I have selected a topic. This summer, I will be teaching a course entitled "Building an Elite Class" that will cover various undergraduate admissions topics. Below is the course description:
Do you ever wonder why some students get into an elite college while others do not? This course looks at the policies that guide elite undergraduate college admissions offices in determining which students ‘get in’ and which are rejected. We will discuss the basic practices of an admissions officer, including territories, reading of applications, defending ‘their’ students in committee and ultimately making decisions. We will also look at what outside forces shape those practices, including the impact of the US NEWS and World Report methodology, Supreme Court cases regarding affirmative action in college admissions, and federal financial aid.
The knowledge and skills that I will bring to this initiative are as follows: I have a 6-12 Social Studies teaching license, though I am not currently practicing. I have been working in admissions for the past six years and have a master's degree in higher education, with a focus on US admissions.
The assistance I need is as follows: I would really appreciate constructive feedback on this initiative because I want this class to be good. :) It is the first non-credit online course that has been taught through Odyssey at Johns Hopkins, and I want to inspire them to teach more online courses.
Thanks,
Briggs
Briggs,
ReplyDeleteYou have quite an intriguing topic! A few comments…
It took me a moment to figure out what was meant by “class” in the title. Initially I was thinking class=course, but from the description, it seems that by class you’re referring to a class year, such as 2017? Very minor issue, but one that gives pause for a moment when first seeing the title.
Also, based on the course description, I initially thought maybe your target audience was high school students, or even parents of college-bound students. Admittedly, I was unfamiliar with Odyssey, so I looked it up and see that courses are typically offered for personal enrichment. I downloaded the course catalog to better understand the types of offerings (wow, what a wide range!) Based on that, I am curious about who you see as your target audience? I would think that parents of college-bound students may be very interested in this type of course, or anyone who is just curious about the admissions process?
To your question about constructive feedback, I’m not sure I have enough information yet at this point to offer much. I see that it’s a five-week online course, which seems to me an adequate amount of time, based on the course description. I think when you get to the point of developing your Broad Plan, where you start to map out your activities, you’ll start to see some gaps where you may need some additional content or activities. In general, as you develop the course, you’ll want to ensure that you have a balance of activities (typically team, whole group and individual). It will remain to be seen how significant team activities will be in your course. Perhaps it might just be a peer review of one of your assessments or something along those lines. Again, it’s a bit premature for more detailed comments, so as your initiative takes shape, let’s keep discussing.