U.S. News: You’ve overseen astonishing growth in enrollment and campus size. Do you have an optimal size in mind for the number of students?
Qubein: Yes. We want to stay a mid-major school focused on each student receiving an extraordinary education in an inspiring environment with caring people.
- We are committed to small size classes (20-25) with full-time faculty (no teaching assistants or grad students).
- 7,000 is our goal. We are at 6,600 now.
U.S. News: What’s the philosophy behind High Point’s emphasis on teaching life skills?
Qubein: Our world is changing quickly and becoming more globally competitive.
- Given artificial intelligence and other technological transformations, we believe that students must be versed in all matters dealing with communication, leadership, team building and more.
- They must know how to enter the workforce already equipped to excel from the start and provide appreciated value to their employers and clients.
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U.S. News: We are of course intrigued by the fine-dining restaurants and the airplane cabin on campus. What can you tell me about their place in a High Point education?
Qubein: These get some attention but they are minute elements in our life skills ecosystem. They are tools in the students’ vast arsenal of skills.
- We have a cross section of an airplane to enhance students’ ability to engage in intelligent and thoughtful conversations with other passengers – with competence and confidence.
- We have several food-service facilities that teach etiquette, protocol and global education. We feature various countries each month, require students to make reservations, disallow use of cell phones while dining, and have students be interviewed periodically by potential employers to practice the experience. We are proud that 99% of our graduates get a job, go to graduate school or start a business within 180 days of graduation. [The national average is around 82%.]
U.S. News: Do you think the pandemic energized some students to go for “life skills” since it was so disruptive to their socialization? Are its effects still with us?
Qubein: Pandemic effects, sadly, will linger for a while. Today’s students were isolated socially and impacted emotionally. Life skills for us have always been an important focus.
- Parents want their students to get a solid education, prepare themselves for an ever-changing world, provide outstanding value wherever they are planted, and enjoy a life filled with success and framed with significance.
- Employers want to thrive in a tough environment, which means they need top-notch college graduates who are resilient, committed and equipped with knowledge, skill and experience to propel them upward.
- We at High Point University created, developed and continually execute on a vertical ecosystem laden with proven strategies to help our graduates achieve their full potential in life.
- It isn’t a branding statement. It is a thoughtfully and innovatively created system to ensure profoundly dynamic results. Employers clamor to hire our graduates.
