Leopard Experience committee formed

Leopards, are you ready to be part of an important, new experience?

Chaired by Brian Samble, dean of students and Tim Cox, dean of advising and co-curricular programs, Leopard Experience will consult faculty, students, and key offices on campus through focused outreach—as well as through open forums for faculty, staff, and students—with a goal of developing a blueprint for a shared student experience by articulating mile markers for each class year. The Leopard experience will ultimately show how Lafayette develops leaders and prepares students for career development and academic success—both inside and outside the classroom.

What is Leopard Experience?

Leopard Experience is charged to chart a course for a four-year student success experience at Lafayette in and beyond the classroom curriculum. This process will reflect joint missions and strategic directions of Campus Life and Advising and Co-Curricular Programs; articulate tangible, measurable outcomes; define milestone rituals and events that are significant for all four years; examine policies and practices that can facilitate accelerated sense of belonging and reduce barriers to degree completion; consider ways to enhance inclusion along the rites of passage associated with each class year; and create a blueprint for how the College can communicate with internal and external partners about the student experience and how it advances student success. 

Why is Leopard Experience important?

As Lafayette celebrates a complete year of in-person, residential learning, the moment provides an important pause to reflect on our values and how those values are fulfilled in the student experience in and beyond the classroom. Lafayette is a distinct community with traditions, annual programs, and exceptional support initiatives that enable student success. The moment is ripe for a fresh look at how the various initiatives aimed to enhance belonging and success interact and complement one another in a coherent, cohesive story of the student experience at Lafayette.

These invitations to dialogue with the committee about what makes Lafayette distinct and enables student success in and beyond the classroom will occur throughout late spring and summer. This will be an organic, iterative process. 

What are the expected Leopard Experience outcomes?

• Develop a blueprint for a shared student experience by articulating mile markers for each class year.
• Propose changes to policies and practices that will improve students’ social and academic experiences.
• Establish metrics to assess satisfaction, belonging, and success that inform continued quality enhancement. 
• Foster an iterative and inclusive process of sharing ideas across students’ four years.

More information on Leopard Experience will be shared soon, so please stay tuned for further information!