[nagdu] the purpose of grad councils/alumni associations

[Tracy Carcione]

I tend to agree with Raven, that graduate councils mainly exist to
communicate the school's positions to other graduates, and not so much
client ideas to the schools.
TSE doesn't have any such thing, but GDB started one when I was still
there.  It seems to me that the council members are approved by the
school, and that the school sets the agenda the council will have input
into.  I heard that, in the beginning, the council tried to speak about
something not on the school's agenda, and were pretty much told to shut up
and not meddle in things outside their school-defined sphere.
I can't imagine the GDB graduate council bringing up ownership.  Most GDB
clients I've talked to seem very invested in the school's position, and
act as if the only people who want to own their dog are either abusers or
egomaniacs.
Tracy


> Yep, starting another topic because my other one was already a novel,
> and well, this is a different matter that needs some discussing.
>
> What is the purpose of graduate councils, alumni associations, or
> whatever your guide dog school calls it?
>
> From my experience, it seems these group of graduates serve as
> advisers who communicate school logistics, policies, standards, and
> recommendations to the students. I've never served on GEB's grad
> council, and don't intend to. But what I would like to know is if
> these grads' duties includes communicating the needs and wants of
> grads to the school?
> I mean, yes, schools conduct exit interviews and ask what could we do
> better or change. But let's step beyond the exit interview. Are these
> grad councils an avenue for making our voices heard by the schools we
> attend? And also, how much impact do they have in changing procedures
> in policies? Because if they have little impact, then where do we
> start? Who do we talk to about the devaluing practice of not granting
> immediate ownership? Who do we communicate with to make change to
> other policies that are established in the schools?
> ?
>
> Donors and puppy-raisers should have a say in some policies, but
> graduates should have a large influence as well. We are donors and
> puppy-raisers, too. And even if some of us are not, we should have
> input in what we expect out of programs and the products/services they
> provide. The sighted donors and puppy-raisers are not consumers, so
> their voices should not trump ours. How do we make our voices equally
> heard, or louder than the rest?
> --
> Raven
> Founder of 1AM Editing & Research
> www.1am-editing.com
>
> You are valuable because of your potential, not because of what you
> have or what you do.
>
> Naturally-reared guide dogs
> https://groups.google.com/d/forum/nrguidedogs
>
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