Inside, Oct. 18, 1996

Inside Iowa State
Oct. 18, 1996

Staff make plans to aid students

by Anne Dolan
Adult students, would-be engineering students, international students, vet med students and off-campus students are among the student populations that will be the focus of 17 recruitment and retention projects developed this year by professional and scientific staff.
This marks the third year of the program, developed to involve P&S staff in attracting students to ISU and improving their experiences while they are here.
This year's $25,000 grant fund, provided by the President's Office, reflects a 25 per-cent increase over the first two years.
Twenty-eight proposals, requesting a total of $72,553, were submitted this fall. Ten received 100 percent of requested funding and another seven projects were funded at 50 to 75 percent of the requests.
"Every proposal reflects thoughtful consideration in addressing recruitment and retention issues, which made decision-making a very difficult process," said Katy Rice, chair of the P&S Retention & Recruitment Committee. "It's extremely encouraging to see that staff have a clear understanding of how important it is to retain students enrolled, as well as recruit students with the desire and ability to succeed at Iowa State."
Following is a summary of the 17 funded projects:

$3,530 to the minority student recruit-ment and retention offices in the colleges of Design and Family and Consumer Sciences to develop partnerships with Illinois community colleges with high minority enrollments and provide support services to help students transfer successfully to ISU.

$2,528 to match at-risk applied science students with junior or senior students in occupational safety, and then match each pair with a P&S employee in safety or health for at least 10 hours of projects and activities. The goal is to encourage students at risk of leaving ISU to transfer to the occupational safety program or a related applied science option.

$2,500 to the biological sciences (about eight departments in three colleges) to establish a staffed resource center to assist biological sciences students, on a walk-in basis, with course content, homework, research papers, computer literacy and study skills. The center also will sponsor four workshops on study, research and job search skills.

$2,300 to the Center for Nondestructive Evaluation to send teams of scientists and undergraduate students to Iowa high school science classes to show how scientific principles are applied to real-world situations. The goal is to interest students in careers in science or engineering and an education at ISU.

$1,998 to Project BIO (a partnership of colleges, departments and offices) to upgrade computer learning stations at Iowa high schools (the goal is 50) by spring semester so that students can enroll in several Project BIO classes offered on the World Wide Web.

$1,770 to Student Counseling Services to present a minimum of 18 more work-shops that were launched last year on enhancing interracial communication. Students will be trained to facilitate the workshops.

$1,650 to Food Science and Human Nutrition to improve awareness and undergraduate student use of its new advising center and to send an academic adviser to high schools and regional college fairs.

$1,300 to University Relations and Engineering Student Services to create a Web page that connects prospective engineering students with students in ISU's honorary engineering society, Tau Beta Pi. The ISU students will answer e-mail from the high school students and give them a first-hand look at what it's like to be an ISU engineering student.

$1,225 to the Office of Adult Learner and Commuter Student Programs to develop a recruitment video for adult students, for use in community college visits and ISU Outreach Centers, and by the Adult Learner and Admissions offices.

$1,180 to Human Development and Family Studies to develop a departmental World Wide Web page tailored for current and prospective students and the department's academic advisers.

$1,131 to the Office of International Students and Scholars to conduct workshops for academic advisers and major professors on adjustments international students face, and to create a brochure on the same topic for those who receive the Adviser's Newsletter.

$800 to Extended and Continuing Education to hold a workshop in Ankeny next spring for adult students interested in going back to college. The workshop will address concerns of older students returning to school and highlight opportunities and support services available for them at ISU.

$750 to Osceola County Extension to bring 50 high school sophomores from Sibley-Ocheyedan School to campus next May. The goal is to increase the number of Osceola County students at ISU.

$700 to the College of Business and Campus Orientation for a project in which business students who are in learning teams phone their peers who aren't in the teams to answer questions about available learning resources and gather information on academic issues of student concern.

$675 to Extended and Continuing Education to produce each semester a newsletter for 500 off-campus students (enrolled in ICN, videotape, World Wide Web and traditional courses) to help them feel more connected to ISU.

$605 to the Central Iowa Chapter of the Association for Women in Science to host a professional development workshop in the spring for female science and engineering students.

$358 to the Office of Student Financial Aid to provide debt management infor-mation to Vet Med students to help make them aware of the weight of their school loans. The average loan indebtedness for graduating veterinarians is $45,000.

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