Inge-Lise Ameer, associate dean of the College for student support services, and April Thompson, associate dean of the College for campus life, asked for feedback from freshmen about their Orientation and early Fall experiences at Tuesday night's freshmen-only Student Assembly meeting. Ameer said she intends to improve the advising system, possibly by setting up a peer advising system pairing first-year students with older students. She also intends to revamp faculty advisor training, and set up an online portal where students can view their advisors, she said. Freshmen at the meeting expressed approval of the new mandatory My Student Body online alcohol course that the students completed before matriculating. While students said they mostly viewed the alcohol panel during Orientation as a positive experience, some freshmen raised concerns that the panel failed to represent moderate drinkers. At the meeting, students who reside in substance-free dorms all said they were happy with their living arrangements.
A report complied by the American Institutes for Research found that an estimated 9 billion dollars were wasted on college students who dropped out of school their freshman year between 2003 and 2008, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported. According to Mark Schneider, the Institutes' vice president for education, research and human development, this total only includes full-time freshmen at four-year colleges, meaning it it only represents a fraction of the true cost of dropouts. Although the report included no suggestions to increase retention rates, it did urge states to base school funding on degrees completed rather than students enrolled, the Chronicle reported. The Institutes also plans to unveil a website allowing users to compare a number of college and university statistics, including freshmen retention rates and amount of government money spent on those who drop out.
The recent suicide of Tyler Clementi, a freshman at Rutgers University, has prompted nation-wide university efforts to fight anti-gay bullying, Inside Higher Ed reported. The University of Wisconsin at Madison plans to start a campaign called "Stop the Silence," which will include a series of talks on harassment of gay and lesbian youth. Similar efforts at other universities are occurring this month with the goal of increasing support of gay and lesbian students on campus, according to the Chronicle. Grand Valley State University President Thomas Haas sent an e-mail to students and staff saying that "the entire university community is diminished" when students are harassed for their sexuality, The Grand Rapids Press reported.
