1/19/2024 0 Comments Define silo in higher education![]() ![]() Note also their counter to silos-the concept of bridging. For a good example of our higher education colleagues tackling this very issue, I suggest you read Adrianna Kezar's and Elisabeth Holcombe's article in Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning about a collaborative project at California State University 2. Bringing together folks from various levels, offices, and functions within a university is often an academic "Work Out."Īs faculty who care about student success, we should pursue deliberate approaches to this problem of artificial barriers by employing the "Work Out" process to break down the thick silos constructed around academics, student affairs, admissions, advising, financial aid, development, and other central functions of a university. This is parallel to our concept of task forces in higher education. In this process, people from many different levels, areas, and groups come together with a senior leader to work out issues and make decisions on the spot. While researching the origins of the silo effect, I learned from Ron Ashkenas' 2015 article in Harvard Business Review 1 that Jack Welch (former CEO of General Electric) is widely regarded as the one who first recognized and then tackled this problem so effectively through what he called the GE "Work Out" process. However, how many faculty have the opportunity or experience of working with these teams? We are familiar with siloing within the teaching and research contexts: interdisciplinary research is still the exception rather than the norm, we organize ourselves into departments, and unless we are in a leadership position of some sort, it's rare to see colleagues outside our own department or building in a given week. Many of the things students need to learn about leading a full life and being a successful college student involve those parts of life that exist outside of the fifteen hours a week a full-time student is in class. To that end, institutions of higher education have entire teams of staff members dedicated to helping students achieve their goals. Our modern institutions can no longer embrace the sole paradigm of faculty delivering knowledge to students, who then take that knowledge and apply it to their career and lives. Many of the common stressors students face-financial, family obligations, health conditions both physical and mental, conformational pressures to study in a certain field driven by workforce needs-are not easily overcome by even those students who come exceptionally prepared to succeed academically in college. However, our American system of education doesn't always do a great job of giving students the tools to be successful across all parts of college life. As a faculty member, I still feel strongly that students bear a great deal of responsibility for their own achievements. ![]() However, gone are the days of relying solely on students to ensure their own success. The longstanding principles of higher education, which are enshrined in most university mission statements, involve preparing students to contribute to society in myriad ways that involve not only civic participation but also intellectual contribution not only service to fellow humans, but, yes, better prospects for social mobility through increased employment opportunities and potential for growth throughout one's life. Not only do we wish to ensure that the delivery of our education contributes to high graduation rates but also that the value of an education means more than incurring debt to get a better job later in life. In today's higher education environment, we are rightfully concerned with the success of our students. ![]()
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