ACUHO-I News Blog

ACUHO-I President Norb Dunkel has prepared a video message that spotlights current and future ACUHO-I initiatives, particularly in the light of the current economic climate.

The video is available to view after the jump, on the ACUHO-I Web site and the ACUHO-I social network.

Also of interest should be the 2008 ACUHO-I Economic Impact Survey. Approximately 300 chief housing officers responded to questions regarding the conditions on their campuses and how they expect things will play-out over the next 12 to 18 months.

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Jonathan C. Gibralter, the president of Frostburg State University in Maryland, has taken many steps to curb the binge drinking on his campus and received the 2008 Presidential Leadership Award from the American Council on Education as a result.  Gibralter worked with local and campus police for more aggressive enforcement; with bars to reduce the number of all-you-can-drink specials and underage serving; and with students, creating educational programs. This is the inagural year for the award. A $50,000 grant from Outside the Classroom accompanies it. Outside the Classroom is a company that works with colleges to prevent alcohol abuse.

However, according to an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Gibralter arrived back in Frostburg to find one of his 18-year-old students in the hospital, with alcohol poisoning. The student survived, but the episode made Gibralter uneasy about his honor, despite all his efforts to prevent such incidents. The article goes on to talk to Frostburg students. Most of those quoted stridently defy the anti-binge efforts, even if they acknowledge that the policies have changed their habits somewhat, and they insist drinking doesn’t affect their academics.

The article shows, as others have, how deeply ingrained the culture of drinking (particularly binge drinking) is for some students. How can this be positively changed?

When veterans enroll in college after leaving active duty, they often feel lost and alone. The unstructured, somewhat willy-nilly nature of college life is unsettling after years of strictly ordered schedules and rules in the military. Lingering, sometimes lifelong injuries from their service, both mental and physical, dog them. Other students are at least five years younger, often naive, usually with much less world-experience. At best, their classmates are blissfully ignorant of the combat in Iraq and Afghanistan; at worst, they are insensitive and ask intrusive questions. Classrooms are claustrophobic and loud noises unnerving.

On top of all this, until recently, the veteran’s benefits offered by the G.I. Bill barely pay for two years at a modest community college–if combined with full-time work–which discouraged many veterans from using the benefit at all, even though it was the reason many had enlisted. However the new G.I. Bill covers more classroom benefits as well as books and a living stipend, and an uptick in veteran enrollment is expected in August 2009, when the bill takes effect. The law, and higher education’s embrace of it, is seen as a way to do well by veterans, in contrast to the cool reception many recieved in many venues after the Vietnam conflict.

This New York Times Education Life story profiles three veterans who returned to college after their service, the struggles they encountered and the coping skills they developed. The students profiled needed more academic assistance, ways to manage stress, and support from others in their situation. Veterans in the story established their own campus veteran groups.

Since we know there will likely be an influx of veterans in about 9 months, that gives us time to prepare; to establish support groups (if they don’t yet exist); prep the health center, and otherwise prepare campus to be a welcoming place for veterans. What have you done, what will you be doing? Share ideas here.

Also, stay tuned: The next issue of the Talking Stick (leaving the printer’s as I type) will feature a story on veterans on campus.

According to this Inside HigherEd story, some colleges are beginning financial literacy classes for their students. Some are a part of the counseling that comes with accepting federal student loans, but they go beyond the basic you-must-repay-this message required by federal loans. Some schools are offering the classes as a part of their general curriculum.

Hardly anyone could argue that such courses aren’t a great idea; not only are young adults graduating with breathtaking debt to their names, both in educational loans and other areas, such as credit cards. Oddly, many young people plan to live comfortably, if not in wealth, but seem ill-equipped to manage the transition from student to financially secure adult.

Does your institution offer such classes? Are briefer sessions a part of your residence programming?

The Christian Science Monitor has a great story on students cooking in residence halls. It talks about students cooking in hall kitchens as well as in their rooms, using microfridges, rice cookers and, according to an accompanying photograph, clothes irons to toast cheese sandwiches to perfection. Though the unorthodox use of irons might make residence hall professionals uneasy, I’m sure ACUHO-I blog readers have seen more unnerving cooking creativity than this in their professional experience.

Perhaps the draw of residence hall cooking is its stripped-down simplicity. Cooking in one’s residence hall room is, to the larger culinary world, what minimalism is to art. With ingredients, appliances, space and, often, initiative at a minimum (the student just wants a late-night snack, not a Pepin masterpiece), residence hall cooking combines inventiveness and hunger for some interesting outcomes. The MacGyver in all of us likes to beat the odds, whipping up some creme brulee in a microwave. The article mentions some schools offer cooking classes, teaching students how to make the most of a microfridge; such a class might make a great RA program, and serve as a way to gently encourage students to cook creatively and safely, without using, say, pocket lighters to melt Hershey’s Kisses for impromptu fondue.

“Advice to a New Department Chair” in the Careers area of the Chronicle of Higher Education may at first not seem relevant, but there’s certain elements of the workplace, learning how to manage and be managed, that are true no matter your domain. The author offers some wise suggestions for being diplomatic and getting things done.

Hudson Valley Community College in New Albany, NY, a part of the SUNY system is trying a different approach to retention. Hudson Valley noticed what other schools have noted-too few students, especially those most at-risk, seek out student services for help until it is too late. Retention is an issue everywhere, but especially at community colleges. A recent study noted that community college students are more likely to not complete their desired degree, whether it was an associate degree or a bachelor’s degree. Of course, there are complicating factors. Researchers attempted to control for these, but it’s impossible to do this perfectly. Among these factors:

• Community college students are a different demographic than students at four-year schools. Community college students are more likely to be older, with families of their own and careers. There are many compelling “distractions” they have that four-year students are less likely to have.
• A community college student may enter with the goal of completing a four- or two-year degree, but change his mind for financial, professional or familial reasons. Or he might leave because college wasn’t what he thought it was.

Thus, Hudson Valley has consolidated its student services and retention efforts under one umbrella, in order to identify and assist students who may leave the school prematurely. Professors advise academic counselors on the students who seem to be having problems; the counselors direct the students to the appropriate services. A remedial summer program helps get everyone up to speed on college-level math, reading and writing. Full-time tutors are employed at Hudson Valley’s Learning Center, ready to aid the 1,800 students who visit a semester. In addition, an emergency fund helps students cover books, bus passes and even groceries with short-term loans. Often students are in a pinch at the begining of the year, when their student loan checks haven’t yet arrived.

Obviously, this sort of program and some of its elements would be more complicated-if not near-impossible-at a larger school. But Hudson Valley Community College’s efforts may inspire others.

It’s like a decree issued by King Solomon: Wi-Fi or Beer? Obviously, most college students would beg not to make the choice, but if they had to, 48% would pick the Wi-Fi, according to a survey recently released by the clearly unbiased Wi-Fi Alliance and Wakefield Research. Wi-Fi improves their college performance, says 79% of students, though since more than half use WiFi to check Facebook, MySpace or other non-academic things in the classroom, this finding may not be entirely reliable. Sixty percent would not go to a school that doesn’t have free WiFi.

Georgetown University and the University of Southern California are both recovering after bouts of a “highly contagious gastrointestinal virus” afflicted at least 192 students at Georgetown and 75 students at USC.  Tests are in progress to determine the cause of USC’s outbreak; a norovirus is suspected. Students at both schools had similar symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrehea and cramps for several days. The sickness is not deadly, but very unpleasant for all involved.

Experts quoted in Inside HigherEd say that the close confines of college campuses contribute to the problem–norovirus outbreaks have occured on cruise ships too, for the same reason. It doesn’t help that students, like most Americans, are not dilligent about washing their hands regularly. Consistent hand washing-or sanitizing-is the best way to prevent outbreaks.

Exciting, ground-breaking news from Consumer Reports: Children’s cereal contains a lot of sugar.

I know, can you believe it, either? I almost blinked when I read that!

[Gulps artificially-orange-flavored, sugar-free water.]

Ah, okay, I’ve regained my composure.

Apparently Honey Smacks contain more sugar than honey (which is what you’d expect, I guess, from a cereal that promises to backhand you with the stuff) and Golden Crisp has as much sugar as a glazed donut from Dunkin’ Donuts. Yellow No. 5, a key ingredient to Cap’n Crunch’s St. Tropez golden glow, has been linked to childhood ADHD. I don’t know how they can separate the effects of the sugar from the Yellow, though.

At least none are known to include “flesh-eating bacteria in every box!”

[Sip diet soft drink. Notice Yellow No. 5 among its ingredients. That might explain something...]

But this isn’t just an issue for the primary set; as we all know, college students eat cereal religiously. The nostalgic appeal of childhood cereals is hard to resist, and in moderate amounts, on occasion, there’s nothing wrong with it. Some cereals can provide the warm fuzzies and good nutrition: Cheerios and Life rated well.

What can student affairs professionals do to help students make wise choices, without making the consumption of sugared cereal into a bigger deal than it is? After all, there are health issues that loom larger than this.