UB 101 called a success
Students, instructors say course provides link to university

By SUE WUETCHER
Reporter Editor

Although the ultimate verdict won't come in until the retention figures for the Class of 2002 are recorded this September, students, instructors and administrators affiliated with UB 101, the University Experience, say the course appears to have accomplished its mission: to give new students a sense of belonging to the university.

And administrators hope that connection to UB will translate into more freshmen returning for their sophomore year.

A one-credit course for first-semester freshmen that teaches students about life at the university, study skills, time management and the resources that are available to them, UB 101 is considered by some to be perhaps the single most important and effective key to improving student retention. In recognition of that, the number of sections of the course was expanded from the 10 offered in Fall 1997 to 68 sections in Fall 1998. About 1,000 students participated, about half of those eligible to enroll.

Anecdotal evidence, course evaluations, focus groups and interviews with administrators indicate that the task has been well worth the effort.

"The course has been a positive experience for the instructors, the teaching assistants and the students," said Sara Stensgaard, freshman year experience coordinator for the Office of Student Activities who serves as coordinator of UB 101.

UB 101 has proven to be a "great success," particularly when coupled with block scheduling, noted Nicolas Goodman, vice provost for undergraduate education.

Students have related that the course "was a significant help to them in getting adjusted to campus, in getting to know people, in forming a social life," Goodman said.

He pointed out that the national literature on the retention issue suggests that the most important problem freshmen encounter is isolation-they don't know anyone once they arrive at the university.

"If you want to make students happy and successful, you must provide them with social support," he said. "This project (UB 101) is really beneficial in that way."

Peter Gold, associate dean for general education and student services in the College of Arts and Sciences who helped organize the course and recruit instructors, agreed. "We need to create a climate where students can support each other and be successful," he said. By linking UB 101 to block scheduling-where groups of students with similar academic interests are enrolled together in UB 101 and three other common classes-"we're beginning to change the climate quickly."

UB 101 "gave students the chance to learn they weren't alone, that issues that concern them concern others; it's a way to talk about and deal with them," he said, noting that having a "structured" place to "gripe" and get feedback and support can ease students' transition to college.

Student evaluations of UB 101 have been "highly supportive" of the course's faculty and objectives, Gold said. In fact, in comparing the student evaluations of UB 101 with evaluations of other freshman general-education courses, the UB 101 average responses are generally much higher-students cited more "stronger" and "better" responses on the evaluations, he said.

Students generally were very pleased with the teaching, with the course content, with the amount of faculty contact, with block scheduling, with knowing other students in class and with "knowing more about UB" and "better managing their education," he said.

In fact, for some students, UB 101 was "the high point of their academic semester," he added.

Stensgaard noted that students especially liked the "out-of-class experiences," such as attending the Colin Powell lecture and trips to resources like the Office of Career Planning and Placement, Alumni Arena and the Undergraduate Library.

These activities gave them the feeling that they were "better equipped to handle the university," she said.

Gold pointed out that many of the most highly rated instructors were professional staff members, who brought "a lot energy and enthusiasm" to the task. In fact, most of the instructors for the course-all of whom were volunteers-were professional staff members or graduate students. Only 12 sections were taught by faculty members, he said.

Gold also cited the collaboration between the Office of Undergraduate Education and the Office of Student Activities as being crucial in getting UB 101 to work on such a large scale.

Stensgaard said that plans for next year's UB 101 offerings will include a pilot program to block schedule commuter students and those living in particular residence halls. Course instructors also will use a new text, developed by the Office of Student Activities, that is specific to UB.

The text will address what Stensgaard said has been the biggest complaint about the course: students want more information that is specific to UB. For example, "they didn't want to know how to use a library; they wanted to know how to use the Undergraduate Library," she said