Themes Sorted by Prompt: I Wish...

Download the spreadsheet of participant responses for all prompts.

I Wish...

Top themes, in rank order by number of mentions

1. Getting Started: Eagerness to implement the idea quickly, paired with a desire for more specifics and a commitment to implementation  

Column N in the spreadsheet

Representative Comments

• I wish we’d done this 10 years ago.
• I wish we were further in the creative process (prototypes).
• Promise to come true
• We could pivot at an institutional level faster than we do.
• Still wonder how this is going to work.
• Details of implementation are vague. This is the important part.
• I hope we actually implement.
• I wish we would move faster. Things could/should change already not next year.

2. Culture Change: A longing for a shared vision and collective implementation and an acknowledgment of the gap between the vision and where we are today  

Column G in the spreadsheet

Representative Comments

• Everyone saw opportunity.
• A plan for change
• I wish leadership understood the difference between intent and impact.
• More focus on excellence in standards
• I wish we could be more flexible in policies that will benefit students.
• I wish we didn’t have to do so much working backward to move forward.

3. Strategy Refinement: Thoughts on how to refine the strategy and the process of doing so  

Column Y in the spreadsheet

Representative Comments

• Real objectives + authentic assessment = demonstrated knowledge
• More research before developing implementation
• I wish there was more thought into who are on committees; people that have never served.
• How we will make the importance of community and how to build it
• How does this work with SRM? How will we pay for this?
• I wish we could see some practical implementation of these values Programmatic prototypes.
• Details on How
• That this new direction was easier to describe/encapsulate
• Wish for a greater sense of direction from president and senior leadership.
• The process didn’t feel rushed.

4. Staff/Faculty Engagement: A wish that the faculty/staff ratings of the institution were better and for a high level of engagement across all faculty and staff  

Column W in the spreadsheet

Representative Comments

• There were more opportunities to work with people across campus.
• I wish the support for this new idea will be consistent among all faculty and staff.
• I wish for those around the table to be given equal voice. You can bring people around the table, but if their ideas, voice, value are not given equal power…it doesn’t matter.
• Kind of wish there was even more involvement from more people.
• I wish WMU faculty/staff had a higher opinion of this institution.
• Faculty had more faith in themselves and WMU.
• I wish “lower-tier” faculty and staff felt more supported by higher ranking faculty and staff.
• There were more connecting between the big idea and employee engagement plan.
• I wish we believed in ourselves.

5. Setup for Success: Thoughts about resources and details that enable faculty and staff to successfully implement Think Big  

Column X in the spreadsheet

Representative Comments

• Wish staff/faculty have basic technology skills
• I wish we could get more feedback from staff/faculty about how they would meet students’ wants and needs.
• I wish we had more of a focus on more administrative support (front line staff).
• Toolkit to enact desired culture/behaviors
• Provide a set of resources and practices to assist making this work.
• I wish the new staff had better onboarding offered.
• I wish onboarding was more related to daily needs.
• I wish the “reveal” had included ways in which ideas also relate to staff/faculty.

6. High School Counselors: Disappointment of WMU’s rating among guidance counselors  

Column M in the spreadsheet

Representative Comments

• Personal visits with targeted marketing materials going to guidance counselors
• Wish we had better relationship/outreach to high school counselors
• I wish WMU used some of GVSU’s techniques for recruiting H.S. guidance counselors. They bus them in and wine and dine them. 

7. Specific student offerings: Participants offered a wide variety of additional or more specific offerings they wish we offered students

Column AA in the spreadsheet

Representative Comments

• I wish Western provided more opportunities for graduate students to travel/participate in conferences
• More face-to-face in-person opportunities
• I wish students could learn a second or third language.
• I wish every student would study abroad (not as a tourist).
• I wish all colleges had dedicated student success staff.
• I wish campus services were more centralized and communicated to students.
• I wish we had funding for student intern program.

8. Branding: Wishes for WMU marketing to be better, more focused and more specific, with a large focus on visual identity

Column C in the spreadsheet

Representative Comments

• I wish we had a defined W brand instead of athletics vs. everyone else.
• I wish our “branding” was inclusive—in ads were more inclusive.
• Our brand was actually unique.
• The idea was more concrete.
• I wish we came up with a compelling, concise tagline that encapsulated all this.
• I wish we had cool commercials about this responsiveness like the University of Phoenix.
• That the new logo does not have a custom mix ink color. Pick a PMS color.
• That the message was simpler. I know it’s getting there.
• WMU promote itself far better
• There was less focus on brand.
• Enforcing the school brand colors

9. Tuition/Finances: Wishes that we had more external financial support and that we could lower costs to students  

Column AC in the spreadsheet

Representative Comments

• I wish we would share that 71% of the general fund is from tuition compared to 20% 30 years ago with the public.
• I wish we could make higher education affordable to all.
• I wish the university made funding decisions based on this plan.
• I wish helping students financially was part of the conversation.
• There was more focus on the student debt crisis.

10. Curriculum/Program Considerations: Comments that contemplated the implications for curriculum and programs

Column F in the spreadsheet

Representative Comments

• I wish there were examples of the ways we support time needed for exploration and efficient timeline for graduation.
• Faculty training: design classes to meet the needs of generation Z.
• Wish we had more project-based learning
• Banish Scantrons. Rethink assessment... Focus on authenticity.
• We had the financial resources to lower class sizes.
• Had service-learning and experiential learning
• I wish we did not look at assessment as a burden but rather as a tool to help be better.

11. Faculty Engagement: A longing for more faculty engagement in the process  

Column J in the spreadsheet

Representative Comments

• We could engage more faculty.
• More faculty would get involved with student success.
• I wish faculty felt supported in holding up academic standards (Culturally).
• That young faculty were encouraged to be more involved
• I wish that university college had more academic heart to it to attract faculty.