Programs Help New Students 'Navigate the Tide'
ASK ME! | Welcome Tent | Hooking Up with the Tide | In-Depth Seminars | Rec. Center Open Late | Navigating the Tide Events
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| Ready to welcome new students -- Dean of Students Tom Strong and Interim President Barry Mason join members of the Avanti Team in sporting "ASK ME!" buttons indicating their willingness to assist incoming students. The Avanti Team is a student service organization that helps introduce new students to campus. Students pictured are (l-r) Chad Hullett of Birmingham, Reagan Golightly of Tuscaloosa, Lauren Levins of Mobile, Elizabeth Dees of Mobile and Justin Mayfield of Hoover. |
by Cathy Andreen
Freshmen and transfer students entering The University of Alabama this semester will be greeted by a host of welcoming events and programs designed to make their first few weeks on campus happy and successful.
From learning the fight song at "Bama Blast" to spending an afternoon doing volunteer community service to enrolling in a freshman seminar, students will have numerous opportunities to get involved on campus from day one. Dubbed "Navigating the Tide," these programs involve hundreds of faculty and staff from throughout the University community. They are sponsored and supported by the Office of Student Affairs, the Office of Academic Affairs, the Enrollment Task Force, the Healthy Campus 2010 initiative and many other offices and organizations across campus. For a complete list of events, go to http://www.sa.ua.edu/dos/navigate/schedule.htm. Highlights include:
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| These posters invite students into faculty and staff offices. |
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| UA employee Wendy Bryant helps a student with directions. |
Students will have hundreds of friendly faces to approach with their questions during the first two weeks of the semester thanks to the "ASK ME!" program created last year by the Office of Student Affairs. Faculty and staff volunteers across campus will sport big red "ASK ME!" buttons to indicate their willingness to assist students with questions.
In addition, the information desk in Ferguson Center will be transformed into "The Oasis" and will serve as another source of answers to students' questions. Student Affairs professional staff will be on hand to answer questions throughout the first week of classes.
For the first time this fall, students and their parents found a Welcome Tent on the Quad offering refreshments, maps and directions as they arrived on campus. Opened on Aug. 17, the tent will be up through Aug. 20. Providing the tent was one of the first recommendations of the Enrollment Task Force, established this summer by Interim President Barry Mason to look into a variety of issues including creating a more welcoming environment for new students.
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| New students search for their Spanish class. |
The task force, headed by College of Engineering Dean Tim Greene, also spearheaded efforts to place new directional signs and maps on campus before new students arrived.
"All of us are here to help students," said Greene, noting that the tent, signs and endorsement of Navigating the Tide activities are just the first steps in the task force's yearlong effort to make recommendations to improve recruitment and retention of students, and enhance the University's image and environment.
Students as well as faculty and staff will have an opportunity to get involved with community service on Saturday, Aug. 24, through "Hooking Up with the Tide," a volunteer day sponsored by Residential Life, the Russell Student Health Center and the Community Service Center (CSC). Participants are asked to register with the CSC (348-2865) by Aug. 21 and join fellow volunteers at the plaza between the Student Services Building and Ferguson Center at 12:30 p.m. Saturday. Volunteers will be placed in project teams to work from 1-5 p.m. at the Salvation Army, Tuscaloosa Family Resource Center, UA Arboretum, American Red Cross of West Alabama, FOCUS on Senior Citizens, University Child Care Services and Turning Point.
Seminars offered this fall will give freshmen a chance to take an in-depth class with a senior professor during their first semester. Classes will be limited to 20 students and carry core credit. Course titles include Anthropology of the AIDS Epidemic, Legal and Ethical Issues in Computing, Economic Analysis of Social Issues, Emerging Global Issues, Abusive Behaviors, Holistic Health and Healing and the African-American Family.
(Courses formerly known as freshman seminars have been renamed Freshman Compass Courses. These semester-long classes are designed to help students deal with the life changes that come with going away to college. More than half of freshmen have enrolled in these important courses in recent years.)
Think you don't have time to work out? The Rec Center debuts new late night hours this fall, staying open until midnight Sunday-Thursday. Rec Center Director George Brown encourages students, faculty and staff to take advantage of the extended hours. Check with the Rec Center for scheduled activities and programs. Fall semester hours are:
- Sunday -- noon-midnight
- Monday-Thursday -- 5:30 a.m.-midnight
- Friday -- 5:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
- Saturday -- 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
- Aug. 19 -- Bama Blast
- Aug. 19-30 -- "ASK ME!" Program
- Aug. 21 -- First day of classes
- Aug. 24 -- "Hooking Up with the Tide"
- Sept. 4 -- Get on Board Day
- Sept. 9-11 -- College Adjustment Week
For a complete schedule, go to http://www.sa.ua.edu/dos/navigate/schedule.htm
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