ACHE 2018 Concurrent Sessions
Student Formation for Continuing Education: The Boston College Woods College Manresa Experience
Session Description
In fall 2017, the Woods College of Advancing Studies at Boston College designed and implemented a year long common student formation experience, the Manresa Experience. The inaugural program was designed to build community for our non-traditional undergraduate student population, expose students to Jesuit values, and increase retention and engagement.
Recognizing the outside commitments of non-traditional students enrolled at Woods, the program incorporated formational experiences mainly based in the classroom over the course of the academic year, with one out of class retreat. The experiences were set around a common read, The Red Bandanna, and related to one's sense of purpose and vocation.
Through purposeful activities and programming, the Manresa Experience provided a space for non-traditional students to engage in and foster their professional, personal and spiritual discernment.
This presentation will outline the implementation of the program and provide learnings, assessments and outcomes.
Primary Presenter
Claudia Pouravelis, Boston College, Woods College of Advancing Studies
Brief Bio
Claudia Pouravelis has served as the Associate Dean of Enrollment Management at Boston College's Woods College of Advancing Studies since June 2016. Prior to that she worked at Regis College, where she served as Associate Dean of Graduate Academic Affairs. She earned an EdD in Educational Leadership – Higher Education from Johnson & Wales University and MA and BA degrees from Boston College. Her research interests include adult learning theories, graduate education, and self-efficacy among graduate and adult students. She is an adjunct professor at the Woods College and has served in similar capacities at Merrimack and Regis. She has presented at national and regional conferences on enrollment management. and non-traditional students.