The Perfect College For Me HEOC 705 Jennifer DeLuna Benedictine University

RUNNING HEAD: Perfect College

Select one of the two below: Use U-CAN, or VSA or the Delta Project TCS tool or any combination to explore four colleges in your state and to identify one that you might consider recommending for yourself as you were when you were searching for your first college. Describe your search and explain your result. Add your assessment the usefulness U- CAN, VSA and/or TCS materials as part of the call for more transparent and consumer oriented institutional accountability public information from USHE (ref SHEEO).

Technology and the internet is a powerful tool when a high school junior or senior and their families are in search of the perfect institution. When I was in community college I relied on what I knew and where my friends were applying to when it was time for me to consider my next steps. I ultimately decided on Loyola University Chicago; not because they had my area of study but because that was my friends dream school. If I knew then what I know now my educational path may have been significantly different. In my current role as a transfer center director on a daily basis I am urging students to do research on four year institutions. I decided to take my own advice and use the Voluntary System of Accountability website to research four institutions to further my education in an institution of higher learning. I used the VSA system because I knew I wanted to attend a public institution in order to make my education more affordable. To begin my search I first thought of what I was looking for in a university and how far I would consider travelling to come home for visits. Since I was not limiting myself to staying in Chicago I decided to look at the following four institutions for a major in communications: Northern Illinois University, Eastern Illinois University, Western Illinois University, and Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. I chose three of the four because I have had family members who completed a degree at that particular institution. The four focus areas I choose for my search were: affordability, degree completion, job placement, and student life. When analyzing the results of the VSA portal I was not only able to see the cost estimator, school demographics, but also the student success of the universities. I found myself also using the Page 2 of 5

RUNNING HEAD: Perfect College portal to estimate my family contribution to each institution. This portal served as a valuable tool but I found that I was not able to gather all the information I was looking for. I wanted to know about campus life in regards to services, organizations, leadership etc. To gain the information for those specifics I found myself going on to the website for each institution. What I did find useful was the tabs for student activities and the survey results it portrayed. I also really appreciated all the graphs and throughout information each tab displayed. Those visuals really helped to showcase the main points I was looking to gain. The VSA website also had the capabilities of linking me to the institution website for very specific searches such as scholarships and housing which made my navigating the sites at ease. After comparing all four institutions I decided that Northern Illinois University was the right school for me. It was the priciest of the four but it became the most affordable for me as I would not have to live on campus and would be able to live with family who lives in town. It had the breadth of campus life that I was looking for and also offered a dynamic academic environment in regards to my major of choice. The availability of these types of resources when searching for a four year institution really offers the public a chance to see the nuts and bolts of the university. It offers the consumer all the information needed to make a sound decision in one convenient location and really holds institutions accountable to have accurate information available to the consumer. The State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) stated it best, We need accountability to give us dependable, valid information to monitor results, target problems, and mobilize the will, resources, and creativity to improve performanceA better system of accountability will provide parents, students, concerned citizens and policymakers the answers to reasonable questions regarding costs, the availability of required courses, what students are learning, and graduation rates. (pg. 7) It also holds the institutions accountable to use public funds

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RUNNING HEAD: Perfect College appropriately. According to Zumeta, Public Accountability is inevitable-and always has been in some form-if you are a large, important institution in society, as higher education surely is. (Pg.147) If higher education truly wants to help students and their families make the correct choice when choosing an institution these types of tools such as the VSA and providing accurate information is vital to the success of an institution. It is also vital to the success of a student when they are able to not only attain the education they are seeking but afford it as well. If this was available when I was looking for a four year university I would have been able to save a substantial amount of money and not incur so much student debt.

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RUNNING HEAD: Perfect College

References

State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO). (2005). Accountability for Better Results A National Imperative for Higher Education. Denver, Colorado Zumeta, W. (2011). What does It Mean to Be Accountable?: Dimensions and Implications of Higher Educations Public Accountability. The Review of Higher Education, Colume 35, November 1, Pp. 131-148 (article)

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