By Jessica Pupo
Staff writer
Recently, more and more of President Drinan’s emails have contained information about important decisions Simmons is making, as well as responses to hot-button issues and current events.
Because of this, her weekly email has become a must-read to answer our pressing questions on what the future of Simmons College (or Simmons University) will look like and how Simmons defines itself today.
What has been happening more often than not however, is that her emails leave us with more questions than before. Many students find themselves confused as to what her messages mean for them personally.
While Simmons is forthcoming with their plans, they are not clear about what the process will look like to implement their goals and how it will affect the community.
For instance, most students don’t understand how the academic redesign it will impact their education and experiences here at Simmons.
On the “Redesign FAQ” page, it is stated that the new academic structure should “support current program distinctiveness and strengths, enhance the student experience, enhance faculty and staff experience, improve our external reputation, provide long-term sustainable finances, and provide the professional marketplace with trained, thoughtful candidates for leadership positions across industries such as healthcare, business, nursing, etc.”
These are all worthy aims, but these points aren’t an answer to its question “What is the Academic Redesign Project?” Students want to know what this process will look like even if it isn’t set in stone.
Earlier this year, students were shocked when they got an email about the discontinuing of a track within the education major without warning.
While unrelated to the redesign, this kind of action is what worries students about the academic redesign because they don’t want to be alerted in an email that their educational experience will be completely different from what they expected.
Other emails, such as the one on sanctuary status for Simmons, has also left students with questions regarding what it means for the Simmons community.
In the future, it would be helpful if the impact on students’ experience was taken into account and included in communications.
