Meredith Bunch received her bachelor of arts degree in Spanish and secondary education from Bradley University in 1996. She’s currrently working on her master degree of organizational management at the University of Phoenix, which she plans to complete next Spring.
Bunch began working for Midstate College as an instructor of general education and Spanish in 1996. She worked actively in student retention and institutional research while she was an instructor for the college.
Bunch became director of Enrollment Management in 1998. Her duties included responsibility for marketing, admissions, and retention.
She is currently serving as vice president of Midstate College. Among her varied responsibilities, Bunch is the coordinator of Web-based education and the director of marketing for Midstate College.
Tell us about your background, schools attended, family, etc.
I’ve lived in the Peoria area my entire life, attended grade school in Peoria and Germantown Hills, and participated in many activities while attending Metamora Township High School including chorus, school plays, Spanish Club, and the International Thespian Society.
I began my college studies directly after high school at Bradley University. My studies came to an abrupt stop when I was blessed with a son during my junior year of college.
I thought I needed to focus on parenting and working full-time to support our new family. I soon learned, however, I would need to complete my education to achieve the accomplishments I imagined for myself. Balancing family, work, and school I met the challenges and finished my degree.
You earned your bachelor of arts degree in Spanish education. Who or what influenced your initial interest in Spanish?
My interest was inspired by my dynamic high school Spanish teacher, Linda Fehl. She was an excellent teacher and a positive role model for me. I fell in love with the beauty of the Spanish language and the richness of the Spanish culture when I traveled to Spain for a short-term exchange program in high school. In college, my Spanish major remained a constant even as my second major changed from international studies to secondary education.
One of the most enjoyable experiences I have had was studying Spanish in Guadalajara, Mexico, for one Summer during college.
Once I began teaching Spanish, I felt very natural in that position. I love the experience of watching that "light bulb" go on when a student gains complete understanding of a new lesson she or he is trying to master. That element of teaching is completely irreplaceable with any other kind of work—it is very rewarding.
Tell us about Midstate College — its history, programs and degrees offered, etc.
Midstate College began under the ownership of G.W. Brown in 1888 as Brown’s Business College of Commerce. The college was established to train Civil War veterans in business and to assist them in their civilian lives.
Brown continued ownership of the college until 1913, when the college was sold to Mr. Reed. In 1960, Brown’s Business College was purchased by A.R. Beard, Don Beard, and Arline H. Bunch. The name was then changed to Midstate College of Commerce.
In 1965, the Bunch family took complete ownership of the school and changed the name to Midstate College.
The college originally offered diploma programs, ranging from six months to two years in length, with the focus of preparing students for employment. The college offered diplomas in business administration, accounting, and professional secretarial programs. Specialty programs offered included travel and tourism, fashion merchandising, and speedwriting. In 1971, the Illinois Board of Higher Education approved Midstate to offer the Associate of Applied Science Degree.
In 1976, the college received candidate status for accreditation, and in 1982 Midstate College became fully accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
Today’s Midstate College is a greatly expanded version of its 1888 predecessor. Midstate College now offers a bachelor of business administration degree, fully accredited by North Central.
The college has been relocated to a more modern facility in North Peoria to provide a more accessible and comfortable environment.
With substantial investments in technology and personnel, Midstate College has managed to stay on the cutting edge of change in both the business world as well as the educational community.
Midstate College currently offers associate of applied science degree programs including: administrative professional, business administration, business computer accounting, computer and information science, court reporting, medical assisting, and paralegal studies.
Midstate is proud to have one of the few court reporting programs approved by the National Court Reporting Association in the state of Illinois as well as the only medical assisting program in the area accredited by The Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs.
Our computer and information science program is designed to offer students the opportunity to specialize in networking, programming, Web design, and software applications.
The bachelor of business administration degree was recently expanded to offer students the chance to specialize in a particular area of interest. Business students can add concentrations in financial institution management, accounting, health care management, and computer and information science. While our strong commitment to quality remains a constant, the college continues to change and grow. In 113 years, Midstate College has not only managed to survive, but it has grown into a modern four-year institution which continues to excel at meeting the needs of it students.
What makes Midstate College unique from other area colleges and training facilities?
I believe the two main characteristics that set Midstate College apart from other area colleges is our commitment to personal attention, and focus on serving adult learners. Because Midstate College is a small, private institution, students receive the assistance and attention they need from the moment they meet the college staff. We are dedicated to meeting the needs of our students and that process starts by helping them begin their educational programs with one-on-one assistance through the entire enrollment process.
Class sizes are kept small, which enables an interactive and supportive learning environment. Students remark time and time again that the level of personal attention they receive at our institution is unlike any other college they have attended.
I am personally moved each time I hear our students speak at graduation about how the caring, family-like atmosphere of the college helped them through the challenges of completing their education while balancing work and family commitments. It gives me a tremendous sense of pride to know the people within our organization are so instrumental in helping students successfully create new opportunities in their lives.
Midstate College serves adult learners primarily, so our course schedules and academic programs reflect the needs of those students and focus on preparation for their careers. Flexible scheduling allows students to go to school full-time or part-time while juggling other responsibilities. Our students can attend class during the day, night, weekends, or over the Internet.
All of our academic programs are designed specifically with the development of the student’s career skills as a primary objective. Our associate degree programs begin with a course to prepare students for success in college, including the development of study skills, time management, goal setting, and organizational skills.
At the end of the program, students take a course to polish their interviewing skills, resume writing techniques, and professional etiquette. It is also in this course where students complete an assessment portfolio of their work, compiled as they progress through their academic programs. The assessment portfolio enables the college to continually assess the level of learning achieved in the academic programs, but also gives the students an excellent sample of their work to present to prospective employers. Midstate College offers students lifetime job placement services upon graduation. Our students find this service to be of tremendous value as they seek to begin new careers.
Our bachelor of business administration degree program has been specifically designed for adult learners seeking to build upon previous education. Many of our associate degree students continue on to complete their bachelor’s degree at Midstate College.
We are also finding the program fits the needs of many people in the community who previously completed their associate’s degree and are seeking to further their education while maintaining full-time employment.
How closely does Midstate College work with area employers—in designing training requirements and in job placement?
Midstate College works with area employers in several ways. One simple policy at Midstate that seems to help employers encourage their employees to continue their education is our tuition reimbursement policy. Many companies offer tuition reimbursement to employees after they successfully complete a course. What makes this benefit less appealing to some students is the fact they need to have the tuition fees up front at most institutions.
At Midstate, students with tuition reimbursement from their employer can wait until they complete the term before paying tuition. This minimizes any out-of-pocket expense for the students and really encourages them to step back into the classroom.
In relation to curriculum design, the college consults with advisory boards regarding the latest trends and skills needed for specific career needs in the community. The college conducts many employer surveys, as well as outreach surveys, to determine the level of need for our academic programs as well as employer satisfaction with our graduates. At times, the college works with area businesses to develop specific educational programs to meet the needs of employers. Because Midstate is a small, private college, we can quickly implement certain courses or programs for employers within a relatively short amount of time.
Many of the programs at Midstate have internships with area businesses that keep a constant flow of feedback on learning outcomes. The lifetime job placement service we offer our students is another great link between our college and area businesses. We receive job orders from various businesses in the Peoria area on a weekly basis. Of course, we are always looking to expand our relations with area businesses in any way that will assist our graduates and academic programs.
Who is a typical student? Age? Degree sought? Full-time/part-time?
The typical student at Midstate College is an adult who is balancing schoolwork, family life, and employment. Although the average age of our students is about 27-years-old, our students range in age from 18 to 45-plus years old. We have a very diverse student population. I believe about 60 percent of our students attend full-time.
Currently, the largest enrollment is in the business administration department. Many of our graduates from other areas of the college decide to continue their education with us in the bachelor degree program.
Of course, our computer and information science program is continually growing. Many people who are already established in their careers with advanced degrees are attracted to the shorter-term diploma programs in computer and information science because of the leverage the skills give them in advancing in their career or opening new avenues. We are also seeing a larger enrollment in our medical assistant program as more medical establishments are seeking the cross-functional skills of certified medical assistants in clinical and office settings.
You recently returned from a trip to Russia to present "Implementation of Web-Based Education: An Organization-Wide Paradigm Shift." How were you chosen to be the presenter? What did you learn from that experience?
My colleague, Diane Ludy, director of computer services, and I wrote and submitted a paper on the organizational changes that had taken place as a result of implementing Web-based education at Midstate College — to be considered for presentation at the Telematica 2001 conference in St. Petersburg, Russia. Our paper was selected for publication, and in June I presented the paper. The conference included more than 300 participants from 20 different countries. We were honored to win an award for the best presentation of the international program.
On a professional level, it was very interesting to learn how institutions in different countries are handling distributed and Web-based education.
We learned that the development of our Web-based education program has been very aggressive in comparison to many larger universities with greater resources. We began to see the seeds of international collaboration, but I believe it will only grow as quickly as educators are able to shift from the older paradigms of traditional, classroom-based education to new possibilities.
Distributed education is going to be more widely pursued and developed as educators move toward utilizing technological resources in ways that will enhance academic collaboration and learning across geographical boundaries.
When did your interest develop for Web-based education? How do you see it changing traditional teaching models?
My interest in Web-based education was sparked about three years ago. I had heard of other institutions delving into their first attempts of Web-based education, but no clear-cut paths had surfaced — no one was even sure where to start. After participating in some online courses while working on my master’s degree, I began to understand the greater philosophy of how quality learning could take place online. Our program launched as our organization gained personnel with the technical expertise needed and a shared vision of the program. By this Fall we will have developed more than 50 courses online.
The next phase of this program includes putting all of our student services online and going through the accreditation process to be able to offer all of our academic programs online. Our goal is to have a comprehensive presence on the Internet that goes beyond offering basic services to delivering the same personal touch we are known for in our traditional classroom-based environment.
I see Web-based education having a tremendous impact on traditional teaching models. Of course, some of the basic elements of student learning and the value of face-to-face interaction will remain constant. Web-based education will never completely replace the traditional learning environment for those students who desire that learning environment or who lack the self-discipline Web-based education demands.
Web-based education shifts the traditional teaching model by moving the student to the center of the learning process through a high level of interaction and active participation in the learning process. Specifically, in an asynchronous learning environment, the student becomes the driver of the process, rather than a passenger waiting to see where the instructor will lead.
Students must have the initiative to access the information and to actively participate in classroom discussion. In this environment, it is quite impossible for the student to sit in the "back of classroom" and coast through the class. Because it is a cooperative learning environment, the instructor brings knowledge to the class but is not expected to be the only contributor. I believe this type of learning environment is also more adaptable to different learning styles.
If you could reform any part of education in America today, what areas would you focus on, and what changes need to be made?
Well, like many Americans, I feel there are many changes that need to be made throughout our educational system. I worry about the low salaries of our teachers in the public educational system. So many talented educators move on to higher paying corporate positions over teaching simply for economic reasons.
If we want our children to be well educated, we must be willing to invest our money in their education as well as their futures.
Overall, I think we need to change the way we look at education. We have fallen into so many patterns over time, that many students are systematically put through the system or fall through the cracks.
I am not trying to discredit the hard work so many educators put forth every time they step into the classroom. It’s just that we expect little children to fit into a rigid system we established for them, rather than creating a system that naturally encourages and supports the child’s innate desire to learn and explore.
Maria Montessori was a strong advocate of this type of education for young children. I believe we can take the same principals and apply them to education beyond the early years.
Education should provide a supportive environment where students are active learners, working with a strong foundation of skills that allow them to follow their own drive to seek information and promote their own learning. Although that may sound very lofty, I think it comes back to continually rethinking the way we approach education.
Education tends to fall back on "the way it has always been done" but I think, just like anything else, we can always improve what we are doing.
What are the major obstacles students encounter in receiving an advanced, quality education? How do you help them overcome those obstacles?
I believe the major obstacles students encounter in receiving quality education include a lack of confidence, hectic schedules, and financial concerns. When adults consider re-entering school, they often doubt their abilities, especially if they’ve been out of school for a significant length of time. Our admissions department is dedicated to working with them one-on-one to determine what the appropriate program and schedule will be for that individual. People often just need someone to take the time to answer all of their questions and reassure them they will not be out of place returning to school. In regard to schedules, we try to meet the needs of our students with flexible scheduling. We also try to make sure they are carrying an appropriate course load for balance with the rest of their responsibilities.
Midstate College handles the financial needs of students a little differently than most colleges. We sit down one-on-one with our students and take them through the financial assistance application step-by-step. At the end of their personal financial assistance interview, students often have a solid idea of what type of aid is available to them. This service is a tremendous help for those individuals who would really like to return to school but fear they would not be able to afford it. Many students are very surprised at the amount of assistance available to them.
What hobbies, interests do you have outside of your career?
Outside of my career first and foremost I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. I am well aware that life slips by very quickly, and it is extremely important to make time for my loved ones.
I like to go hiking, camping, and fishing whenever I can. I also enjoy reading, writing, and listening to music. I consider myself a lifelong learner. I am always seeking knowledge to help me improve my life or contribute to the lives of others.
What is your greatest challenge? Your most rewarding experience?
My greatest challenge is maintaining balance in my life. I continually strive to improve my work as well as my personal life. I strive to do my best in everything I attempt, but I often take on more than what is feasibly possible to accomplish. While this very element is the essence of my drive, achieving balance in my life is a constant challenge.
My most rewarding experience personally is being a mother and nurturing my son’s growth. Single parenting has been a challenge in itself, but the rewards have been beyond measure.
Professionally, I have enjoyed committing my career to the continued improvement of our institution and the education we provide. The people who make up our organization, staff and students, make my job very rewarding.
We have an incredible organization of individuals dedicated to quality education. It is very rewarding for me to know we make a difference in the lives of our students. TPW