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fit to PRINT
Student
Affairs and Academic Support staff are experts in an array of topics
in higher education. The programs, services and initiatives offered
by our departments are models for colleges and universities across
the country and even around the globe. And the students we
serve achieve great success. As a result, we often are featured in
the literature of the field and in the mainstream media. "Fit to
print" offers a glimpse at the most recently published items. Campus safety: reporting the ‘creepy dude’
Boston—The tragedies
at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University have led colleges
around the country to try harder to identify and help troubled
students. The University of South Carolina’s Behavioral
Intervention Team is one viable model, its chairman, W. Scott
Lewis, told 100 campus officials at the NASPA conference here. Adesso changes Columbia skyline
Now is the time to
see 601 Main St., Atlanta developer John Holder’s new condominium
home project, and one of Columbia’s unique residential
addresses…Holder named his signature Columbia building at Main and
Blossom streets Adesso, which means “now” in Italian…Holder said the
need for upscale student housing is driving the condominium and
apartment market in downtown Columbia. The University of South
Carolina has 18,000 undergraduate students and just 7,000 beds in
university-owned housing. And while that is a large
percentage…according to Dennis Pruitt, USC vice president for
student affairs, it still leaves thousands of students looking for
housing in the downtown area each year. Targeting ‘The Lost Year'
Colleges across the country are looking at
what's often called “the lost year and developing programs intended to help with academic and social transitions. Roughly a third of institutions that responded to a survey from the University of South
Carolina's National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students In Transition indicated having initiatives specifically designed for
sophomores.Barbara F. Tobolowsky, associate director of the South Carolina center, said many colleges had the services available to students before starting these second-year initiatives, but wanted a better way to package the offerings to sophomores. College officials say it's also a way to help with retention efforts. Safe Zone Allies: USC Project Works to Combat Homophobia, Heterosexism on Campus
The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (GLBTQ) community at USC is making headway in providing a safe college atmosphere for its students. The USC
Safe Zone Ally Project, which trains members of the university
community to fight homophobia and heterosexism, just welcomed its
400th member Jan. 14.I think it is fitting that our 400th ally was trained during a special session tailored for housing staff, Ryan Wilson, coordinator of the project,
says.The program began through the collaboration of housing and my
office.The Safe Zone Ally Project is a program of the Department of Sexual Health and Violence Prevention and Research at USC. Wilson, a graduate student in the higher education and student affairs program, trains members of the university community in two parts. University of South Carolina student newspaper turns 100
The University of South Carolina's student newspaper, which has chronicled tragedy, good and bad football seasons and even survived a threat from a state legislator to shut it down, turned 100 years old Wednesday. Students with special needs get chance to attend USC
People with intellectual disabilities will have a chance to attend the University of South Carolina under the Carolina Life program, to be created with $155,000 from the General Assembly.Carolina Life will focus on academic, social and independent living skills and vocational experiences that will lead to employment and self-sufficiency.Dennis Pruitt, university vice president for student affairs, said the program would help these students reach their highest potential. Surveys of Students' Views Complicate Spin on ‘Helicopter Parents'
...Several longtime
student-affairs officials agree that while helicopter parents are
real, their numbers and behaviors have been exaggerated.Parental
involvement on campus, they say, is usually more of a help than a
headache, for students and colleges alike.Jerry T. Brewer was a
first-generation college student. Now the associate vice president
for student affairs at the University of South Carolina, he believes
students are more committed when they experience higher education as
a family affair.
... David Montgomery at Grinnell College in Iowa, Elise Waxenberg at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, and Jess Davis from the University of South Carolina talk with host Andrea Seabrook.
-- NPR
(link to audio), December 1, 2007 Bill passes with flying (green) colors As
the larger world is moving to make green construction a standard,
universities are commonly used as exemplars for sustainable living.
In South Carolina, legislators passed a bill in early 2007 requiring
that all future buildings on state property with a construction
budget of $15 million or more be certified by the United States
Green Building Council's LEED rating system. The bill was created
after a state representative visited Green Quad, a recently
constructed, LEED-certified, 500-bed residence community at the
University of South Carolina.Gene Luna, associate vice president for
student affairs, guided the tour for a state representative and
later made a presentation to a legislative subcommittee.
WUSC
turns 60 WUSC turns 60: a brief history of one of the
best college radio stations in the country Contraception Crisis College Station Finalizes
Digital Conversion With BE New Contracts, Radio,
Transmitters USC career fair draws more than 170 firms More than 170 companies, up from 144 last year, will be represented. This year's fair will feature 60 new companies, many of which are engineering- and technology-based. The fair runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. - The State, September 12, 2007
College aid directors welcome increases but raise concern
New federal legislation will increase aid to the
neediest students, cut federal student loan interest
rates and reward graduates in some public service
professions.The additional assistance is welcomed by
financial aid directors at the University of South
Carolina and Clemson and Furman universities.
However, they have some reservations about the
legislation that would take effect Oct. 1 once
signed by the president.It only helps students to
the extent that appropriated funds are available,
and historically that has been a problem, said Ed
Miller, director of financial aid at the University
of South Carolina.
Universities help students avoid the green scare
Jennifer Latino, assistant director of University
101 at the University of South Carolina, said
statistics have shown students in the state of South
Carolina are graduating with a higher level of debt
than students in other areas of the nation.
Get a history lesson with a tour of USC
In
the spirit of discovering more about your hometown,
take one of the University of South Carolina's free
tours - self-guided or led - and you'll soak in some
history about the 200-plus-year-old campus.
First-year reading program provides USC students with shared experiences
By the time this year's
freshman class graduates from USC, they'll have
shared many experiences: Gamecock football, parties,
dorm life, going out to Five Points to name just a
few; experiences that are common — for the most part
— to all USC students. But the class of 2011 will
have one experience to call their own: reading the
book
When the Emperor Was
Divine by
Julie Otsuka, together.
How to run an effective film series
“Movie
success on campus is typically evaluated on
attendance and, for some schools, revenue. No matter
which applies to you, here are seven tips to help
you make your film series more successful.
USC library offering tools for school success
About
2,060 USC students last fall took advantage of
tutoring in the Student Success Center at the Thomas
Cooper Library, and statistics show they raised
their achievement on average one-third of a letter
grade.Chrissy Coley, the center's director, believes
the increase in achievement in the 15 rigorous
courses on which they concentrate is evidence they
are contributing to a higher retention rate for
students between their freshman and sophomore years.
Program helps USC students from out of state
Doug
Phelps could get used to sweet tea and fried foods.
In fact, in less than one week's time, the Peoria,
Ill., resident has quickly developed quite the
liking for Southern cuisine.Since arriving on the
University of South Carolina campus in recent days,
the incoming freshman has been getting a taste of
the local foods, climate and culture. And to help
him and other out-of-state students make the
adjustment, USC has been offering special classes to
orient them to college life—Southern style.We just
want them to be introduced to the South, said
Angela Street, USC's coordinator of initiatives for
special student populations.
Land-line phones rarely ring now in dorms
In another
sign of the way cell phone usage has swept society,
USC announced that starting this year it would
eliminate its regular land-line phone service in
dorms.
USC student survey shows leaps in use of technology
In 1999,
one in 10 students at the University of South
Carolina owned a laptop computer—roughly the same
percentage that carried a pager. Seven years later,
according to a USC housing department survey, nearly
every student living on campus arrived with a
computer and a cell phone.
Birth control costs rise on campus
Many
college students will be paying more for birth
control this year after a new federal law wiped out
incentives for drug companies to offer deep
discounts to campus health centers. Eric Spotts, a
physician for USC's student health services, said
university students last year paid $12 for a month's
worth of contraception. This fall, name-brand pills
will cost about $40 for a pack, he said.
Student success in, sink or swim out
If you had
to guess, would you know what your learning style
is? For example, you might be a kinesthetic learner
if you like hands-on things such as models. Or, you
might be an auditory learner if you like jokes or
interesting anecdotes. According to Julie Holliday,
assistant director of USC's Student Success Center,
just knowing your learning style is half the battle.
College bound: don't worry if you're the first in the family to pursue higher education
Nearly 16
percent of United States college students were
considered “first-generation in 2005, according to
a study by the University of California, Los
Angeles. First-generation students are defined as
those coming from families where neither parent
attended college.Even though this is an improvement
from 1971, when 38.5 percent of college students
were first-generation, according to the same study,
a sizable number of college students are still left
seeking college entrance with plenty of support, but
very little guidance from their parents.This also
leaves those parents feeling as lost, overwhelmed
and powerless as their children, said Althea Counts,
director of the Opportunity Scholars program at the
University of South Carolina
Interfolio
The Career
Services Office at the University of South Carolina
is another recent Interfolio partner. The success
that their office had in making the transition to
using Interfolio's online credential service can be
traced to the efforts they made to communicate the
change to both their students and faculty. Associate
Director Tracy Powers has been instrumental in
ensuring a smooth transition, and took a few minutes
to discuss her office's experience.In terms of
impact on students, Powers notes, “They are
especially pleased that they no longer need to mail
information in order to have it become a part of
their file.
Finding a good fit: college visit lets student tune in to school's emotional energy
Summer
college tours are in full swing now. And many rising
high school juniors and seniors are getting their
first on-campus glimpse of the schools they've seen
only in catalogs or online.Research shows while the
Web is currently the most-used source of
information, the campus visit is the most trusted
source of information by high school juniors and
seniors, said Denise Wellman, director of the
Visitor Center at the University of South Carolina
Programming for wellness: collaborating with campus fitness organizations can benefit students
“Universities around the country are pushing new
health initiatives in which the administration is
expecting more programs related to health and
wellness; cafeterias are offering healthier food
choices and health and fitness centers are extending
or adjusting hours while offering more programs.We
programmers need to contribute to this ‘health push'
and plan events that will directly benefit our
students' health and wellness. Collaboration between
campus program boards and health and wellness
offices and departments can help make this endeavor
seem effortless.
Capstone scholars program shows power of EM/student affairs collaboration
Officials
at the University of South Carolina wanted to
attract more high-achieving students. That
enrollment goal led to the creation of the Capstone
Scholars program—a living-learning community
offering students the campus experience they
sought.It's the best example I've ever seen of
institutional collaboration, said Kip Howard,
assistant vice provost for enrollment management.
Why should EM and student affairs collaborate?
“Regardless of their organizational relationship,
enrollment management and student affairs must
collaborate to meet the goals of the
institution.There are two primary ways that student
affairs offices can collaborate with enrollment
managers—recruitment and retention.
USC's parent center working to build positive parent partnerships
“It makes
perfect sense for student affairs and parents to
work together, said Laura Page, director of the
Office of Parents Programs at the University of
South Carolina. “We have the same outcomes in
mind: for students to succeed.
More than 14,600 students - the largest and most
academically qualified applicant pool in the
university's history - applied to USC for the fall
2007 freshman class.
- The State, April 3, 2007
Mission
accomplished, according to the tally Monday. The
official number of people simultaneously yo-yoing was
932, breaking the record set in 1991 by 302 people. To go green at the University of South Carolina, go west Any ambiguity about the environmental goals for the University of South Carolina's West Quad are quickly resolved by the complex's nickname: ‘The Green Dorm.' - Green School & University, March 15, 2007
USC's Green Quad Yields Lush Benefits
When it
was completed, the Green Quad was the first of its kind
in the state and the largest green student residency in
the country.
Member Spotlight: University of South Carolina
USC
recently opened one of the largest green residence halls
in the country, a move which catalyzed the founding of
the SC chapter of the USGBC, the LEED training and
accreditation of over 200 South Carolina architects, the
introduction of green building legislation, and numerous
educational initiatives for students, faculty, staff and
the greater community.
2006 Brick Awards: Brick President's Award, West Quad Residence Hall & Learning Center
The
complex of buildings that comprises West Quad was
designed to take advantage of natural light and maximize
energy efficiency.Judges said, ‘In this day of
value-engineered student housing, it is wonderful to see
a university make a commitment to quality in the short
and long-term.'
2006 Alliance Award for Excellence: University Housing, Dr. Gene Luna and Michael Koman Gene [Luna] and Michael [Koman] are members of a vast team responsible for the building, but it was their expertise, insistence and daily management of the project that moved the West Quad from status quo to a facility that is heralded across the country as an exemplary model for sustainable design and practice. - South Carolina Architecture, 2007 South Carolina mayors taking a stand on global
climate change Volunteers help fix up school in the 'corridor of shame'
Lindsey Rogers was hard at work Saturday on a project that hits
very close to home. She and about 100 other USC students and
members of Trenholm Road United Methodist Church are painting
Gordon Elementary School.
- WIS-TV, Feb. 24, 2007
Enrollment management officials weigh in on their top challenges “With decreased federal funding of higher education, enrollment managers must find ways to effectively use their resources to recruit, enroll and retain students, - second in a series by Elizabeth Orehovec, budget and personnel coordinator for Undergraduate Admissions, in Enrollment Management Report, February 2007
The Order of the Torch: Alpha Lambda Delta chapter award presented to five outstanding chapters, 2005 – 2006 “If there were any question as to the efficacy of the chapter at the University of South Carolina, those questions were answered by the well-organized event during which the chapter was presented with their record-setting fourth Order of the Torch award banner. - The Flame, volume 45 - 2007
2006 Graduate Fellows USC's Joshua Fowler is one of only 23 students nationwide to be awarded an Alpha Lambda Delta fellowship. Fowler received the Alice Crocker Lloyd Fellowship, which provides funding for one year of graduate study. - The Flame, volume 45 - 2007
2006 Trow Scholars Alpha Lambda Delta national council recently awarded 35 Jo Anne Trow Undergraduate Scholarships, among them, three USC students: Dan Burk, Courtney Connell and Tamara Looney. Three is the maximum number of scholarships that may be awarded to one university, and USC is one of only two universities to receive this number. - The Flame, volume 45 – 2007
Chapter Activity Reports: University of South Carolina “.our best service project of the year by far was painting six rooms in the USC Financial Aid and Scholarships Office.ALD advisor Harrison Greenlaw noted that the Financial Aid and Scholarship Office has provided funds and excellent service to the majority of ALD members, making this project an excellent opportunity to give back. - The Flame, volume 45 – 2007
Chapter Membership Awards The University of South Carolina chapter of Alpha Lambda Delta received a bronze award for increasing its membership by 10 percent in the last year. ALD is the largest academic honor society and the second-largest student organization at USC. - The Flame, volume 45 – 2007
ALD National Council: Hello! “Dan Burk is the newest student member of the Alpha Lambda Delta national Council. The second student member from the University of South Carolina elected to the Council in the past three years, Dan brings the experience of one of the nation's most successful chapters to his work on the National Council. - The Flame, volume 45 – 2007
ALD National Council: .Goodbye USC's Brittany Wells “exceeded expectations as a Student Member-at-Large by issuing the ‘South Carolina Challenge' that sparked one of the most intense periods of fundraising in the history of the Perpetual Fellowship Fund. - The Flame, volume 45 – 2007
The new graduate: How can young EM professionals advance their careers? “.a new professional must remember that learning never ends. Enrollment management in higher education is always changing and it is necessary to stay abreast of trends and issues. - first in a series by Elizabeth Orehovec, budget and personnel coordinator for Undergraduate Admissions, in Enrollment Management Report, January 2007
Greetings from South Carolina! The Division of Student Affairs was well-represented in the winter 2007 NASPA Region III Review. USC was featured in the following items: University of South Carolina students show that ‘Carolina Cares' ‘The Daily Gamecock' takes top honors at ad conference University receives Leadership Award for ‘green dorm' USC among five to receive national award for recruitment, retention Tobacco Free USC policy began Aug. 1 - NASPA Region III Review, winter 2007
USC to assist needy -The State, September 21, 2007 -Additional coverage from The Beaufort Gazette, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette USC career fair blitz: recruiters, students on the hunt Impact “'Having study abroad identified as a national priority will help institutions commit to making it an institutional priority,' says Patricia Willer, director of international programs in the University of south Carolina Columbia's International Programs for Students. With funding, the measure could be ‘a powerful tool in terms of integrating study abroad into the curriculum, actively engaging faculty, and having it considered important and valued by administrators,' Willer says. - International Educator, Nov - Dec 2006
Incentive Programs Help Boost Attendance “Carolina Productions works hard to program safe, alternative ways for students to spend their nights while at college. We recently revamped our film program in an effort to get attendance numbers up and so far it's been a huge success. - cover story by George Micalone, Carolina Productions program advisor, in Movie Promotion News You Can Use, fall 2006
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