Culture of a Student-Centered Learning Environment

As an important step contributing to a total learning environment, it is important to establish the strategic goal of transforming our learning
institution into a "student centered culture" as the means of delivering of services and programs to students. This will improve our ability to
facilitate student learning, based on students developmental needs within the educational mission.
What do we mean by a "Student Centered Culture"?
Simply put, a student-centered culture tailors all aspects of service delivery and support to the needs of students. We are guided by what is
best for the students when helping students or making decisions. While many of us are personally committed to serving students needs,
!ur goal is to reduce negative student e"periences with bureaucracy and red tape, and to replace them with services that students will
recogni#e as efficient, empathetic, responsive, and ultimately e"ceeding their e"pectations. $onstrained resources are not a barrier to
becoming more student centered% being narrowly compartmentali#ed as is often now the case. !ur employees must not only be technically
competent, but also must be capable of providing high &uality, personali#ed responsible service. Technological advances must be leveraged
to allow students a ma"imum number of choices as to when, where, and how services are accessed, e.g., in person, by phone, on-line, etc.
Working with our students, we must strive for outcomes that are fair, prompt, responsible, user-friendly, caring and leave them with the sense
that we truly value the privilege of serving their needs.
This student-centered cultural orientation is to create a student-centered learning community, committed to e"cellence in e"periential
learning and assisting in the maturation of students as whole individuals representing diverse backgrounds. We are committed to creating an
environment where learning takes place anywhere, at any time, in many forms and by diverse means. A student-centered learning
environment also enables students to be responsible for and involved in their educations' it supports development of values and character in
students by making them active players in the academic learning enterprise.
A student-centered culture is focused on students needs, not on their wants. These needs include a healthy learning environment that
nurtures their personal growth, substantive out-of-classroom activities that increase their learning to help them to obtain a high-&uality
education, personal e"perience that leads to feeling "connected", and service-learning opportunities that develop them as responsible
citi#ens. !f course, we must remember that students needs are not monolithic, but vary among both individuals and groups of students. We
as educators must consistently view and fulfill our responsibilities in terms of being conscious of, and seeking to anticipate and elicit, student
needs, which may be diverse.
ow does this differ from our current culture?
The transition to a student-centered culture does not mean divorcing ourselves from the essential and valuable aspects of the current way
we do business' it does mean a fundamental change in perspective and actions to keep students needs constantly at the center of our
attention. We recogni#e that there are many challenges associated with implementing this cultural shift, and it is not simply a matter of
adopting a "customer is always right" stance.
What results would be indicative of success in achieving a student centered culture?
(deally, students and their parents will recogni#e the commitment we, as educators, have made to students well being, learning and growth.
To some degree, this should be manifested by
). *ositive feedback in response to such intruments as all class, senior, and alumni surveys.
+. A decrease in negative feedback.
,. $oncrete measures such as fewer processing errors and shorter processing and problem-resolution times.
-. .reater willingness to become involved in decision making, on the part of students.
/. *arents, and line staff would also indicate true empowerment.
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