The
Alpha
Project
Week
|
The Alpha Project: "TAP" A Vision for Phi Theta Kappa Beyond 2001 |
 |
By Rod Risley
First published in 1999/2000 3.5 PLUS
The Alpha Project: Embracing the most valued Traditions of the past, we engage in an Assessment of Phi Theta Kappa to develop a comprehensive plan for Progress which reveals our highest aspirations for Phi Theta Kappa in the new millennium.
Throughout the world's long history, the concept of a millennium, or a period of 1,000 years, has been a part of the culture of many diverse civilizations, including some that flourished in pre-historical times. The advent of a new millennium has always been an event of great magnitude-as the year 1,000 approached, for example, many people feared the world would end. As we near the year 2,000, however, the advent of a new millennium is seen as a glorious new opportunity for progressive change.
Phi Theta Kappa has identified "The New Millennium: The Past As Prologue" as the Honors Study Topic for 1999-2000, and has prepared a comprehensive program of millennium studies to aid our chapters' examination of this idea. The Society also views the coming of a new century and a new millennium as a milestone in our own existence, and therefore a time for reflection, reassessment, and perhaps even realignment.
At the time of our Society's founding, 81 years ago, an assembly of college presidents shaped Phi Theta Kappa out of the mold of an existing prestigious honor society, Phi Beta Kappa, which at that time, 1918, had been in existence 142 years. The chartering institutions of Phi Theta Kappa were women's two-year college liberal arts institutions, exclusively aimed at preparing students to transfer. Recognition for these students' academic excellence was provided at the end of the two-year college experience, following the pattern of Phi Beta Kappa. No programs or services were provided to the members at that time, or for some years thereafter.
Today, however, Phi Theta Kappa and Phi Beta Kappa follow diverging paths as they fulfill their missions of lauding academic excellence. Phi Beta Kappa continues to tap students as they prepare to graduate; and most programs and services are directed toward members who have themselves become college faculty. But Phi Theta Kappa, as we know, awards membership early in a student's two-year college career, and has established a profusion of programs designed to enhance the members' college experience, and a variety of services to assist the members as they continue the learning process.
In other words, Phi Theta Kappa over the years evolved into a nurturing organization rather than a vehicle for providing recognition exclusively. This alteration reflects the philosophy of comprehensive community colleges: the mission of the institutions we served broadened, as did the base of our student membership.
During the 1970s and early 1980s, Phi Theta Kappa reached a plateau in terms of growth and programs. As the decade of the '90s heralded the coming of a new century, Phi Theta Kappa, at age 73, engaged in its first long-range planning effort. Chapter members, advisors, regions, and college presidents conducted an internal and external analysis of Phi Theta Kappa to reaffirm the tenets of Phi Theta Kappa's mission, to give the staff direction in terms of priorities, and to give substance to a vision of what we hoped the organization could become. The resulting report, Phi Theta Kappa 2001, led to Phi Theta Kappa emphasizing Scholarship First ... the creation of Nota Bene literary honors anthology, the Faculty Development Conference, a strengthened Honors Program and Honors Institute, initiatives to provide new scholarship opportunities for students, such as The Guistwhite Scholarships, All-USA Academic Teams, the All-State Programs, and the Transfer Database of members used for marketing purposes by senior institutions nationwide, and finally the creation of new benefits for members, beginning with the Golden Key membership pin, now presented to all new inductees.
Obviously, this strategy developed in the early '90s has worked. Phi Theta Kappa has continued to grow, because membership is making a very real contribution to the lives of community college students. Our growth is not only in numbers, but in scope as well. Our efforts to expand our programs and services have brought us in contact with many well-known associations within higher education, thereby increasing the level of awareness of the Society.
Recently at a conference of Honor Society leaders, a panel of academic deans from senior institutions stated that if honor societies exist to provide only a rite of passage for students, they will find themselves irrelevant in the minds of those same students and very soon out of business. Many honor society leaders reported at the time steadily declining membership, except Phi Theta Kappa. Why?
I believe it to be because, since the '90s, Phi Theta Kappa has operated on the concept of the student as a consumer. It is our philosophy that an honor society should do more than provide recognition: It should provide as well opportunities for personal growth as stated in our mission. That is why we offer the programs and services that we do. But even as we celebrate our achievements, we must avoid the trap of complacency. The status quo no longer has any meaning in this technologically driven world where it is redefined daily.
To secure our vision for the future, Phi Theta Kappa has launched its second long-range planning initiative, The Alpha Project: Traditions, Assessment and Progress. This study involves every constituency of our Society, and we also benefit from contributions.
As we embark upon a journey into the new millennium, we embrace the emphasis of the Honors Study Program by studying our past to determine the direction of our Journey in the next decade. The Alpha Project through its acronym subtly suggests our return to the beginning: TAP into the Traditions of the past, define our Aspirations of what we hope for Phi Theta Kappa to be in the future, and develop a plan for Progress toward our goal.
- What will Phi Theta Kappa look like in the year 2010?
- Will chapters operate as they do now?
- Will more advisors be adjunct professors than full-time?
- Will we have an international convention?
- If we have a convention, will it be in a city or conducted over the internet?
- Do we need two awards programs, Five-Star and Hallmark?
- What benefits of membership will be provided?
- Will every member have a scholarship to attend the senior institution of their choice?
- Will regional organizations exist?
- Should all regions operate on the same calendar and offer similar awards programs?
- Should Phi Theta Kappa offer a conference for students to present and defend research papers?
- Will students have time to participate in chapter programs or will they want only services, e.g. job bank listing, on-line internet resume postings, electronic news aimed at giving them a competitive advantage in the job market?
- What is the role of the technical student in Phi Theta Kappa?
- Are the same benefits of membership that appeal to a transfer student equally appealing to a student who does not plan to transfer?
- What will be the role of an honor society in community colleges in the future?
- And what about those virtual colleges?
- Will we have virtual members, too?
These are the hard questions which must be asked. Why do we do what we do? Just because we have done it in the past is not a reason to continue doing it in the future or we may find our organization irrelevant as the dean suggested.
The Alpha Project is a year-long initiative. We began at the 81st International Convention in Anaheim. We seek and invite contributory ideas from all internal constituencies. We survey and draw on our newly developed external partnerships, such as those with the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Science Foundation, USA Today, Phi Beta Kappa, and others. We convene groups of past Society leaders to determine what they felt made Phi Theta Kappa successful and ask what they hope it will become. We assemble college presidents to glean ideas of the future directions of community colleges, and see how Phi Theta Kappa best fits those directions. And we appoint a National Commission to analyze the data, and give shape to a vision. We will unveil the new vision at the International Convention in Orlando, appropriately in the year 2000.
Throughout the process, we will affirm our raison d'etre, listen to the voices of those who care deeply for this organization and who will by ownership invest in its future. Only through collaboration can we become the organization we hope to be. This will be an exciting time, a once in a lifetime opportunity ... to give shape to Phi Theta Kappa in the new millennium. We will be inviting your comments.
Join us in this, the newest of our Journeys together. You may contact Phi Theta Kappa Executive Director Rod A. Risley at 601.984.3518 or rod.risley@ptk.org.