2010 Site Visitors - George Mariz
| Email: | george.mariz@wwu.edu |
| Institution: | Western Washington University |
| Address: | Honors Program |
| Phone: | (360) 650-3446 |
| Fax: | (360) 650-7789 |
| Institution Type: | 4-year public |
| Program Type: | Institution-wide |
| Program Enrollment: | 350 |
| Present Position: | Director since 1987 |
| Previous Honors Positions: |
Member, Publications Board (since 2000); Committee on Assessment (1998-2000); Chair, Committee on Constitution and By-Laws (member since 2007, chair since 2009); Conference Planning Committee, member since 2004 |
| NCHC Membership Dates: | 1987 |
NCHC Activities Related to Honors Program Assessmen (up to 5t:
- Publication Board Member, worked with monograph on assessment and evaluation
- Member, Committee on Assessment, 1998-2000
- Attendee, Site Visitors Training Institute, 2004
- A number of site visits, most recent, 2008
Activities in other areas or organizations related to honors assessment or site visits, workshops, etc. regarding honors programs/colleges and/or other academic areas.
Acitve in assessment activities on my own campusSelf identified areas of special interest and experience.
- Curriculum development at all levels
- Budgeting
- Administration of Honors Programs
- Student Recruitment and Retention
- Faculty Recruitment
- Long Range Planning
- Senior Theses and Projects
On the Role of the Site Visitor as Consultants & Program Reviewers
George Mariz, Director, Western Washington University
An Honors site visitor aids an honors program and its home institution to determine the character and scope of that particular honors program, how it should be configured in its institution, its appropriate size, and in answering a host of other questions, some general to all honors program, and a number unique to a program and institution. Accordingly, a site visit should accomplish a number of goals. It should provide a program or college with a good idea of its current condition---often a program will know where it is in some respects and not in others regarding its position within its home institution and in terms of national trends, but often it may not have a complete picture. A site visit should provide the program with guidance, i.e., a detailed report, that allows it to deal with immediate difficulties, e.g., curricular matters, administrative problems, student retention, and to assist honors to position itself within the institution and the larger honors community for the longer term, e.g., formulating a strategic plan, working with an Admissions Office on recruitment, developing a plan to involve outstanding faculty with the program. It is not a site visitor’s role to tell honors what to do according to a formula but to listen carefully, to consult with a broad range of opinion and to collect the widest range of information possible: from program personnel, university administration, students, and staff, and to work with the program and the institution. The site visitor must learn the institutional culture and make suggestions that fit that culture. Having that information, the site visitor must then formulate a unique plan that suggests directions for the future. There is no one model, nor is there one solution, that works for all institutions, and even colleges and universities of similar size and character vary widely, one to another. The site visit must determine what works best for a specific institution at a particular time.