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Our Forester Future – The Transformational Student Experience Workstream Report

Our Promise

Lake Forest College is more than just an institution of higher learning - it is a tight-knit community committed to maximizing the potential of each student. Our enduring and distinctive bookmark logo features three acorns. Acorns symbolize growth, fresh starts, and above all, potential. When students choose Lake Forest College, they plant themselves in rich soil that supports germination, rooting, and the flourishing of their academic and personal development. With time, care, and the right conditions, Lake Forest College nurtures students into “Foresters,” who are well-rounded individuals prepared to lead and contribute within a global community.

Our Vision

Lake Forest College students thrive in intimate academic settings, possessing an innate curiosity about the world around them and a genuine desire to forge meaningful connections with others. As they embark on their academic, professional, and personal journeys, our students bring with them an open and curious mind primed for inquiry and discovery. Guided by the principles in our mission statement, Foresters embody the qualities of self-awareness, resilience, adaptability, entrepreneurship, versatility, and resourcefulness.

Our Approach

We provide students with carefully curated tools and pathways to explore their academic interests while gaining practical, real-world experience. From tailored first-year programs to ongoing advising, mentorship, and comprehensive career guidance, the Forester journey is facilitated by accessible and invested experts. Students benefit from a quintessential college experience on a safe and beautiful campus with direct access to Chicago. In this supportive environment our students develop professional and leadership skills both inside and outside the classroom Our unique location leverages opportunities “in the Forest” and “in the Loop” utilizing the full potential of community resources to help shape our students’ dreams.

Faculty serve not only as professors, but they are also life-long advisors, mentors, champions, and advocates often introducing students to new disciplines, concepts, and ideas. They encourage students to explore the intersections of fields of study as well as the breadth and depth of academic inquiry which comprise the powerful advantage of a liberal arts education. The Forester community is organically diverse and challenges students to learn, grow, and develop empathy for people of varying backgrounds and perspectives. Foresters learn to solve problems collectively, discuss matters amicably, and constantly work toward creating community and an environment in which people from all backgrounds feel a sense of belonging.

Our Goal

We cultivate students who will excel as critical thinkers, articulate communicators, and globally engaged community members. Through the work and dedication of faculty and staff, Foresters emerge as lifelong and agile learners equipped to thrive in ever-evolving workplaces, organizations, and communities. They are highly prepared for post-graduate careers and for life itself, becoming compassionate, culturally attuned, and engaged members of society. Graduation is not an ending, it is a celebration along the journey. Matriculating at Lake Forest College means you are a “Forester Forever.”

Signature Centers

Signature Centers Definition

“Signature” from the Latin; signare, "to sign” commonly refers to a distinctive mark with indexical properties. According to Charles Pierce, an indexical sign is a mark that indicates a logical relationship. When “signature” is used as a metaphor to describe Lake Forest College centers the idea is that these centers will indexically represent the institution at large. When people hear about it they should think about Lake Forest College. They should be representative of the mission of the college and a critical element of our Forester Philosophy. These are the centers that will not just draw students to enroll but shape the essence and feel of the college. They embody what it means to be a Forester. Resourced as college-wide centers, these opportunities weave together critical themes and elements that speak to what is distinctive about the College by:

Fostering critical thinking
Fostering persuasive communication
Fostering an appreciation for diversity
Fostering global awareness and community engagement
Fostering practical real world experiential learning

To ensure these centers remain signature to the College and worthy of being resourced as such, we evaluate if they continue to amplify our mission, resonate with our community, and anchored within the Foresters, Resources and Partnerships pillars. The specific elements that we have identified as being at the heart of our brand and therefore are essential to be a signature program are:

Distinct to the College
Connected to the College’s mission and the Transformational Student Experience
Accessible to all students attending the College
Structured into the fabric of the College’s four-year experience
Contributing to measurable outcomes of the College.

Ultimately, Signature Centers are uniquely Lake Forest College experiences that provide students with opportunities that are specific to the education we offer and provide the College with a competitive advantage in the higher education market. The group recommends a steering committee model as Signature Centers are identified and developed to ensure that these efforts are integrated across campus and incorporate the various stakeholders needed for these centers to be successful.

Lake Forest College Values-Based Decision-Making Guide

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Lake Forest College Values-Based Decision-Making Guide Draft

At Lake Forest College, all of our significant decisions should be intentional and justified; we wish to avoid arbitrary decision-making (or the appearance thereof). In that spirit, every decision should:

Account for the people of our community (faculty, staff, students, and friends of the College [Board of Trustees, Alumni, institutional partners, donors, parents and family, and the local community])
Safeguard the longevity of the institution
Uphold the mission of the College

To accomplish this goal, we suggest the following step-by-step process for values-based decision making. While it will take time to complete this process, we believe it will result in both better decision-making and greater community understanding of and faith in decisions that are made. While some decisions may need to be made quickly, on an urgent basis, this process could still be consulted and/or used to assess the decision in retrospect.

Fully articulate the issue being addressed. Does this issue concern an existing situation?
1. If so:
  1. Specify the issue. Is it:
    1. A failing system or policy?
    2. An outdated policy?
    3. A safety concern?
    4. An issue of inequity (historical or current)?
  2. What data shows that this is a significant issue?
  3. Which governance body, committee, or department oversees this issue?
  4. Is there a reasonable (and accessible) compromise to address the issue?
2. If not:
  1. What are the opportunity costs/benefits of raising the issue?
Identify options to address the issue and evaluate each option based on our values. For each option being considered, ask the following questions:
1. Does it benefit the College, reputationally or financially, in the long term? How so? Based on what evidence? If not, why is it still a worthwhile option?
2. Is it consistent with the College’s mission? Complete the mission statement checklist.
3. Does it significantly increase or decrease faculty and/or staff workload?
4. Has it been communicated clearly and persuasively from the beginning of the process?
5. What data/evidence supports this option? Have you considered and evaluated qualitative and quantitative data that might impact your decision-making process?
6. Have stakeholders been identified and given the opportunity to weigh in? If not, why?
7. What are the consequences of each option being considered?
  1. What are the budget implications of this decision (both short and long-term)? Have the budget manager/Business Office/other relevant offices been consulted?
  2. Who will be positively impacted by this decision? Who will be negatively impacted by this decision? Why? What data supports this assessment?
  3. What are the burdens of this decision, and who will likely bear them? What are the benefits of this decision, and who will likely enjoy them? Are these inequities acceptable? Why?
  4. What are the risks posed by this option? What is the “worst-case scenario” if the option fails?
  5. To what extent should economic considerations be the leading factor in this decision?
    1. Is this a case in which near-term monetary considerations should not be our first priority? If not, is this sustainable?
    2. To what extent will investing in this decision pay dividends down the road and/or fulfill other values?
    3. Is this a case in which we should allocate resources to an area/position even if, by some measures, the money could be “better used” elsewhere?
    4. Is this values-based decision marketable for fundraising opportunities?
As you prepare to make your decision or choose the best option, be ready to answer the following:
1. Who has been included in the discussion so far? Who has been omitted?
2. Is there a workable compromise that could consolidate some of the options?
3. Does the data/evidence support one option over the other(s), and if so, does the outcome conflict with values that we are not willing to compromise?
4. Which decision best honors both our values and the data?
5. Could some options be deferred rather than rejected?
6. Has a champion or leader of your chosen option been identified and notified?
Determine how the decision will be communicated to the College community.
1. Is the decision public or confidential? Why?
2. Will the decision-making process be archived? Why and how?
3. How should the people most impacted by this decision be notified of the decision?
4. How can any tensions or conflicts between areas/departments/programs related to this decision be minimized? Again, might some options be deferred rather than rejected?
What are the appropriate next steps in the decision-making process?
1. Is there to be an appeal process? If so, who will handle it? What are the governance processes/guidelines?
2. What data will you collect to assess the decision?
3. Most decisions will need to be reviewed regularly, for purposes of maintenance, sunsetting, or reporting of impact. Establish the schedule for this, and determine who should participate in the review.