Person to Person

Students attend a not-for-profit institution like the University of Kentucky for many reasons. Certainly, personal motivations play a prominent role. Students want to prepare for a career that fits their goals and dreams-and that enables them to make money. However, in many cases, for-profit institutions can fulfill those basic job-training needs, preparing students for the rigors of joining the workforce.

But a second motivation ultimately completes a student's educational experience at a four-year college or university: the desire to form relationships. Relationships are the fundamental building block of not-for-profit education, and are at the center of a philosophy that could help our colleagues in for-profit education, as well. The relationships that students build in college allow them to become not only educated students, but also well-rounded and responsible people.

Relationships are built on a variety of levels at the University of Kentucky. We encourage our students to get involved-and stay involved -in the community in which they live, work, and learn. Interacting with other students, from sharing living quarters to breaking bread together in the dining hall, opens their eyes to diverse cultures and unique personalities. In many ways, that social aspect of education is just as important as what our students learn in the classroom.

Most for-profit institutions cater to a specialized group of students: working adults seeking a degree. What's exciting is that these colleges and universities are filling a distinct need in higher education. However, the classes are primarily filled with students from the same field, with similar, if not identical, goals. That is not the case at the University of Kentucky. In the classroom, an English major from Boston may be sitting next to an agriculture major from Bowling Green, both students learning from their similarities and differences, making bonds, and sharing beliefs. This is the bedrock of not-for-profit education.

Perhaps the most integral bond of any higher education experience is the student-teacher relationship. Every institution, no matter how big or small, needs to find a way to protect, promote, and enhance student-teacher relationships. I believe that the success an institution has in educating a student is directly attributable to the one-on-one relationship that the student has fostered with a professor.

It's not that for-profit institutions do not encourage the development of relationships between faculty and pupils. They certainly do. However, an ideal student-teacher relationship develops over a period of months, potentially years. At many for-profit institutions, coursework is conducted differently. Some concentrate on online learning, others teach classes over a short period of time. Even though these educational methods have served the for-profit sector well, I feel a concerted effort to enhance student-teacher relationships will create more well-rounded graduates.

Informal meetings or social events are one way to help students at for-profit institutions build stronger relationships. One-on-one, face-to-face sessions between faculty and students could provide the mentoring to round out their educational experience.

Despite higher education's many uncertainties, there is one thing we can all bank on: Both for-profit and not-for-profit institutions must continue to work together-and learn from one another-to properly prepare our next generation of leaders.

LEE T. TODD JR. is president of the University of Kentucky.

Copyright American Council on Education Spring 2004
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