Post date: Aug 5, 2011 5:56:30 AM
Dear SIT Institute Graduate Students:
SIT is a mission-driven organization. As such, we are always searching for ways to improve our programs to better meet our mission. Changes in the external environment, emerging new trends in graduate education, and student evaluations/comments from the last few years have compelled us to explore new ways to refresh and reposition the SIT Graduate Institute. Three goals have emerged for the SIT Graduate Institute from this process:
· Strengthen our positioning: Students are the foundation of any graduate program, and SIT attracts amazing people to our program. But, increasingly, we see graduate programs that are very similar to SIT. We must ensure that our degree offerings are compelling, differentiated and accessible to the widest possible range of diverse students.
· Connect directly to the World Learning global platform: World Learning operates in over 70 countries. Last year we had participants from over 140 countries across all World Learning programs. World Learning employs people from over 80 countries and teaches 49 languages. This large network of world-class educators, trainers and development specialists should provide the SIT Graduate Institute with practicum projects, faculty, lecturers, students and connections.
· Support our graduates: We have a commitment to you to ensure that the SIT Graduate Institute prepares you to achieve your goals. Every facet of your program needs to be of the highest quality. We also need to make sure that your degree and skills are aligned with where the world is going and where opportunities exist.
You will begin to notice changes as we mobilize to meet these goals. Some of these will be small and perhaps go unnoticed. Others will be larger and set the SIT Graduate Institute on new paths towards advancing our mission. They include:
· Offering new MA programs. We will pilot new 12-month MA programs that work off the World Learning platform. These programs will be based outside of Brattleboro and will include an experiential term during which students work on field projects. We are planning to launch a new MA in international development next year based out of the World Learning Washington, DC office. Students will spend the first term taking foundational classes. During the second term, students will be placed in field sites around the world. The final term will take place in DC and will be a period of reflection that will include integrative courses and a capstone seminar. The program will draw upon the resources of our international development staff in the DC office, as well as speakers and guest lecturers from the DC agencies and professional organizations. Students will learn from experienced practitioners, gain valuable global field experience from real-world projects, and network with professionals from many of the best and largest development entities in the world.
· Offering international semesters. We are planning to offer extended international experiences as part of our current master’s degree programs. The CORE curriculum is being revamped to allow for terms during the winter or spring semester that could be based in an international location along World Learning’s platform. Over the last two years, we have been piloting winter seminars. This will build on those successes and give students an extensive opportunity to spend time in the field.
· Focusing on core competencies. We are refining all current offerings to ensure that everybody who graduates with an SIT degree has proficiencies in core areas. The faculty is working on this list, but the biggest change will be to offer social justice and leadership/management as core competencies across all degrees, and not as degrees in themselves. We have had very few students enrolled in these degree areas over the past few years, while lots of student enroll and appreciate the courses and competencies. We believe strongly that anybody who earns an SIT degree must have proficiency in social justice, leadership and management.
Refining our messaging, marketing, and recruitment efforts: We need to differentiate ourselves in a very crowded and competitive graduate market. We are retooling our marketing and recruitment efforts. Our messaging will become cleaner and crisper. We are expanding our online presence and social networking tools. Graduate students and alumni will be crucial to our success. We need your help to develop content that speaks to the incredible things going on across the SIT Graduate Institute. We also need your help using online tools to spread the word about our programs. We need a viral marketing campaign to raise awareness about SIT.
Working towards administrative simplicity, flexibility and nimbleness. We need to revamp how we are organized and operate. We need to simplify and we need to create ways of working that make us more nimble and flexible. Our strength lies in our ability to respond and adapt to a changing world. Right now our processes and systems are too slow, cumbersome and static. We are working with the faculty to create a plan. It is never easy to change how an organization operates, even when an organization knows it needs to change. But, these changes are also crucial. We need to strive for the highest level of quality in all aspects of every program.
We have been in discussions with current and former students to solicit input and ideas. As we move the process forward, we will seek more student input. If you have suggestions, ideas or insights, please share them with Associate Dean Barbara Carver or Interim Dean Bob Soucy.
I am very excited about these changes as they will help us meet our obligation to you, our students, to ensure that the SIT Graduate Institute remains innovative and relevant. We want your experience to be an excellent one. We also want your investment to grow over time as our reputation grows in size and strength. We have always sought to deliver a compelling, competitive and differentiating master’s degree program that attracts the best mission-driven, practiced-focused graduate students who want to make the world a better place. These changes will ensure that we continue this tradition.
Sincerely,
Adam S. Weinberg
President