RUNNING HEAD: Gut Instinct 1

Gut Instinct

Sarah Tibbe

Grand Valley State University

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When students select which university to attend it may be a culmination of numerous

searches on the internet, comparisons of facilities and costs, and countless steps along campus

tours. However, the final decision ultimately rests on a gut instinct of what “feels right”. What

environment and culture just sticks with students. They may not remember what the faculty to

student ratio is or how many awards the school has won. Instead they remember how they felt

when they were there. Similarly, once at college, the most defining elements of college are

related to how students feel. How included, accepted, and engaged they feel. Buildings,

programs, amenities and history make the institution – but people make the experience and are

the backbones that sustain the institutions for generations. Within this paper I will share key

insights gleaned from Daniel Chambliss and Christopher Takacs’ findings as portrayed in How

College Works (2014). While there are many lessons to be learned from their work, I will cover

just a few, and detail how these lessons can be applied to the role of student affairs professionals.

Each insight is centralized around a common theme; education, and specifically higher

education, is more than providing information to build skills and knowledge. Rather, education is

about connecting others. Education is not in the information business, it is in the people business.

The first takeaway focuses on the aforementioned concept that education is in the people

business. When entering college, students are stepping outside of their comfort zones, often for

the first time, therefore becoming vulnerable and uncertain. They want someone to “eat lunch

with, to sit and talk with in the common rooms” (Chambliss & Takacs, 2014, p. 37). Students are

stripped of the community and comforts they once knew and must quickly replace it with a new

sense of belonging. Before they can focus on their studies they need to figure out where they

stand in their new environment and role. The responsibility of creating this environment lies

amongst educators of all types, both faculty and staff. Students will not stay around if they are

not tied to anything or anyone, they must be motivated. Motivation is the key to success.
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However, motivation is an emotion, it is fleeting and inconsistent. Therefore, students must be

intrinsically motivated to be engaged and disciplined. The best way to elicit motivation is to

establish meaningful connections to others (Chambliss & Takacs, 2014, p. 106). Learning is a

give and take experience, it works best when both parties, the teacher and the student, are

actively involved in the process and work together, just as with any relationship. With that being

said, everyone learns differently. Administrators, and universities as a whole need to efficiently

convey the experiences and resources available to students so as to make the best of them. Many

may believe the best way to establish community is by providing small and intimate

environments, such as small class sizes. However, it has been shown that small classes “are not a

reliable solution” in regard to establishing community and sparking engagement (Chambliss &

Takacs, 2014, p. 70). Knowledge and the people that provide it are so intertwined, the most

impactful educators are the ones who are personable and relatable. By extension, they make the

material relatable and memorable, truly impacting student success. Before anything, students

must feel a part of a community, and cultivating this community rests within the people that

make up institutions. Students do not care how much a professor or advisor knows, until they

know how much they care about their experience and take the time to make them feel included.

Conveying appreciation and concern for students is the next step in providing a lasting

education. Just how every student learns differently, all actions have lasting implications, even

the smallest actions have large impacts. In effect, educators must be intentional with their

interactions. First impressions do matter. While perceptions may vary between students, there is

no denying the positive, or negative, impact a first impression can make and how lasting that

may be. As Chambliss and Takacs observed, “the first professor [students] meet in a discipline

effectively is that discipline to that student” (2014, p. 50). One interaction or positive class

experience can drastically alter a student’s path. It can change their course of study and career
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decisions. Momentous events are comprised of small daily decisions and actions that may not be

realized until years later. Therefore, it is crucial that educators continually put their best foot

forward for the benefit of their students. It is not always easy, and it is impossible to control how

one will be perceived, but the smallest gestures can mean so much. For example, students who

were invited to a faculty’s house for dinner, or who were provided with additional one-on-one

support and feedback, felt more supported and bolstered their confidence to perform to the best

of their ability. Additionally, the ease which these interactions and subsequent connections are

processed have a large impact on student success. Readily available office hours or common

meeting spaces which make it easy for students to be exposed to various people increase the

chances of finding someone to connect with. For example, advisors can easily become a strong

source of influence depending on how easy they can make it for students to register for courses

or how helpful they are. Again, the student experience is comprised of small events and actions

which culminate in a broader memory. They remember how they felt during those exchanges,

and the easier and more comfortable the conversation or process, the fonder of a memory.

Educators must be aware that all their actions and behaviors contribute to the student experience

and should do their best to facilitate these interactions so as to continually foster student success.

Developing relationships and connections is paramount to student success, but time is of

the essence in doing so. Within education, time is precious. With rising costs and pressures to

perform, students are encouraged to obtain their education in a timely manner. Some educators

may have a couple years of influence, others only 15 weeks or an hour. Regardless, the challenge

remains of how to encourage and support students to make the most of their time. College

provides an unparalleled sense of freedom. This freedom can be as confusing as it is liberating.

Reigning in this sense of freedom and directing it towards a goal is what will ultimately lead to

student success. Yet success is defined differently for every student. It then becomes the
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responsibility of student affairs professionals and all educators to elicit that definition out of

students and encourage and empower them to achieve it, whatever that may look like. We must

ensure students make informed decisions. With so much information and choices available,

students can easily become inundated and overwhelmed. Therefore, educators must be as

transparent as possible to provide students the information they need to find their voice, their

passions and preferences. This may require asking tough questions during advising sessions or in

a class debate, or surrounding students with others different than them as a roommate or

teammate. Regardless, the more one knows or is exposed to, the better equipped they are to make

the best decision for themselves. All interactions have chain reactions (Chambliss & Takacs,

2014, p. 83). Being inquisitive and not directive will allow students to develop a sense of self-

awareness which will effectively lend students to take ownership of their learning experience and

make the most of it, with what little time they do have.

Outside the bureaucracy of institutions, learning outcomes and strategic plans, institutions

of higher education are meant to be hubs of cultivating knowledge. They accomplish this by

empowering students to think critically and make connections amongst themselves. Factories can

still produce goods without the presence of humans. But colleges do not exist without the

community of people dedicated to sharing, exploring, and building relationships with one

another. When students leave college, they may easily forget the formulas and equations or

definitions and key dates. However, they will not forget how they felt when working through

problems and situations with others. Nowadays information is readily available in the palms of

our hands. But relationships and developing a sense of self and purpose can only be achieved

with the assistance of a community of support amongst others. It is our job as educators to build

and sustain this community and share it with every student.

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References

Chambliss, D.F. & Takacs, C.G. (2014). How college works. Cambridge and London: Harvard

University Press.