process has been facilitated. The personalized service I have received at Piedmont has been a breath of fresh air compared to my previous experience as a student at the University of Georgia in the early 1980’s. Being a part of small college community has been a much better fit for me.

With regard to overall communication, I don’t have any specific complaints about the lack of communication here at Piedmont but again my perspective is not reflective of the typical student experience.

I did take a look at a similar sized liberal arts college – the University of Montevallo located just outside of Birmingham, Al. This small college has about 3,000 students and has been in existence since 1896. I looked at their website and noticed many similarities between Montevallo and Piedmont.

I did glean something that could prove to be of value to our learning community. Montevallo has several reports available online. The reports reflect the results of surveys from several segments of the learning community – students, alumni, faculty and the greater community surrounding the college. I am unaware of this being done here at Piedmont. I have completed surveys after taking classes but have not been invited to participate in other types of surveys. This could be something for Piedmont to consider.

Perhaps it is time for a survey about communication to be offered to our own learning community. This survey could produce interesting results and the feedback could be used to create an opportunity for better communication. After all, communication is defined as an “exchange of information.” To exchange means to give and to receive. If Piedmont is to be about truly communicating, it is important to realize it is a two-way street.