Serving the People, Not Just the Program

Longwood University Dean of Admissions Jason Ferguson ‘12, a graduate of the Master of Science in Counselor Education program, says Longwood sets itself apart by individualizing the student experience. Ferguson has made it his mission to continue doing so for future Lancers.

“People care about the entire experience, not just the act of going through the motions to obtain a degree,” Ferguson said. “Even in the world of virtual meetings and online experiences, Longwood has not forgotten that we are busy people who thrive in an intimate setting with caring and supportive faculty.”

Ferguson’s relationship with the university extends back several decades. As an undergraduate at Hampden-Sydney College, he took classes at Longwood and appreciated the small class size and involved faculty.  

After graduating from Hampden-Sydney, he accepted a position in his undergraduate alma mater’s admissions office. As he grew in that position and began to look at graduate programs, his search took him no further than the other side of town.

 “I received tremendous guidance from faculty members who understood what was going on in my life,” he said. “I found them to be very demanding but also very supportive as well. They always had my best interests at heart and were there every step of the way to assist me.”

With an adaptable schedule and professors who drew on real-world clinical experience, Longwood created an environment where Ferguson excelled.

“There are many options for graduate programs out there. However, I feel as if most of them have forgotten that they deal with real people,” Ferguson said. “Longwood University has figured out how to offer a flexible program that doesn’t lose its personal touch.”

Longwood’s counselor education program offered Ferguson a work-and-learn schedule that allowed him to fulfill his Longwood education and counseling field placement requirements while he worked full-time at Hampden-Sydney.  

“My work in the office of admission at Hampden-Sydney required a great deal of travel and work in the evenings and on weekends,” Ferguson explained. “I knew that I would have the flexibility to work around my full-time job, would gain valuable skills to grow professionally and that there was the potential to use my current position to help with necessary practicum hours.” 

Now a degree holder from both colleges in America’s first two-college town, Ferguson has his finger on the pulse of the community. His recent move in August 2022 from dean of admissions at Hampden-Sydney to the same position at Longwood came with a commitment to President W. Taylor Reveley IV’s vision for Longwood’s future.