Freshman retention rate vs. graduation rate

<p>^^merkur: some of us are prospie parents so will not have received this (except for Texasmother)…can you clarify?
Curious about on-campus initiatives (this may be the “strictness” eluded to in other posts, I’m assuming…)</p>

<p>Where did MomGrad go? I’m also curious about the “strictness,” as it doesn’t seem to fit with anyone else’s experience. Also her statement that sophs move off-campus to get away from the strictness, since Elon requires frosh & sophs to live on campus. I don’t wanna assume or point fingers, but the way I read this her student must have gotten him/herself into some trouble at Elon by breaking the rules.</p>

<p>D will be a freshman at Elon in the fall, we haven’t gotten any info about an online alcohol education course yet, but S is a rising senior at a different LAC and I know he had to take an online alcohol course before his freshman year… It seems to be pretty much a standard thing these days.</p>

<p>“Where did MomGrad go?”</p>

<p>Better question may be “where did MomGrad come from”? One post history…and no response to inquiries…■■■■■? unhappy student?</p>

<p>My older daughter’s school also had a mandatory online alcohol education course prior to freshman year; she actually thought it was very interesting when she completed it…</p>

<p>Here’s an article I just found on this topic.</p>

<p>[The</a> Pendulum: New alcohol policy targets freshman](<a href=“http://org.elon.edu/pendulum/issues/2007/08_24_07/08_24_07_NEW_ALCOHOL_POLICY_TARGETS_FRESHMAN.shtml]The”>http://org.elon.edu/pendulum/issues/2007/08_24_07/08_24_07_NEW_ALCOHOL_POLICY_TARGETS_FRESHMAN.shtml)</p>

<p>Sorry - this is actually from 2007! But at least they have a history of working on the issue!</p>

<p>[The</a> Pendulum - Elon maintains alcohol education programs, other universities make changes](<a href=“Informasi Seputar Pendidikan Dan Ilmu Pengetahuan”>Informasi Seputar Pendidikan Dan Ilmu Pengetahuan)</p>

<p>Got a letter from President Lambert today regarding the alcohol issues and the online alcohol education program. He included a list of initiatives Elon has either already undertaken or plans to work on regarding alcohol. It’s clear they take the problem seriously. Also, he had some talking points for us to discuss with our kids, one of which was something I hadn’t heard from college admins before:</p>

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<p>Sounds reasonable to me! This was just one of 4 talking points, and the list of Elon initiatives took a whole page, and included Campus Awareness & Messages, Academic Issues, Co-Curricular Efforts to Educate Students & Parents, Mentoring, Social Programs and Spaces, Effectiveness of Sanctions, Counseling and Assessment On and Off Campus, and Assessment. I was impressed.</p>

<p>I was impressed too. It seemed clearly the Campus is taking this seriously. There looked like a mixture of initiatives which could be implemented now ( education course, increased student activity fees for alcohol free programs and many more) and others that would be long range. They have already added space to congregate such as the coffee shop and the lighthouse and look to add more on campus. I also liked that they targeted binge drinking and strengthened relationships with off campus substance counselors. Students are more likely to use outside counselors my experience has found. I too have never seen a University ask parents to set reasonable spending as a method of controling alcohol use. I am not sure that is the issue but clearly he was saying we have a part to play in this. There was a reference to the sanctions for violations online [Elon</a> University - Judicial Affairs/Honor Code](<a href=“http://www.elon.edu/honor]Elon”>http://www.elon.edu/honor) which I plan to check out. That may answer your question of stictness, Rodney. I do have to say when I was on another student review website students were sounding off about the strictness of the new policies. Looks like I have some more reading.</p>

<p>Elon University is more of a parental institution than most schools, I think, but as to why it’s not very clear. Risk management is evidently on the mind of the administration and I believe that the school comes off as strict to those who have bumped up against the rules for this reason. Perhaps a desire to snuff out a past reputation as a “party school” or conservative religious ties, however distant they may be, also add to the mix. </p>

<p>Risk-takers: beware. Elon’s approach is to begin with Freshmen and orient them to personal responsibility for their actions, however I suspect that student welfare is as much a concern as is a need for defensive positioning. Beyond individual accountably, know that if a student should be so unfortunate as to be involved with a bad outcome that can be traced back to a campus organization (i.e. dorm group, sports team, fraternity/sorority) history indicates that consequences and disciplinary actions, justified or unjustified, can be quite extreme particularly if the school perceives a threat to its reputation. Yes, Elon students do party, but they learn to do so off-campus and as far out of the reach of administrators and local authorities as possible — be aware.</p>

<p>As I write this, my D is sitting and doing the online alcohol-ed program. She’s complaining about how long it is. S did one for his LAC 3 years ago, I think it took a total of 1/2 hour. D said the first section of Elon’s program took an hour, and it has 4 sections.</p>

<p>The parts that struck me about Elon’s alcohol plan were these two: first, they want to be sure there is no mixed message about the college’s view on underaged and excessive drinking. Second, there is a significant attempt to create alternative programming, and create places for students to go and mingle in a casual way that is alcohol free. I think both are important.</p>

<p>thank you all for the feedback; so far, sounds all good…interesting about the “disposable income” statement; that’s a new one…</p>

<p>Pres Lambert also mentioned 3 other things to talk to our kids about:</p>

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<p>i am very interested about what has been said about Elon. Up until now it has been one of my top schools. I do not drink and do very well in school and take academics very seriously, so I am wondering if I may be looking at the wrong place. The cheap tuition has caught my interest, as well as their Fellows Program. The problem is I may come a little short on getting into the Fellows Program. Is it worth it to attend if not accepted?</p>

<p>Perhaps way off subject for this thread… But because you asked…</p>

<p>Most of Elon’s students are not in the fellows program and I think you will find that just about everyone take academics seriously and feels they have a ton of opportunities to participate in activities other than drinking. </p>

<p>I think what you will find at Elon, is a school that sees whats going on at campuses all over the country and is trying make sure young students who are responsible for themselves for the first time don’t drink to the extent that they find themselves in a dangerous situation (like alcohol poisoning). It’s happening at just about every college (mostlikely every college) and for lots of reasons. It’s the lonely kid, the insecure kid who wants everyone to think he or she is cool, the kid who wants to experience everything all at once, and a million other reasons. Elon could do what a lot of schools do and pretend it never happens because it’s a “good school”. But good kids at good schools can make bad decisions just as quickly as anyone else unless their prepared with all the information and support they need. </p>

<p>Elon is requiring all freshmen to do an online review of the information and is committed to supporting students make good decisions in lots of areas. (I bet they are hoping that by requiring students to do the online information during the summer that some parents and students will also have a discussion or two about making adult decisions). </p>

<p>I would not worry about a school (or people) that addresses tough subjects - worry about all the schools that aren’t addressing this.</p>

<p>ncmentor - very well put. As a parent, I am impressed by Elon’s attention to this issue. Better to be proactive than to wait until a students dies of alcohol poisoning or falls out of a window while intoxicated. This approach makes me favor Elon more - not less.</p>

<p>As to the Fellows issues… my D applied to be a Leadership Fellow and was not accepted. However, at the spring orientation we found out there is a Leadership program that she can participate in without having to be a Leadership fellow. The only difference (this is off the top of my head, so it might not be 100% accurate) is that as a member of the program she can choose whether or not to do an activity, whereas if she were a Fellow the activity might not be optional. Also the Leadership Fellows take some specific leadership classes. But if she does the Leadership program and sticks with it for 4 years, there is a recognition at graduation. They said about 200 kids start it every year, and about 50 complete the full 4 years. They also offer a minor in Leadership Studies. I don’t know what’s available in lieu of the other fellows programs if you’re not accepted to them (honors, specific majors fellows, etc) but at least for Leadership you can still do a large part of what Fellows do even if you’re not accepted into the program.</p>

<p>^^lafalum: thanks for the post; was not aware of this opportunity…great question to ask when we visit (if other fellows programs can have participants that are non-fellows)…</p>

<p>thank you very much! that was all very helpful and it is great to hear about that alternate program!</p>

<p>If you are a freshman at Elon and you are caught drinking you will most probably be written up (which is akin to a warning). If you continue to drink after that, you may find that you will face disciplinary hearings. Elon is very on top of the drinking situation and almost all of the freshmen on my child’s floor were written up at one time or another this past year. This does not mean that they all drink; it is simply that most freshmen test their independence and a lot of the time it involves alcohol. You child should know, however, that facing disciplinary proceedings can have an impact on things like housing, studying abroad and rushing.</p>

<p>Marmelan, I will share your post with my daughter! Thanks!</p>

<p>Texasmom. I think if your daughter gets involved in Hillel she’ll be fine. My S was also very shy, and for the first couple of years he lived in Daniely so the suite style worked well for him. It was a good group of guys and they developed a good friendship over the four years. He did indicate that parties are easily found (even during the week), but if your D finds the right group from get go it shouldn’t be an issue. My S never felt pressured to drink, etc. Good luck.</p>