Headlines/April 6, 1992

Student success StrategieS, CONTINUE ..........cccceseceseeeeeeeseenseeneeeens

“Intro to UCFV” groups and individual

_advising appointments, co-op education,
career counselling, student activities,
and the academic warning system used
by some departments.

The report states that UCFV could
improve current retention activities by
improving and integrating assessment
testing, increasing academic faculty
involvement in advising third and fourth
year students, expanding the Writing
Centre concept to include math and
study skills assistance, and increasing
career counselling services to students.

New retention programs which the
report says could be implemented
include academic integration strategies
such as:

* early warning systems for “at risk”
students

* integrated multi-disciplinary first
year programs

¢ improved information access such
as a computerized calendar

¢ flexible weekend and summer
course offerings

* compulsory interviews for
withdrawing students.

Possible social integration strategies
include:

* employee mentor and peer mentor
systems

¢ — block timetabling to enable students
to have more classes in common.

Strategies which would combine
academic and social integration include:

¢ University 101 credit courses

* orientation programs for Academic
students.

The report also says that improving
the quality of classroom instruction
could improve student success rates.
Ways to improve teaching include using
teaching excellence as one of the criteria
for hiring, teaching seminars, and
acknowledgement of teaching
excellence.

When presenting his report to the
Access Committee, Birkett outlined
several “do’s” and “don’ts” for
implementation of student success
strategies.

“Do start small, and strengthen your
existing good programs. Do involve
faculty and students, and ask students
what they want. Don’t focus on
individual program retention rates. Don’t
impose the program from the top down,
and don’t insist that everyone
participate.”

Birkett says that the post-secondary
system is not set up to reward excellent
student retention rates, but lists several
reasons why focusing on student success
is important.

“There’s basic altruism — it benefits
students by assisting them to achieve
their goals. It helps renew the
institutional commitment to our

fundamental mission — the education of
students. It can foster faculty
development, giving the faculty new
challenges as we age, and job
satisfaction, by providing more
motivated and better prepared students.
It also helps improve institutional
accountability and efficiency.”

Birkett has presented his report to the
Access Committee and will also be
presenting it to other groups such as
department heads. It’s then up to the
whole institution to discuss the concept
of student success and decide whether or
not to implement some of his report’s
suggestions, he says.

President Peter Jones, who
commissioned the report, says he wants
it to circulate widely among members
the UCFV community and that
recommendations on how to implement
specific strategies or programs can come
from any person or group.

“If new policies are recommended
they will have to go through the College
Advisory Council, and if new programs
are to be implemented they will have to
be built into the budget process,” says
Jones. “We wouldn’t be able to
implement all of the report’s ideas by
September but it would be nice to get a
start on some of them.”

CAC approves Arts degree in principle, will review on April 15

The College Advisory Council approved the Arts degree in
principle at its last meeting, but reserved the right to review it at
its next meeting. CAC will also be reviewing the Business
Administration and Criminal Justice degrees at that meeting.

“Because of time constraints, the degree proposal did not go

CAC has given first reading to the alcohol policy. It has been
amended to exclude responsibility for off-campus events, but
still says that drinking cannot be promoted as an activity at such
events, although it will be acceptable to say that alcohol is

through the Program Advisory Committee process,” says CAC
Chair Lillian Martin. “This means that anyone who has any
concerns about the degree should come and express them at the
next meeting.”

The CAC is proposing that other committees consider
changing to a once-monthly meeting schedule, rather than a
four-week one.

“CAC has to meet once per month to keep up with the Board
meetings,” says Martin. “This sometimes puts us into conflict
with FSA and other meetings. If everyone went to once per
month it would mean fewer schedule conflicts.”

available.
Countdown to Golf
Annual UCFV Open Golf Tournament
Sat. May 23
Aqua-dell Golf Course
Cultus Lake

More details to come