When I was her age there was never a question where I would go (if I could gain admission)--the University of British Columbia.


But my daughter had her eye on smaller game. Through a friend at high school she'd learned about Quest University--the very new kid on the block in B.C. At the time it was just four years old, and had just graduated their first students. We flew to Seattle and drove across the border to Squamish. Next day we went on the tour. There were altogether three prospective students on the tour. All were, coincidentally, from the US.
There is nothing usual about Quest. By almost any criteria it's unique. For starters, it's a private, non-profit school--the first of its kind in Canada. Its physical location is likewise off the beaten track. Ever heard of Squamish? You can be forgiven if you haven't. It's a small town about half way between Vancouver and Whistler--Blackcomb (where the 2010 Olympic Winter Games outdoor events were held). Quest received a private grant of land on the outskirts of Squamish to build their completely residential university.

The instructors are Ph.D.s with a passion for teaching undergraduates. There's no tenure--just rolling five-year assessments. They're not required to do research.
[Judging by the gasps I'm hearing that's a deal-breaker for many of you. But look at it the way one of its progenitors puts it: most institutions pay lip service to teaching. The typical academic discourse cinches it: teaching responsibilities are referred to as 'load,' and when not teaching, academics are always looking for research 'opportunities.' I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with research institutions like UBC or UC--but as so many of them are learning the hard way, their students are telling them, in droves, that while they're getting their degrees, they seem to be missing a great education in the process.]Quest's student feedback is off the charts. Have a look.

The National Survey of Student Engagement polls frosh and fourth-years at 751 Canadian and US universities and colleges. Quest topped the list of Canadian institutions in every category If student engagement represents learning opportunities, I think you know where I'd like my daughter to go. [Father's only half-facetious worry showing--you don't think they're putting something in the water at Quest?] I've taken screen captures of the published tables and I've truncated the lists below the 67th percentile--averages shown include the US institutions.
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Average was 61.6/58.1 |
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Look at the drop-off! NSSE overall average was 32.2/40.5 |
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NSSE overall average was 53.2/57.1 |
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Look at the drop-off! NSSE overall average shown on bottom line |
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Look at the drop-off! NSSE overall average was 41.8/50.4 |

Oh, and did I mention Quest's unique program? Students take one class at a time--about a month long. There are no academic departments. All classes are interdisciplinary and aimed at integrating knowledge with a global perspective. After two years students are expected to develop their own interdisciplinary 'major' by choosing a 'question' that they'll investigate from every possible angle for the final two years, culminating with some form of 'capstone' project. Tutors are fully involved from start to finish. Students emerge with, by all accounts, a unique perspective. Funny, that.
Well, I think I've probably bent your ear long enough for a Sunday night.
I'll prolly get back to you tomorrow with an update on my foreshortened look at the Younger Dryas Boundary impact hypothesis, etc.
I commented on an idiotic blogspot blog of a very scared pseudoscientist. It works for me.
ReplyDeleteAnd twenty years later high temperature superconductivity is still a contentious issue. If you can't stand the heat, then all I can suggest you do is get out of the kitchen, because inviting a paleontologist and archeologist to comment on what is basically hydrogeological phenomenon is not particularly helpful here.
Your appeal to authority is noted.