ALUMNI. RE-ENGAGED. - Columbus College of Art and Design

STUDENT LIfE
ENHANCED STUDENT SERVICES
TRANSfORM
THE CCAD
EXPERIENCE
08
life on the CCad campus just isn’t what
it used to be.
It’s better.
a new residence hall, professional
counseling services, expanded student
activities, and enhanced career services
are all evidence of a new culture that has
quietly evolved over the past several years.
recognizing that the classroom experience
is only one facet of student life, CCad
leadership is committed to fostering a more
supportive environment that addresses the
needs of the whole student.
“any alumni coming back now who hadn’t
seen the campus for four or five years
would be dumbstruck by the improvement
in the physical facilities alone—new
buildings, a quad that wasn’t here before,
and better lab facilities,” says dwayne
todd, associate vice president for student
affairs. “But equally important is the
change in atmosphere and the wealth of
services we offer. we have put our money
where our mouth is by soliciting feedback
from students and investing in staff and
programs that meet their needs.”
Residence Life
Improvement and expansion of on-campus
housing reflects not only a response to
student demand, but also to national
research demonstrating that students who
live on campus are more likely to succeed
academically and to have a positive view of
their college experience, todd notes. “we
were essentially a residential experience
for the majority of first-year students and a
commuter experience for everyone else,” he
says. “we are now in the process of building
a new residence hall that’s primarily targeted
to upper-level students.” (see accompanying
story at far right.)
In addition, the college has focused on
improving the residence program through
the selection and training of staff members.
“our resident assistants work to support their
residents and make their living experience
more enjoyable, as opposed to just being
simply policy enforcers,” todd says. “last year,
for example, we started the student success
Initiative. ras meet with each student four
times a year to help them formulate academic
goals and strategies, review progress, and
discuss any other needs the student might
have.”
Counseling Services
Counseling services, once provided by ohio
state university graduate students, are now
available from licensed professionals who are
supervised by a full-time psychologist. “our
counseling center staff sees students with a
broad range of needs,” todd says. “some
students come in once or twice because
they have low-level concerns in specific
areas of their lives. and others come in with
more in-depth needs that require multiple
sessions with a counselor.” In addition to the
counseling center, students with special needs
are also served by a recently hired director of
learning support and disability services. the
director works one on one with students with
disability needs and their faculty to ensure
appropriate accommodations are provided in
the classroom. she is also available to help all
students develop strategies to help them meet
their learning goals.
Career Services
a growing array of career services focus on
helping students gain work experience before
graduation, build their portfolios, and sharpen
their interviewing and job search skills. a
series of seminars were provided this past
fall semester in such areas as interviewing
skills, resume writing, and the internship
process. seminars this spring semester will
include topics such as job search skills and
evaluating an employment offer. “we’re trying
to increase the number of internships available
to our students, especially because three
more majors (fashion design, illustration and
graphic design) just instituted an internship
requirement,” todd says. (see related stories
on internships and business partnerships on
pages 10–11.) “although it’s very much in the
formative stages, we are also hoping to offer
students opportunities for a full-time, offcampus
co-op experience. this would involve
living and working off campus while doing
additional coursework.”
Student Activities
all work and no play makes for overstressed,
unhappy students. to combat academic
overload and mental fatigue, a student-run
programming board taps into CCad students’
interests and enthusiasm to organize activities.
student organizations and sports teams have
grown substantially in recent years. according
to todd, whose first hire was a student
activities director, the number of student
groups has grown from three to about 30.
lindsey ellibee, a junior majoring in interior
design, joined the student programming
board as a freshman and says it has more than
doubled in size since then. “we plan and run
activities like the Big Boo party for halloween,
drive-in movies in the quad, and a jazz night,
complete with massages and a chocolate
fountain,” she says. “these are especially
good for freshmen, because they get out of
their dorms and experience Columbus and the
campus, and get to know some of the older
students.”
ellibee cited the rigorous demands of the
curriculum as one reason students appreciate
a more supportive culture. “It seems as though
they’re trying to make the college more
student-friendly,” she says. “an example is
the ‘one-stop’ area in the Crane Center, where
you can get any question answered, whether
it involves academic advice, financial aid, your
bills, anything. It’s fast and easy, and they’re
really friendly.”
bUILD IT, AND
THEy WILL COME.
demand—and excitement—is running high for
a place in the design square apartments, the
new residence hall scheduled for completion this
summer. located at 91 Cleveland avenue, the
building will feature all private bedrooms in an
apartment-style arrangement with kitchens and
semi-private bathrooms. the building will also
house a dedicated fitness center, an expansive
lounge, and a new dining facility modeled on
a food court rather than a traditional cafeteria.
most of the 208 residents will be upper-level
students, though a limited number of rooms will
be allocated to first-year students.
additional information and a multimedia
presentation on the design square apartments
is available at www.ccadliving.com.
WINTER 2009 IMAGE MAGAZINE
09