The Changing Faces of Siena
Non-traditional Students are Today’s Majority
Siena Takes Graduate Study to
Lansing Diocese Teachers
Starting this fall, Siena Heights will begin offering its
graduate teacher education curriculum to elementary and secondary school teachers at Catholic
schools in the Lansing Diocese. Through a
partnership negotiated with Dorita Wotiska, OP ‘60,
Diocesan school superintendent and chairperson of
the Department of Education and Catechesis (and
a member of the Siena Heights Board of Trustees),
Siena Heights will take its graduate education
program off-campus for the first time, offering
one course each this fall, winter and spring at a
convenient location in the Diocese. The first class
will be “Exceptional Children and Youth in the Regular Classroom,” a topic of interest to many of the
700 Diocesan teachers, according to Peggy Treece
Myles, director of graduate counselor and teacher
education at Siena Heights. Over time, Siena will
offer some classes on a standard semester format
(one night a week for 15 weeks) and others on an
intensive weekend format (Friday-Saturday for five
non-consecutive weekends).
The Positive Impact of the
Theological Studies Program
In January, 21 men were admitted to candidacy
for ordination as deacons through the Diocese of
Lansing’s permanent diaconate program. Of the
21 candidates, 19 were participants in Siena’s
Theological Studies Program, according to Jodie
Screes, OP ’53, coordinator of the Program.
Through the Theological Studies Program, Siena
Heights provides the academic portion of Diocesan
formation. Most of the deacon aspirants in the
group completed the academic portion of formation
together. Congratulations to these “Siena Saints!”
By Lynne Redman Hill, Director of Alumni Relations
ere you a student at one of Siena’s seven degree-completion centers? You
are not alone. In fact, non-traditional students are now the majority at Siena
Heights!
Approximately 2,000 students are currently enrolled at Siena Heights University. Of
that number, about 900 attend our off-campus centers. Of the 1,100 students attending
classes on the Adrian campus, 300 are non-traditional age students. This means that the
majority of the current student population are “non-trads:” older than the average 18-23
year-old and probably balancing school with work, home and family.
It is not unusual for a non-traditional student to feel less connected to the university than
a student who is involved in campus activities on a daily basis. How can the university
connect better with these students and nurture that relationship after they graduate?
This is a question Siena Heights is studying with support from the Teagle Foundation.
One of our first steps is to better understand the needs of adult learners, both as students
and later as alumni. We hope to learn a lot from an alumni survey as well as by speaking directly with alumni and students about their feelings for Siena Heights, their lives
in general, and their experiences as non-traditional students.
In an effort to connect with future alumni while they are still students, I and others from
the advancement staff have been visiting all the degree-completion centers and meeting with stude