Each year, Northwestern University’s Higher Education Administration and Policy program hosts a special on-campus event—Preview Days—for newly admitted students who have committed through the early admission process.  The event offers students a unique chance to secure internships, meet with program faculty, staff, and alumni, and socialize with current students and potential future classmates.

Preview Days began with a welcome breakfast and a formal presentation featuring information about the distinctive features of the master's degree in higher education and administration (MSHE), including job placement, internship experiences and the master's project.

The students heard from an alumni panel that included Milvia Rodriguez (MS15), academic advising and financial aid specialist at the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy;  Corinne Smith (MS16), assistant director of undergraduate admissions at Yale University; Aaron Hosmon (MS07), associate athletics director at Northwestern; and Jenny Puchtel (MS11), director of change management at Northwestern.

Later that evening, they attended a poster session where current students presented their in-progress master’s project research. Students’ research included topics such as financial aid policy, retention strategies for first-year students, and study abroad.  Current MSHE student Michael Ricker (pictured above, at right) looked at how the culture of institutions and departments affects faculty academic freedom practices at a large, private, four-year university in the Midwest.  

An outing in Evanston with the Higher Education Student Association followed this session.  

On the second day of Previews Days, students attended a panel that focused on housing options and the benefits of being a student at Northwestern. Featured panelists included current students Nick Zarazúa, Hana Johnson, Val Smith, and Domenic Lamberti.

We very much look forward to formally welcoming the new class of 2017-18 this summer and fall!