This commentary is by Suresh V. Garimella, president of the University of Vermont.
In these weeks leading up to May 1, high school seniors and families are making final decisions about college next fall. Most will have some great options after a year or two of input from guidance counselors, teachers, older siblings, tour guides, parents and the vast collection of college rankings.
I will not add to the mountain of criticisms of college rankings. There’s little more that can be said beyond the rinse-and-repeat reality that the wealthiest schools show the best quantitative outcomes — from selectivity of admission to the number of alumni who donate each year. These expensive input factors buoy largely the same institutions to the top of the list year after year, decade after decade.
I’d like to turn some attention to important elements of success that can’t be measured with numbers alone.
At the University of Vermont, we take a wide view of success, pulling back the frame to view the whole student and their experience before, during and after college. When I arrived at UVM nearly three years ago (yes, it seems there was life before Covid), I made clear that the top among UVM’s three strategic imperatives would be “ensuring student success.”
We took a major step, unprecedented on our campus, to freeze tuition for four years and hold room-and-board costs flat. We even cut some student fees to help make education more affordable and accessible.
But a bigger step yet is to commit to helping every student succeed — academically, professionally and personally. After all, what value is accessibility without providing what it takes for you to succeed?
UVM is about so much more than grade-point averages (though it’s hard to say they don’t matter). We have doubled down on some of the most valuable elements of a residential university experience — namely, the ability for our students to become deeply involved in customizing their own academic and cocurricular experience, complemented by expert support programs of almost every type designed to help them thrive in college and in life.
Yes, success is about mastering a subject as recognized by a high grade, but it’s also about finding and remaining on a course that ensures intellectual, social, professional and personal growth and accomplishment.
This “bigger” definition of success depends upon the unwavering dedication of our faculty and staff. And that commitment begins before a student arrives on our campus and continues long after they’ve graduated.
Our fine-tuned balance of support and motivation begins at UVM right from the outset for new students. Many choose a week of immersion in a UVM TREK program just before diving into their first college classes. All have access to the teams of peers and professional academic and career advisers embedded across every college and school. With this support, new Catamounts develop integrated plans to capitalize on campus resources and promote their intellectual growth, career readiness, support networks and overall wellness.
As part of their integrated plans, some 92% of our students participate in internships and other dynamic experiential learning and research opportunities — opportunities hosted locally and all around the world. Because students understand that experience in the field is critical, they have increased their participation in internship courses by over 80% in the last two years.
They’re also taking advantage of our summer internship scholarship grants that provide over $200,000 annually, helping to enhance access for all — regardless of financial circumstances — to these critical opportunities. Their internships often lead to great job offers, but also serve to give students an inside look at an industry or career pathway they may never have considered.
UVM students find innovative programs such as our College of Arts and Sciences “Communities of Practice,” an exciting service-learning experience that places students in active roles with community and regional organizations — from local newspapers to community service-focused nonprofits to the offices of Vermont’s legislators.
Then, there are the skills and networks students build through the hundreds of student organizations, teams, clubs and activities at UVM. In these groups, they expand their personal networks, learn leadership skills, travel the world, and enhance one another’s campus experience.
In terms of competitive activities, we’ve fielded champs this year in everything from international business case competitions to multiple Division I varsity sports. Thirteen Catamounts — the most ever — competed in the 2022 Winter Olympics.
And, of course, each student’s future success is built upon the rock-solid foundation of their achievements in the classroom. That brand of success — one that comes from their passion for inquiry, their willingness to open their minds, and their commitment to hard work — has been part of my UVM experience lately, too.
This semester, I am leading a new initiative with my faculty colleague and Honors College dean David Jenemann. David and I are hosting a group of Presidential Leadership Fellows in a weekly series of conversations designed to develop the analytical and reasoning skills that will help them engage in constructive civil discourse with those who hold different opinions and beliefs.
Our students are learning about perplexing, real-life issues by considering questions such as: Is green energy clean energy? Can rights and the common good coexist in a divided America? Is social media detrimental to society? These are broad topics that call for close attention from this generation.
While progress toward developing leadership skills isn’t measured solely in numbers, it is equally as important as UVM’s quantitative success metrics, such as graduation rate and post-college placement — both of which are stellar.
When all these elements combine with a student population that shows the commitment and discipline UVM students have demonstrated time and again during the pandemic, I am confident today’s undergrads will continue to achieve great levels of success in their years after college.
We will soon turn our attention to UVM’s 221st commencement. In two short months, some 3,000 Catamounts will don their caps and gowns, join families and friends, and celebrate their success, achieving the milestone of a bachelor’s, graduate or professional degree.
I am excited we’ll welcome Erik Weihenmayer as our commencement speaker. He is the first blind person to climb Mount Everest. And Erik is a person with such determination and a sense of adventure that he didn’t stop there. He’s climbed all of the Seven Summits, the highest point on each continent. I can’t think of a better example for our graduates: someone completely undeterred in pursuit of his goals.
Along with their families, our own hearts swell with pride thinking about what each of our graduates has accomplished and what lies ahead in their promising future — whether here in Vermont or farther away.
I am proud of the success our students achieve and I remain committed — along with our entire faculty and staff — to making sure the UVM experience is always centered on our students’ individual and collective success. This is our solemn commitment to the best and brightest from Vermont and everyone who chooses UVM.
