Another semester at Hilbert College has come and gone. The fall came with many changes to the campus, physically and academically. Now, as the college wraps up the semester and prepares to enter their spring 2020 semester, faculty and staff are reflecting on what went well and what could have been done better.

Gregory Roberts, Hilbert’s Dean of students said, “I think the fall semester has gone very well.”

One part of the semester Roberts highlighted was the Hilbert Reads program, in which all first year students are required to read a specific book and reflect on it in their classes.

“I had the chance to interact with quite a few students,” said Roberts. “It went very well for the students.”

Hilbert’s President, Dr. Michael Brophy said, “We opened the semester very positively.”

Highlighting a few good things from the semester, Brophy said, “We had a good orientation and we had an increase in the number of resident students. We also did a bunch of projects on campus over the summer, which I think were pretty well received by students.”

The school also saw academic changes and according to both Roberts and Dr. Brophy, these changes went well.

“We’re in our first semester of having classes five days a week,” said Brophy. “Friday is definitely more active on campus, which is good for prospective students to see. It was also good for faculty because it was a way for them to teach three days a week if they wanted to.”

Roberts talked about the new biology programs that have become available at the school.

“From an academic standpoint, that would be the biggest change on campus,” Roberts said, noting that the new labs built for the biology program were “about a half a million dollar project.”

Fall 2019 was just the beginning. Spring 2020 is going to come with even more changes, Brophy said.

“Over the next 12 months we’re going to go big with online learning,” he added, saying the school will offer more opportunities for people to take classes from all over the country.

The major concern administrators are trying to address and do better with next semester is the school’s online services, Brophy said.

“We can do a better job with technology,” he said. “Students should be able to take care of their finances online and we don’t have a way for you to do that yet.”

Roberts and Dr. Brophy also pointed students to surveys available to provide feedback on what they want to get out of their Hilbert experience. The surveys are very important to helping the college understand how to do a better job overall, Roberts said.

“If students are honest in filling these surveys out, they can be very helpful,” he added. “Questions need to be answered in the right tone, remembering that it’s all about making things better.”

Brophy agreed.

“Every faculty member gets that feedback and takes it really seriously as they improve their work for the following semester,” he said.

Hilbert College students, as you are wrapping up your fall 2019 semester, consider filling out the surveys on your Blackboard account. Voice your opinions and help the school make your spring 2020 semester even better than your last.