Aaron Berkowitz – General Assignment Reporter
Frank LaDore, Director of Academic and Career Advising, said SCSU’s ultimate goal is to graduate its students in four years.
“People have this myth that the longer you stay here, the more money that Southern makes,” said LaDore, “Our four-year graduation rate isn’t the best right now and we are actively trying to get it better and better.”
LaDore said Southern has been taking steps towards improving the school’s four-year graduation rate by hiring five new advisors in his office and new deans, a tool to improve
scheduling and purchasing a new Education Advisory board (EAB) tool to help advisors, and a staff who cares about their futures.
Thomas Daly, a junior accounting major, said the school’s four-year graduation rate would be higher if there was more space/spots in classes. He said this would provide students with a greater chance of getting the classes their major requires for them to graduate on time or in four years.
“Time is money here for everybody, including myself,” said Daly, “I want to get out of here as quickly as possible. The more class options we have available and favorable hours, the more quickly students will graduate.”
Daly said every semester it’s a battle to get a spot in all of the classes that he wants to take, but there are some things students can do to still end up with a schedule that keeps them on the right track to graduating on time.
“I had an issue registering for one class this semester,” said Daly. “Usually its one class a semester [that I don’t get into], it almost always happens. They are classes I need but I always have a contingency where I plan ahead for it. I always have another class in mind that will fulfill another requirement.”
LaDore said students should also be conscious of the opportunities around campus that are provided for their benefit and also of the resources that are made available.
“There’s a responsibility on the student,” said LaDore, “to find someone and ask questions or tell them ‘I’m having trouble. Who can help me?’ The students who know what they need to do are prepared and find ways to register early. You can become a note-taker and register with the seniors. There’s a lot of ways to succeed.”
According to SCSU’s job and volunteer webpage, students who meet the qualifications can become a note-taker in a given subject by submitting an application with a copy of a resume to the Disability Resource Center.
Chris Zuniga, a junior biology major, said he wants the school to accommodate students more by providing them with more classes and time slots too so they never have to worry about being able to get into a class they need to graduate.
“We are in a transition now,” said LaDore, “with a new Liberal Education Program running at the same time as our old university requirement program. We are trying to use the same amount of resources and professors that we have to run two different education programs. Hopefully, as each semester [goes on] we get closer towards weeding out the old program, it’s going to be easier for each student to get the classes they need.”
LaDore said students’ futures are the staff’s main priority, but they need to take more initiative for themselves.
“Students have a lot of power,” said LaDore. “It’s their job not just to say ‘this place stinks,’ but to figure out how to make it better. One way of doing that is to join student government because if you don’t like something you can change it.”
