VOLUME 32, NUMBER 1 THURSDAY, August 24, 2000
ReporterFront_Page

UB to welcome incoming freshmen

send this article to a friend By SUE WUETCHER
Reporter Editor


Although classes don't start until Monday, the fall semester for incoming freshmen and transfer students will begin tomorrow as UB holds its first-ever "University Welcome" and concludes an expanded orientation program for the campus newcomers.

The university has received deposits from 3,200 freshmen, 400 more than expected, said Nina Kaars, assistant vice provost for undergraduate education. Of those 3,200, all but 200 were preregistered during the first phase of the orientation process in the spring and early summer, Kaars said. In fact, she added, many students received their fall class schedules from UB before they actually graduated from high school.

Kaars called the preregistration effort "a daring experiment to try" with such a large number of incoming freshmen. But advisors worked hard to "connect with students" via email and telephone calls. "They knocked themselves out," she said. "We were determined to do this" to combat the reputation UB has that students can't get the courses they need and to ease students' anxiety.

Kaars noted that most freshmen have been registered in blocks, or "learning communities," in which groups of students share the same schedule. The concept is designed to help students, particularly commuters, "connect" with other students, thereby helping to increase retention, she said, noting that the success of the program will be evident "when we see retention numbers in a year and two years from now."

The second phase of the orientation process consisted of two-day, on-campus sessions held during mid-summer. The seven sessions of about 400 students each were designed to "get students socially acclimated to campus" and to "reduce jitters," Kaars said.

The third phase-the University Welcome-will take place from 8-10 a.m. tomorrow in the main gym in Alumni Arena. During the session, freshmen and transfer students and their parents will hear remarks from President William R. Greiner, Provost Elizabeth Capaldi and Dennis Black, vice president for student affairs. They also will assemble a special jigsaw puzzle of the North Campus (See story, page 7).

The session is important symbolically, Kaars said, because it will be the first and last time all members of the freshman class will be together in one group until they graduate.

"We hope that the message gets through that the challenges ahead are both academic and social, and that they identify with the university," she said.

Students will receive a bright-blue canvas bag stuffed with pertinent information, including a UB academic planner and a CD ROM stocked with tools to enable all students to connect easily to IT resources and the Internet.

Following the welcome, students will be divided into groups for academic overviews, faculty presentations and tours of campus.

The traditional new student picnic will be held from 5-7 p.m. in the courtyard of the Student Union on the North Campus. At 7 p.m., the "Rockin' Rally 2000-a pep rally for the Bulls' Sept. 2 season opener against Syracuse University featuring the marching band, cheerleaders, football team and rocker Eddie Money-will be held in UB Stadium.

The final phase of orientation-September Welcome-gets under way Saturday under the auspices of the Student IT Literacy Committee. Various programs and workshops will be offered on Saturday and Sunday for students on such information-technology issues as how to set up computers in the residence halls, how to use the libraries and how to set up an email account.

The idea behind the intensive IT sessions is to "level the playing field," said Sandra Peters, associate director for Academic Computing Services.

"There are students who come here with a lot of knowledge and expertise, and there are some who come in and they haven't owned a computer or used one for their schoolwork," Peters said, noting that UB has become an extremely "wired" campus with many resources available online. "We really want to make sure everyone starts out with the IT tools they need and the knowledge they need. We want to give everybody the best start."

Activities on Saturday will conclude with "UB Under the Big Top" from 8-11 p.m. in the field adjacent to the University Bookstore on the North Campus. The event will feature a bonfire, music, circus entertainment and carnival attractions.

Kaars stressed the collaborative effort between the administration, faculty, libraries and CIT that was crucial in putting together the weekend's events. She noted that an internal evaluation of the four-phase orientation process will be done next month in order to prepare for next year.


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