THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 12, 1996 TAG: 9604120802
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 100 lines
The number of Old Dominion University freshmen placed on academic probation dropped from 42 percent in the fall of 1994 to about 38 percent last semester, university officials said Thursday.
To bring the rate down, the university moved late last year to beef up its admissions standards. But some board members, still frustrated by the problem, urged administrators Thursday to get tougher with students - and demand more of its professors - to ensure that more undergraduates succeed.
``We've got a very drastic problem . . . and we're taking nips and pieces,'' board member Edward L. Hamm Jr. said. ``It seems to me something dramatic needs to be done.''
But even with its high probation rate, Old Dominion University is graduating more of its students than most other colleges.
After six years, 47.4 percent of ODU's freshmen get their degrees, compared with 42.5 percent of freshmen nationally, according to a study of 90 colleges recently completed by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.
ODU President James V. Koch reviewed the study with board members, but he, too, said the school's numbers weren't good enough. ``We don't look badly compared to other institutions,'' Koch said. ``That, in no sense, means we should be satisfied, and we want to do better.''
At ODU, students are usually placed on academic probation if their average dips below a C. The sharp increase in the freshman probation rate in recent years - it stood at 30 percent in 1988 - has become a growing concern among board members, professors and officials.
Administrators outlined measures for the next school year to reduce freshman academic problems, such as more ``study skills'' sessions and more questionnaires to pinpoint problems early on.
ODU also will start ``learning communities,'' groups of 15 to 25 students with similar academic interests who will take the same classes. The students will be overseen by a professor and an upperclassman, and will meet at least weekly - sometimes for social events.
But some board members said administrators should go further. To get some real action, Hamm suggested, the university should let parents know when students are in academic trouble.
That would violate federal law protecting the privacy of student records, Vice President Dana D. Burnett said. Hamm came back with an idea: Why not require all entering students to agree to release their academic records to their parents?
Another board member, Charles H. Rotert, said attendance at counseling sessions shouldn't be voluntary. If students don't show up for one or two, he said, they should be kicked out of the university.
``Without that,'' he said, ``the hope that students will have a great revelation and get on track and succeed - you're going to have a low percentage.''
The Rev. Anthony C. Paige said the focus should be on professors and whether they're working hard enough to reach freshmen: ``You have more in the classroom than the student. You have the teacher. . . . Educators tend not to be good listeners. They tend to see students as the problem.''
Provost Jo Ann Gora said ODU regularly holds professional development seminars for faculty. But, she said, ``At some point, the responsibility is the students'. When we can't get them to show up, we throw up our hands in frustration.''
Board members and administrators also grappled with the question of why the probation rate for freshmen has risen in recent years. Outside the meeting room, junior Irina Pafomova summed up most of their hunches: too much freedom, and too little preparation in high school.
``The requirements are a little bit different for them when they go to college,'' said Pafomova, 20, who recently emigrated from Russia. ``They have to do more papers, be more organized. The problem is, they are still children.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
``We don't look badly compared to other institutions. That, in no
sense, means we should be satisfied, and we want to do better.'' -
ODU President James V. Koch
Graphic
ADDITIONS
Old Dominion University's Board of Visitors on Thursday renamed
four buildings and a plaza in honor of former administrators and
board members:
The courtyard outside the Batten Arts and Letters Building will
be known as the James L. Bugg Jr. Plaza, in honor of ODU's second
president.
The Old Administration Building will be called Alfred B. Rollins
Jr. Hall. Rollins was ODU's third president.
The Health Sciences Building will be called William B. Spong Jr.
Hall in honor of ODU's fifth president.
The African-American Cultural Center will be known as the Hugo A.
Owens Center in honor of the first black man who served as rector of
the board.
The Midrise Dorm will be renamed G. William Whitehurst Hall.
Whitehurst is a former congressman and dean of students at ODU. He
is now Kaufman University Lecturer in Public Affairs at the school.
by CNB