Consider what an experience is:
It is memorable - products and services can be forgotten
It is personal - not the same thing that everybody else has already gotten
It is revealed over time and not just delivered on demand
Provides sensation to the all the senses and not just benefits or features
Experiences enrich our lives helping to fulfill our dreams and desires.
Higher education is in the business of creating experiences. The experience begins when students touch the campus for the first time. The experience continues when students come into contact with any one of the programs and services provided. The experience happens in each class a student takes. The experience is impacted by each and every interaction of every area of every institution.
When institutions offer great experiences - students anticipate coming to the institution; they plan what they will do when they are at the institution; they feel the institution is personally designed for them in meeting their needs; opportunities are presented to them as them make their choices; they feel they have gained something from being at the institution; and they look forward to coming back just as soon as possible.
Higher education has a very special and important role to create a wonderful experience and it needs efforts from all part of the institution. Everyone is needed for every student to feel welcome and comfortable - no student should ever feel unwelcome or uncomfortable at the institution. Everyone efforts are needed for every student to be treated as an individual, taking care of their individual needs - not assuming they are like everyone else. Everyone’s efforts are needed to enrich the lives of students by extending what they are learning in the classroom and preparing them to be citizen of the world. Each and every interaction adds to the experience.
Each person who works at the institution enriches the campus community by creating wonderful experiences. Each day member of a campus community get to make a choice - they can decide what type of experience students will have at the institution. Each person decides what students will remember about the institution. Will they contribute to a positive, dynamic, exciting, connected experience for each student who comes into contact with the institution or not?