2010 Site Visitors - Liza Lagman Sperl
| Email: | ab8898@wayne.edu |
| Institution: | Wayne State University |
| Address: | 2100 Undergraduate Library |
| Phone: | (313) 577-9075 |
| Fax: | (313) 577-6425 |
| Institution Type: | 4-year |
| Program Type: | Institution-wide with honors in major |
| Program Enrollment: | 1300 |
| Present Position: | Academic Advisor IV |
| Previous Honors Positions: | *Academic Advisor III (August 2006- August 2009) |
| NCHC Membership Dates: | 2004 - Present |
NCHC Activities Related to Honors Program Assessment:
- October 28 - 31, 2009 NCHC Annual Conference, Washington, D. C. - Presentation, "A Quantitative Assessment of Honors Value-Added"October 23 - 27, 2008 NCHC Annual Conference, San Antonio, TX
- November 2007 Editor and contributing author, Honors College Proposal
- October 2007 Editor and contributing author, Honors assessment materials for NCHC site visit
- October 2007 Editor and contributing author, Honors Annual Report 2007
Activities in other areas or organizations related to honors assessment or site visits, workshops, etc. regarding honors programs/colleges and/or other academic areas:
- January 2006 - April 2007 Member, TRIO Student Support Services Assessment Committee
- October 2005 – Present Steering Committee, NACADA advising high-achieving students interest group
- October 8, 2005 NACADA Pre-Conference: “The Assessment Cycle - Identifying what to assess,
developing tools, and implementing change” Las Vegas, NV
Other activities relevant to those seeking honors program/college site visitors:
Academic Advisor with 11+ years of experience
Graduated with Psychology department Honors and University Honors (1996)
On the Role of the Site Visitor as Consultants & Program Reviewers
Liza Sperl, Academic Advisor, Wayne State University
Evaluation of an Honors college or program is often a high profile challenge. There are usually competing agendas and political machinations where the advice and support of an experienced external team would be useful. At the same time, an NCHC site visit is a momentous event requiring much preparation, reflection, and articulation of the scope and purpose of one’s own Honors program or college. However well one prepares, it can be difficult to maintain an objective perspective of both the strengths and challenges of one’s own program or college.
The site visitor brings his or her experience and knowledge of diverse Honors programs/colleges. I believe an NCHC site visitor needs to be able ask thoughtful questions in order to assess the current state of the Honors program/college and its position within its institution. Honors programs/colleges do not exist within a vacuum - so the site visitor also has to be able to make useful recommendations that are sensitive to the specific cultural and societal norms of that institution. The recommendations of the site visitor need to respectfully balance the context of the Honors program/college being evaluated while promoting the importance of an Honors curriculum.