George Gwinnet College is one of the prestigious universities in the United States. This university prides itself as being the only higher education institution in Georgia that provides learning experiences beyond the confines of an ordinary classroom. Although there are many initiatives the university has taken to ensure the university’s mission and goals are achieved, I think there is one major challenge that affects the university’s realization of its higher education goals. The major challenge lies with the student teacher ratio. Since George Gwinnet College is an upcoming institution with a rising student population, I think it would be best if the university increased its faculty staff to a number that can effectively handle the rising population. The ever growing student population is affecting the student-teacher engagements because it cannot effectively handle the needs of all students. With the rising student population it would soon be difficult for the university to implement its vision of being an institution with high teacher- student engagement.
There are some people who consider increasing the number of teachers as unnecessary and universities operational costs, increasing teachers will mean raising college fees and thus adversely affect the financial burden of the students’ parents/ guardians. However, increasing the number of teachers will not only ensure the quality of education is not compromised but, will also enable the university enforce its vision of being an institution with high teacher-student interactions (Hazans, 16). Besides that, many teachers imply that weak students can access the teachers and seek more clarification in areas they do not understand. Besides that, teachers will have less work pressures and hence they can deliver effectively.
Therefore, to effectively implement this idea, the university’s management can take the following steps. First, the university should conduct an assessment to evaluate the quality of education offered in the current student-teacher ratio (Duderstadt et al, 37). Moreover, it should project the future trend of the student population. This will enable the university to understand the ideal student-teacher ratio. Secondly, the university should examine the projects that do not require urgent funding and thus use their funds to acquire more teachers. If the university realizes it does not have a project that can be stalled to ensure this idea is implemented, then it can seek funding from other sources such as the government or sponsors. Once the university has the finances, it can then proceed to hire professional teachers who can minimize the teacher student ratio and hence ensure the quality of education offered is maintained.
It is irrational for a university to invest a lot of its resources on buildings or projects that do not yield benefits for the students. It is also not rational for a university to claim in its mission statement or values that it offers quality education or it has adequate teachers when actually it has an unmanageable student population. Therefore, it would be important if Mr. President you consider with the university’s other managers to increase the teachers in the college to effectively ensure the quality of education is not compromised.
If this idea is implemented, the academic performance of the university will be improved and the university may earn even awards (Chapman et al, 33). Besides that, the quality of graduates graduating from the institution will be high. The graduates will also be highly competitive in the job market and this will mean their careers are successful.
Works Cited
"About GGC." Georgia Gwinnett College. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
Chapman, David W, and Donald K. Adams. The Quality of Education: Dimensions and Strategies. Manila, Philippines: Asian Development Bank, 2002. Print.
Duderstadt, James J, Daniel E. Atkins, and Houweling D. E. Van. Higher Education in the Digital Age: Technology Issues and Strategies for American Colleges and Universities. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2002. Print.
Hazans, Mihails. Teacher Pay, Class Size and Local Governments: Evidence from the Latvian Reform. Bonn: IZA, 2010. Print.
