OPINION
CALENDAR CHECK:
OPINION
Reviving the Third Ward Pt. 1
JANUARY
Overcoming obstacles in reshaping the University’s close neighbor can help current residents and attract future entrepreneurs.
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Movies. Student Program Board is showing the comedy “This is the End” in the New UC Theater at 4 and 7 p.m.
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U N I V E R S I T Y
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Issue 61, Volume 79
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CAMPUS
Admins plan springboard for student success Academic, Student Affairs work to enhance first-year experience at UH Natalie Harms Managing editor
Through a two-year program called Foundations of Excellence, the Department of Student Affairs and the Office of Academic Affairs are working together to assess the University’s first-year student experience and develop a strategic plan to recruit and retain new students. The program, developed by John Gardner at the Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education, operates on the fact that a successful first year at UH creates a springboard for students to excel in their following years. “It’s just like building a house,” said Daniel Maxwell, co-chair of the initiative and associate vice president and chancellor of Student Affairs. “If you have a really good foundation, you can build a couple of floors and know it’s not going to go anywhere.” This year, the program is in its assessment year. Maxwell and cochair and Interim Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Success Teri Elkins Longacre are leading
a group of faculty, staff and students divided into nine dimension committees. Each committee focuses on an individual aspect of the first-year experience, and after months of research from surveys and analyzing current practices at UH, the committee forms a final report. The Steering Committee then develops a strategy with detailed plans to enhance the first-year experience. The Steering Committee meets regularly, but its real work comes in May, when it will connect all of the reports into one, Universitywide plan. Students from the Student Government Association and the Orientation Team program serve on some of the committees, Maxwell said, and SGA President Cedric Bandoh serves as a member of the Steering Committee. “My part of the Steering Committee is to be the voice of students as we tie together all the work that the dimension committees have done and all the data that has been developed and coming to that
long-term plan ... on how we are going to address all the issues that have been brought up by the different committees,” Bandoh said. Some of the other committees focus on aspects of first-year experience such as philosophy and transition, but one of Maxwell’s critical considerations is to keep in mind student diversity. “Being such a diverse campus, if I don’t take into consideration that they come with different experiences, and therefore are going to perceive UH differently, than I’m going to do an injustice if I say, ‘OK. Everyone has to walk this way, (and) you’ll be OK,’” he said. The program has earned success across the nation at more than 500 institutions, and UH has many schools to use as benchmarks. Longacre said the top priority of the program is to increase campus and academic involvement. “The big picture that comes out of this process is to increase student engagement and student SUCCESS continues on page 2
Foundations oF excellence
By the numBers have participated in 572 schools Foundations of Excellence
staff and students involved in 200 faculty, UH’s program, approximately
9
dimension committees
2684 responses to the campuswide surveys 2
year contract with the Gardner Institute
2013-14 is the year of assessment 2014-15 is the year of implementation All information is provided by UH | Infographic by Farah Hasnie
EMPLOYMENT
Downtrend in first-time educators an ‘anomaly’ Nora Olabi Assistant news editor
Though first-year teacher hiring rates in Texas sharply declined, University administrators have been given positive feedback from districts and graduates on the state of job prospects for those with a UH degree. First-year teacher hiring rates dropped by more than 40 percent in the last four years, according to the Houston Chronicle, but enrollment in the College of Education has been consistent. In Fall 2013, there were 2,487 students enrolled in the college,
according to UH. Communication director of the college, Jeylan Yassin, said the college has seen a “substantial upswing” in the recent hiring of its graduates. She attributed this to the college’s wellrounded, technologically in-tune curriculum. “Expectations for new teachers are high regardless of the hiring climate. This is why we ensure students are prepared using 21st-century methods, the latest research and intensive realworld training,” Yassin said. “Our student teachers and graduates benefit
from exceptional field experiences.” Though the statistics may point to a drastic downward trend in education, Associate Dean for UndergradPierson uate Studies and Teacher Education Melissa E. Pierson said she believes this isn’t a trend: It’s an anomaly. The data was collected in 2011, at a time when deep budget
cuts and layoffs were still shaking the Texas education system. As schools bounced back, hiring priority was given to those who were laid off, she said. Even with the harsh climate for first-year teachers, Pierson said that graduates from the University are often sought out by districts. “Now, districts are hiring hundreds of teachers; lots of our December graduates were hired,” Pierson said. “(The districts) tell us all the time that the UH applications are at the top of their stack. They definitely like to hire
our student teachers, and they’re happy with them.” Chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction Laveria Hutchison said that the integration of technology and curriculum adaptability is what sets graduates apart from the pack. “Giving them basic instruction tools that will teach all learners — not just accelerated learners, but all learners — I think that’s important,” Hutchinson said. EDUCATION continues on page 2