Hill, Bob

English

Syracuse University Research Facility and Collaborative Environment

FRONT BURNER SUMMER SCHOOL A new program heLpd JtruggLing .1tudent.1 and SU'.I retention rate. D a n Wein-heimer readi-ly admits i t : his fres hma n y ear was like one long vacation . About the only thing he made time for was fun. H e opened few books, attended fewer class-es, and worried little about either, until h e realized he was headed for academic Armageddon. In years past, Syracuse University students like Weinheimer would h ave been told to improve their grades o r pack their bags. Nowadays, they're told to stick around for the sum-mer. "I knew I was struggling, so I went and talked to my adviser," says Weinheimer, who was directed to the Syracuse University Aca-demic Improvement Pro-gram, or SAIP. come t o S U academically qualified to attend. "There isn't much attention paid to reten tion w hen stu-d ents are p lentiful, but things cha nge when there's a scarci-ty," admits Ronald R . Cava-nagh, v ice president for undergraduate studies a nd a w h o le h earted advocate of SAIP. "I think SAIP is one of t h e more innovative pro-grams that we've seen at this University. I t's a very practi-cal program that makes a lot of sense. It's the kind of pro-gram t h at hardly anybody aro und can be li eve wasn' t put in p lace long ago." "It's a common-sense pro-gram," says Smith, "but to my know ledge , t hi s is t h e first time it has been done at any university in the nation." Launched in 1992, SAIP is d esig ned to teach stu -d e n ts h ow to h e lp t h e m-While summer rolled on without them, 80 SU students attended an academic "boot camp" designed to help improve their study skills and self-discipline. T he program began as a pilot in the summer of 1992, w hen a two-session total of 36 students partic ipated. Enrollment more than dou-b led this summer. The stu-dents, generally freshmen selves. The program addresses acade-mic defic iencies , and attempts to examine the underlying ca u ses, dur-ing two six -w eek summer sessions. Students attend classes, workshops, and seminars, and reside together in t he same residence hall , w here men-tors m a k e s u re t h ey do li ttle more than eat, sleep, and study. "I t's like a Marine boot camp," says Eniest H emphill, associate professor of biology. "Th ere's plenty of people to keep track of them and make sure they study . Most of the students in this are having difficulties because they don't have enough self-discipline . This is a very disciplined environment." Weinheimer appreciates the struc-ture-and the opportunity to k eep from flunking out. "I looked at this as a way to stay at Syracuse," says Weinheimer. "I had pathetically poor grades a nd this gave me a chance to start over. Not only did it give me a chance to do better, but it showed me a way to do it." SAIP is t he brainchild of Horace Smith , associate dean of Summer Sessions, and a creation of fiscal necessity . To help offset e nrollment d ips, Syracuse University is try ing to improve retention rates- S U typically graduates about two-thirds of the stu-dents w ho e nte r t h e University as freshmen, d espite the fact that students 36 S YRACUSE UN IVE R S ITY MA GA Z INE a nd sophomores a nd ty pically floun-dering, are directed to SAIP by their individual colleges. Participation is nei-t h er m andatory n or free , a l thou g h tuition is discounted. Pa rticipants w ho have not al ready taken the College Learning Strategies course (CLS 105) must do so. In addi-tion to this course - w hich covers skills such as note taking, exam prepara tion, and time ma nagement - student s take one other three-credit course. Students w ho have a lready taken CLS 105 reg-is t e r for two t h r ee-c r e d it courses . They're a llowed to repeat previous courses in w hich they did poorly, and if the new grade is better, the old grade is replaced. 1Hill: Front BurnerPublished by SURFACE, 1993SAIP received two national aw ards for academic excellence following the program's 1992 trial run, dur ing which all bu t on e of the p a rti c ipants improved their gra de point aver age . Time r eveale d a n e ed for certain changes, how ever. "We found that the students did extremely w e ll during th e sessions las t summe r , but ma ny fe ll apart in the fa ll, " says Smith. "We d ecided we n eed ed to extend the program beyond the summer and provide more long-term struc ture." In essence, it takes many students longer than six weeks to learn the self-disc ipline skills nec-essary to b e acad e mically successful on their ow n. Enter Linda Ka rel!, w ho w as hired in May, nam ed program director, and charged with the responsibility of mak-ing SAIP a y ear-round entity. Under Ka rel!, participants now have contin-u ed exposure to tutoring sessions and clinics, S A IP mentors, sp ecial semi-nars, even S U counselors . Acad emic difficulties a ren 't alw ay s caused by a lack of disc ipline, says Kare!L and to b e su ccessfuL SAIP must address divergent student needs. "When students are having difficul-ty, we've found tha t emotiona l distress is often involved, or emotiona l distress m ay come about in response t o poor grades," says Kar el!. "Th e reasons for a cademic proble m s can be many-learning disabilities, family problems, not b eing acad emically prepa red. W e need to be able to respond to various student need s. W e 've got to do w hatev-er we can to get students to engage in critical thinking and problem solv ing on th eir own, and help them find new w ay s to achieve academic success." R esources a nd intentions notwith-standing, S AIP can 't gua ran tee acad-emic improvement. "It's a helpful pro-gram , but you h ave t o wan t to tak e a d vantage of it, " says W e inhe imer , w ho, over the summer, retook two 100-level courses h e fa iled las t year a nd earned high mark s in both. "It's obviou s now tha t I can do the w ork, but I wasn 't sure of that before," h e says. "I felt I need ed structu re, and I need ed to block out time better. I just n e ed e d a n o ther c ha n ce to prove to myself that I could handle college." - B oB H ILL > J en.Jen Take.J A rt.J and Science.J Helm. As the search continues to fill the position of dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Vice Chancellor Gershon Vincow named Robert G. Jensen interim dean for one year, effective July 1. A professor of geography, Jensen served as chair of the geog-raphy department for 17 years, and for the last 4 years has been dean of the Graduate School. Leo Lambert, associate dean of the Graduate School, will serve as acting dean of the Graduate School for the 1993-94 academic year. Jensen succeeds Samuel Gorovitz, dean since 1986, who will return to the College of Arts and Sciences faculty following a research leave. > SU lnve.Jtigate.J Lacro.J.Je Program. The University launched an investigation of its lacrosse program in May, prompt-ed by statements made to University officials regarding possible rules violations. Fred Amaya, a starter in the midfield, was declared ineligible to play by the University on May 7, based on preliminary conclusions reached in the investigation. At the University's request, Amaya's eligibility was restored by the NCAA 12 days later, and Amaya was allowed to complete his senior season. The investigation, conducted by John P. Hardt, SU director of compliance, and Thomas S. Evans, senior partner of Bond, Schoeneck & King, SU's general legal counsel, comes 15 months after Syracuse University completed a two-year investigation of its athletic program, prompted by allegations made against the men's basketball team in November 1991. That investigation uncovered violations by the lacrosse team, including excessive financial aid distribution for three seasons. The NCAA penalized the program by docking three scholarships for three academic years, beginning this fall. Failure to uncover other possible violations was due not to lack of scrutiny but to the investigative process, says Robert Hill, SU vice president for public relations. "Witnesses make statements informally, and then are unwilling to make an official statement. Witnesses make official statements, then come forward later with different statements," he says. "This can result in inconclusive evidence about whether a violation occurred. The University wishes to obtain a full account of any possible NCAA violations, and will take appropriate action." >Maxwell ln.Jtitute F unded. The family of Alan K. "Scotty" Campbell has pledged $500,000 to SU to support a pub-lic affairs institute named in his honor. Campbell, dean of the Maxwell School from 1969 to 1977, is a member of the Maxwell Advisory Board and a visiting executive professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Announcement of the gift was made June 18 at a campus symposium in his honor orga-nized by former students. Campbell also received the Maxwell School's Spirit of Public Service Award. 37 S E PT EMB ER 1993 2Syracuse University Magazine, Vol. 10, Iss. 1 [1993], Art. 8https://surface.syr.edu/sumagazine/vol10/iss1/8

Front Burner: Summer School

https://surface.syr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1443&amp;context=sumagazine

Front Burner: Summer School

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Syracuse University Research Facility and Collaborative Environment