A point of objection!
In response to the recent series of posts, a colleague (who does not work in the college counseling domain but who is a parent of a recent high school graduate) wrote to articulate a welcomed, contrary point. His argument is that the previous post on student satisfaction suggested that we discredit a student’s perspective on their outcome. His interpretation was that the argument is that students don’t know enough about what is reasonable for any examination of their satisfaction with outcome to be worthwhile. Articulating his experience as a parent, he felt that his recent graduate would have answered the outcome question with a very low level of satisfaction. As he shared, his son had a dream school from the very beginning, and, in working with his college counselor, he was led to believe that this was an appropriate fit and a place where he had a legitimate chance of earning admission. Accordingly, the counselor assessed his chances as “reach” (where “far reach” indicated a remote if non-existent chance) and never disabused the student of his chances. Then, when he was not offered admission, the counselor sought to assist the student in moving on to consider his other options by acknowledging that he “never really had a chance, as we both know.” This came as a crushing and upsetting blow to the student and the parents.
So, this colleague was expressing his belief that not asking this student this question about his satisfaction with outcome -- especially in light of the fact that he would probably have indicated a far higher level of satisfaction with process -- would avoid gathering information about this scenario. His contention is that we should ask the question because there is counselor accountability when a student and/or family does pursue an unrealistic goal. Our job in part, he shares, is to educate and to inform so that students and families adjust their expectations and account for an understanding of reasonable outcomes.
The point is a good one! That being said, I don’t agree with the perspective that we should not ask students about their satisfaction with outcome. The school that I referenced was questioning whether or not to continue the practice in the future based on their experiences with it. However, I think that the more information gathered, the better. Additionally, I feel that this is an important question to ask free of the guesswork that anonymity would provide. Put differently, this question is important to understand in context. On one hand, I recall a student who was admitted to a hyper-selective institution where he had applied early who then gave the highest marks for process but the lowest for outcome: he felt railroaded toward that particular place by his parents and never really wanted to go there. On the other hand, I recall plenty of students who were unmoved by my explanation of there being little to no chance of admission and persisting with the application process and with the school being the top choice. And, of course, there are dozens of other situations where the context matters in understanding the situation. Effective growth and learning comes from each. The first example led me to think long and hard about how I might have worked more closely with the boy’s parents while the second led me to reflect on how to diversify my tactics and strategies for trying to shake a student from being fixated on a far reach… and also to reflect on where the line exists in my practice between informing and influencing! Is it even actually my role to convince such a family or merely to provide the professional assessment and recommendations?
In any case, student satisfaction, in my opinion, is an important part of the dashboard approach, which we will examine more carefully soon. I have appreciated all of the rigorous and invigorating discussions surrounding this thread of posts. Keep it coming!