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LANDMARK COLLEGE SITE VISIT REPORT
MAY 17, 2023
Landmark College Participants:
Dr. Peter Eden, President
Lisa Chabot, Director of Grants and Sponsored Programs
Dr. Adam Lalor, Vice President for Neurodiversity Research and Innovation Carroll Pare, Senior Director of Online and Intersession Enrollment Michael Stefanowicz, Vice President for Enrollment Management
Johnson Scholarship Foundation:
Bobby Krause, CEO
Lady Hereford, Program Specialist King Jordan, JSF Disability Consultant
Landmark College is in Year 3 of a 5-year matching grant in support of its Online Dual Enrollment Program. The program brings Landmark courses to students with learning disabilities at partnering high schools across the United States. The program helps these students prepare for the transition to college and earn a few college credits. Landmark must raise an increasing amount each year to qualify for JSF’s annual match of $200,000, and it has been successful in doing so for the first 3 years. This visit was a chance to find out how the program is going.
The visit began in a second-floor conference room in the administration building. Peter Eden began by introducing himself. He previously worked in the biotech industry and came to Landmark College 12 years ago to be a professor. He spoke about the challenges students with disabilities face leaving home for the first time to attend Landmark or any other college. Dual Enrollment enables students to receive the support system of their high school while getting a taste of the college experience.
Michael Stefanowicz oversees all admission functions and the financial aid team. Caroll Pare has been at Landmark for 22 years and now serves in admissions. Lisa Chabot joined Landmark 4 years ago as Director of Grants and Sponsored Programs. Adam Lalor is an educational psychologist who oversees 4 departments.
The Dual Enrollment program had 289 participants in the last academic year, which is below the 650 initially anticipated as the goal for Year 3. Peter explained that enrollment flattened out because of staffing primarily. The program is also part of an overall restructuring of Landmark’s suite of digital offerings that are now known as LC Online. Included in LC Online is a program called College Start that started during
the pandemic and is aimed at high school graduates who need help getting into or returning to college. That program served 20 students last year.
One noteworthy outcome of the Dual Enrollment program has been the formation of a
Bay Area Success Center outside of San Francisco. When the 32 students served by the
Bay Area Success Center and the College Start students are included, the total number of students served came to 341. Out of that group, 43 students received scholarships totaling $122,555. Efforts are under way to increase the staffing for LC Online and do more outreach to schools and school districts.
The Bay Area Success Center is based at a school, Stanbridge Academy, and serves students’ social as well as academic needs. Peter said there should more success centers around the country, and there is a potential for establishing microcampuses in the future. The main problem would be hiring enough staff to keep the centers operating. Efforts are ongoing to hire some of the college’s own graduates for roles like these.
This brought up a question. When students are hired to work at Landmark, where do they live? Because there is limited housing in Putney, Landmark has invested in some on-campus housing for faculty and staff. Others choose to live in neighboring communities and commute. Currently on-campus student enrollment is capped at 480, though Peter sees
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