Priorities:Converse College Student Priorities

OVERVIEW

Converse College was founded on the radical idea that young women deserved a space, designed for them, to pursue higher education. Since that first year, Converse has continued to help those women find their voice, understand their true value, and refine their vision.  As times change, however, so must we. How might we continue to adapt converse’s founding principles in order to serve a new generation of women?

We, as students, are entering a post-grad landscape far different than that of our predecessors. Steeped in technology, and connected on a massive, global scale, the tools we need to be successful in the world outside Converse’s campus are ever-changing. It is time for us to foster an innovative, creative ecosystem where failure is nothing but a starting and learning point, and problems are nothing but opportunities. 

PRIORITY ONE: SPARK STUDENT INTEREST 

Converse has a longstanding tradition of self-governance. A large portion of her students hold leadership positions on campus, and Converse itself is student-regulated, adhering to a traditional honor code. The student body is an​ active one, fully involved in the creation and ideation of Converse's future. In any given year, students plan fundraisers to help crisis centers and cancer research institutes, organize trips to serve all over the United States, perform institutional research, and design new and exciting clubs to promote student involvement. Converse students aren't uninterested; they simply need to be shown the value.

Despite their passionate involvement on campus and off campus, most Converse students simply aren't aware of entrepreneurship and innovation on any scale. Those who are aware of it are intimidated; they equate entrepreneurship with Fortune 500 companies and their firm belief in their inability to succeed. Converse's most popular majors are education, visual and performing arts, the humanities, and social sciences. All fields are integrated. Therefore, there is an imminent need for students in ALL majors to be well acquainted with and experienced in entrepreneurial, innovative, and collaborative culture.

Priority one speaks to that process. Entrepreneurship and Innovation, in this case, are not about venture creation, maker spaces, or new engineering departments. They are about the tools and skills an entrepreneur learns that can be applied to every career path once out of Converse's walls. This process is about speaking to the interests of our student body, and introducing them to skills and themes that can help them in all disciplines.

INDUCTING AN I&E ORGANIZATION WITHIN SGA

SGA organizations have tremendous exposure and support on campus. Inducting a student led I&E organization through the SGA well enable the UIF Fellow and other leaders within the organization to host speakers, buy supplies, run advertising campaigns, pay for field trips to regional accelerators, organize business pitch competitions etc. in order to help students discover I&E. Once the UIF Fellow graduates, the organization will remain and continue to prosper with new leadership. Students need a cohesive outlet for their leadership in I&E.

PRIORITY TWO: ESTABLISH A MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONVERSE UIF INITIATIVES AND CONVERSE CURRICULA 

EXTRA CREDIT FOR ATTENDING I&E EVENTS ON/OFF CAMPUS

Securing faculty and staff members’ approval for extra credit opportunities will provide great incentive to students. They will take up extra credit opportunities, venture outside their comfort zone, and return to their campus culture with a conviction to learn more and do more.

I&E COMPONENT TO CONVOCATION SERIES

Students are required to attend a number of events in different categories every semester in order to develop all aspects of the human spirit. These events span everything from art installations to resume building workshops.

This component is related to the extra credit proposal above, in that both avenues provide ways to learn more about technology, communication, and creativity outside the traditional spaces of learning.

PRIORITY THREE: CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL STUDENTS TO BE ENGAGED WITH I&E

Once students are aware of I&E on a grander scale, they can start building the skills necessary to be successful. This priority section focuses primarily on building the skills of Innovation and Entrepreneurship applicable to all disciplines.

=

Leadership Retreat Training

A large portion of Converse's student body holds a leadership position on campus. One a year, these students converge in a multiple day leadership retreat, where they learn the basics of heading the coalitions and student boards they will be taking part in the entire school year. These students are go-getters- they have run for office, started organizations, or serve as extensions of student life.

During this retreat, we proposition that the principles of design thinking are taught much like it was taught to members of the University Innovation Fellows community at the regional meetup in Greenville, South Carolina. Students will be given a high level task, that they can divide into How Might We's, and rapidly move from brainstormnig solutions to presenting their days work. this process, we believe will strengthen their ability to work in high stress situations, communicate with a group, quickly prototype and roll out potential solutions, and learn from failures. Use of this model rather than preaching the tenets of leadership would be an amazing, fast paced way to get these students immersed in I&E culture while also learning tangible skills that will aid them throughout the school year.

Priority Three: Increase Community-Converse Partnerships

Converse is a small institution that, as mentioned earlier, doesn't have a mountain of technological resources ready to deploy at a whim. However, we are surrounded by other members of the University Fellows community in close proximity to our own institution.

UI Fellows Coalition

By tapping into resources like furman, Clemson, and Wofford, our students will hopefully be able to not only learn what Entrepreneurship and Innovation movements look liek at our own school, but also at others. In planning regional events, and pushing students to resoures that Converse may not be able to produce on its own, students will be able to interact with a number of communities right outide their window. This four school coalition will seek to support and expand any movements we make at our own institutions. 

Priority Four: Create Pipeline for I&E Students 

Once a student has decided that I&E is the way for them to go, there are no concrete steps for them to take. In developing students passionate about this movement, we must also understand that they require a path necessary to follow once they are dedicated. Priority four is tasked primarily with the development of concrete institutional pathways through which these students can easily navigate. 

Interdisciplinary Programming

Converse already offers team taught courses, bridging disciplines like english and bioogy to give students a new perspective in various topics. We offer that business focused students pair up with students in other disciplines to form new solutions for problems outside profit expansion. As a school with a history in social entrepreneurship, solving problems in innovative, business focused ways would be a natural progression in programming. Much like Extreme by Design, these programs cold be tailored to help externally contracted entities like the Rape Crisis Center, the regional school system, or local nonprofits. 

Course Offerings

Social Entrepreneurship was the only class offered in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. As we expand the horizons of individual students, the course offerings must expand as well.. At a small instituion, this is often tricky. However, using the tools we showed earlier, we can find ways to make I&E classes open and inclusive, as well as to carry GEP, and multidisciplinary course requirements. 

Social Entrepreneurship Curriculum

As an Algernon Sydney Sullivan School, we offer that Social Entrepreneurship deserves a concrete place in our institutions curriculum. By instituting a Social Entrepreneurship minor, major, or concentration program and the courses involved, a support system is established for those students looking to more fully explore in the field. This process will continue to develop faculty who are knowledgeable in the subject,  as well as explicit pathways for individuals to follow once they are invested in I&E. 

Related Links

Converse_College

University Innovation Fellow '15 Nadia_Gathers

Business Model Canvas for Pitch Converse: https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1tOhh8s1tTxbIJS6XLpmX_CkDbZBkq5iGWYdCfV98eBE