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 Student Survey (total respondents = 54)

Questions: 

1. How relevant was the work you did for the SAT/ACT to the work you do at Bryn Mawr? What about any AP classes you took?

2. Were you aware of Bryn Mawr graduates' matriculation rate to graduate schools when you applied to BMC?

3. Considering our attachment to traditions and our academic rigor, how progressive/flexible do you think BMC is? Are you satisfied with this? Why or why not?

4. For juniors and seniors: You have chosen a major (or two!) at Bryn Mawr, but have you also learned to appreciate and understand majors/areas of study 'unlike' your own? For example, an economics major having an understanding of art history, or an English major appreciating mathematics...

Altogether, students had rather consistent answers for questions 1,3, and 4. The only questions where the answers were rather divided was on awareness of graduates' matriculation rate to graduate school. Out of the 53 respondents, 21 students said outright that they were not aware of the matriculation rate, while some said they knew it was pretty high, but that it wasnt the biggest factor in deciding to go to Bryn Mawr. Overall, however this survey showed that these students did not think that work for the SAT/ACTs was at all relevant to work at Bryn Mawr while the work they did in their AP/IB classes did have a great deal of relevance (or, at least prepared them for Bryn Mawr). They also felt that Bryn Mawr is progressive in the sense of the courses and the professors and that the tie to tradition was a large aspect of Bryn Mawr life, but this did not mean that this tie to tradition made its way into the classroom. Several students specifically mentioned this division between the progressive classroom versus the traditions that take place on the campus at other times. Those juniors and seniors that answered the survey also answered that they did have an appreciation for the other areas of study on campus, usually referencing some classes that they took outside of their major and enjoyed. That being said, there were several students that felt as if this was not necessarily a result of the requirements at Bryn Mawr and that their "understanding" of other subjects was not complete. 

The answers to these questions  show that Bryn Mawr's narrowing of its group of students to accept on the basis of test scores is not a seen as being positive. Such tests do not correlate to the work that is done at Bryn Mawr, rather it seems that a stress on classes taken in high school should be more important in considering applicants because this applies more to a Bryn Mawr education. The survey also shows that in the eyes of students, Bryn Mawr is able to strike a balance between maintaining traditions that are appreciated by students and staying relevant in the courses offered. While BMC's established ability to produce graduates that go onto graduate education is impressive, it is not something that is overwhelmingly considered by students, it seems appreciated but not always the most important aspect of Bryn Mawr. Finally, this survey shows that Bryn Mawr has let students gain an understanding of various areas of study, thus accomplishing the main mission of a liberal arts education. In considering how to rework the requirements, this will be an important factor to consider because it will be important to balance an ability to think across disciplines with new requirement categories.

Professor Survey (total respondents =  9)

1. When did you start working at Bryn Mawr?

2. Did Bryn Mawr's reputation as a fairly prestigious institution- i.e. academically rigorous, intellectually esteemed, Olmsted-architecture campus- influence your decision to work there?

3. In teaching at BMC, do students typically mention experiences from outside the classroom, or do they tend to stick to terminology/materials that is specific to the course?Do you encourage one or the other?

4. Besides specific "factual" or material-based information taught in the course, what skills do you most hope students will leave the course having gained?

All but one professor surveyed have worked at Bryn Mawr for less than a decade. For 6 professors, Bryn Mawr's rigor was a large factor in their decision to work at Bryn Mawr while 2 professors said it was not and one said it was "iffy" (although BMCs reputation as being intellectually esteemed did draw them to Bryn Mawr). Professors generally try to encourage students to bring in outside experiences to the class discussion, but they say that it depends on what course they are teaching/how willing the students are to do so. The two main things that professors want students to be able to do other than learn facts are to think critically, and to question/be skeptical about current understandings of things.