By Kadisha Pierre-Louis
News Editor
Q: What are some of the biggest challenges facing freshmen and transfer students?
A: “Being a first-time, full-time freshman and being a transfer student both involves new processes, a new campus, new faculty and finding your way around. There’s an additional challenge if you’re a freshman because you just haven’t been a college student yet. It’s a change in roles. It’s a change in identity.
We have a lot of students who are the first in their family to go to college, so perhaps they don’t know what to expect or feel intimidated.”
Q: What does the university do to help students who are struggling to adjust to college?
A: “That first-year experience, including the INQ inquiry classes, is explicitly designed to help them get advised, get their bearings and learn from experts on campus, including faculty and staff.
We have CASAS, which has tutoring and assistance with accommodations, that’s a way to help.
We also use Navigate, which is one of the programs we use to indicate that maybe a student is not doing well and then they will get extra support.”
Q: What are some of the biggest priorities for Academic Affairs when it comes to supporting students this semester?
A: “One thing that we’re absolutely making sure that we do, and it’s based on a federal regulation, is that our materials online are accessible.
I think it’s really important that our goals are not just academic.
Our accredited body has some new guidelines that include things like belonging, being seen and comfort.
So, I think major goals are to keep academic excellence but also identify community and personhood.”
Q: Are there any new initiatives or changes that you believe will have the biggest impact on students this academic year?
A: “There are some initiatives. One is that the vice president for DEI and myself have coordinated to create Inclusive Teaching Fellows. Those are faculty who are going through some training to make sure there’s inclusivity on campus and in the classroom.
Another thing we’re doing is a pilot program with the math department because students sometime struggle with Math 100P. We’re having smaller classes and more direct teaching to see if we can move the needle on that one.”
Q: How does the university determine whether its efforts to support students are successful?
A: “We always have a set of metrics that I think probably every university uses, which is persistence and retention. ‘Are they finishing out the semester? Are they registering for the following semester?’ We regularly track who is in classes, how they’re doing and how they’re progressing. That’s been a long-term approach at the university.”
Q: What is one thing you want incoming freshmen and transfer students to know about the university’s commitment to supporting them?
A: “I want them to know what the resources are. So, when you have a bad day, or when things are getting you down, this degree is something to be proud of.
I think Southern is trying to create the best institution we can. Being proud and being excited is helpful.”
