Thoughts about student retention

<p>My daughter left Drew. She began as a freshman last year, and was there through the fall semester. She became disgusted with Drew, as did many of her classmates according to her accounts. The new President - who started at the same time as her - wants Drew to "grow up" from the small-town college it is (which is what she signed up for). I wasn't sure if what she was telling me was just her opinion or was as common an opinion as she was making it out to be, so I spoke with one of her professors. He told me (off the record) that there are many faculty who are unhappy with the president's plans. What made me make this call actually was that another of her professors quit mid-semester in the fall. </p>

<p>Anyone have thoughts on the changes or the morale of the school? Not that it matters to me anymore really - my daughter is going to transfer elsewhere for the fall semester. For now she is home attending community college (and taking it easy!).</p>

<p>Donna, can you elaborate on what you mean by "grow up". The school is so small and there is only so much you can do to make it larger. The president told my sons dorm that they wouldn't be able to afford a new dorm for a few years but they were going to renovate the oldest (Tolley and the suites) and try to have more to do on campus. The have a bus now to take them to Stop and Shop, etc. which helps, since you can't have a car for 2 years.
I'm sure professors come and go, but they seem to retain them for the most part. Every change brings some disgrunted people. I wish Tom Kean was still there but I read in the last Acorn, he might be back as a professor. He was much loved and always given high marks for the class's he taught. I hope it happens soon. I can't say I have warm feelings for this president but he hasn't had much time to get his feet wet yet.</p>

<p>More students, for one. Already the freshman class was one of the largest classes admitted, as stated in <a href="http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070212/COMMUNITIES26/702120335/1230%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070212/COMMUNITIES26/702120335/1230&lt;/a>
Her classes became really crowded. </p>

<p>I just called to ask her to remind me what the other things were:
- Lowered standards for the incoming class. They didn't seem to be the same caliber of students as her class.
- Plan to get rid of merit scholarships.
- And not related to the president, but she was very unhappy with the food, and ended up eating out more than at the Commons.</p>

<p>Considering that there are only 220 faculty members (according to <a href="http://www.drew.edu/Default-Content.aspx?id=542)%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.drew.edu/Default-Content.aspx?id=542)&lt;/a>, and at the moment applications are being accepted for 13 faculty positions(<a href="http://depts.drew.edu/humres/jobs.php)%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://depts.drew.edu/humres/jobs.php)&lt;/a>, that seems like a high number to me. It's 6%, and it's in the middle of the year.</p>

<p>I see what you mean. I know they didn't expect so many students to come to Drew this year...he did say he wanted to have more but not THAT much more. Sometimes the ratios they use don't work out. Fordham had that problem one year and had to triple a lot of freshman. From what my son told me, they really do need the new dorm, one of them is really run down and they hadn't put a lot of $ in them the last 10 years.
I don't understand the merit scholarship idea at all, you can have them and admit students with different types of scholarships that aren't merit. My son asked about present ones and they seemed "safe". (we will see)
I can't be positive but some of the positions offered might be for new classes. They expect more students and want to keep the class' small. It might vary with your choice of class, but my son had small class's with Psych,Statistics, History, etc.
As I said before, I don't know what to make of this president, but I will wait and see. I think my son will have a better idea how he feels by May, he doesn't complain now, but the newness is still there to some degree.
Also 13 isn't that strange, colleges like Wheaton, about the same size have the same amount.</p>

<p>Donnap99, I am very concerned because my daughter was admitted with a nice merit scholarship and she really wants to go there. She is a theater person and their theater program seemed great. What is your d's major? And where did tey all transfer to? my sense is that this president is trying to gain more recognition country wide. It certainly is on far more lists of people we know....</p>

<p>Merit aid is given for four years as is spelled out in the award letter. Does anyone have any information on merit aid being taken away in subsequent years? I would think they'd have difficulty doing that.
Drew is looking into a new dining service, but I have no idea where that stands. Does anyone know?
I believe the new dorm will be up for Fall 2008 but needs town approvals. How good/bad are the freshmen dorms and housing for upperclasses?</p>

<p>My son didn't think the food was bad....not great, but he eats in the Commons and the smaller cafe (took the 2 meal plan and points because he doesn't wake up for breakfast.)
His freshman dorm (Holloway) is fine, there are pictures on the website, small but clean enough. He didn't bunk and still had room since under the bed was usable. He tells me (I didn't see them) they upper class dorms are better and he likes 2 of them. Has his fingers crossed he'll get the one he wants next year but sophomores still dont' have a lot of clout. The Theme Houses are the only rooms he hasn't seen, but an option if you want to apply.
He was told his merit award was set and it seems they are giving them out this year too. I think, judging on the parent talk we got last fall, he wants to tone them down, not eliminate. They have always been known for giving a lot of aid but they also have a lot of upper-middle class and rich students (although you wouldn't know by attitude) I think what was happening from what I could gleam from students of well-off parents, they were getting awards (some generous) and had money to pay because it was on grades. Maybe he wants to cut back on that and have them pay more since they can and leave more money for less affluent parents.</p>

<p>Re: thoughts on student retention
I transferred into Drew last Fall and I know many students like me who came from other schools at the beginning of the school year. We're all pretty happy with our choice. We all have other college experiences to compare to our current school and we feel that Drew does many things well. The best part of the Drew experience for me are the close relationships I have with my professors. It's expected of the instructors and it's strongly encouraged for the students to develop these bonds. </p>

<p>I had to comment on several points:
1. All of my classes are very small with the exception of a lab science, and even that class has less than 50 students
2. President Weisbuch has been strenuously reaching out to students for input. Weekly open office hours; visits with pizza to all of the dorms,etc. You'd have to go out of your way to AVOID him!
3. the danger of making assumptions based on the resignation of a professor last Fall.
I feel compelled to comment on the last point because I knew this professor and he took pains to assure all of his students and faculty that his reasons for leaving were strictly a personal matter.
Your concerns were valid but I recall the warnings of my professors not to fall into the trap of "Post hoc ergo propter hoc" That is: "after this, therefore because of this".
Or, in other words, correlation does not imply causation!</p>

<p>Thanks, Kindred. I can't wait until we visit again for the overnight. I think my D will get a much better sense of the school that way.</p>

<p>Just a note. My D isn't at Drew, but has participated in the Shakespeare Theatre of NJ for the past few summers. She loves it. We live one town over, and Drew's location is what draws alot of people. It is located in a nice town within an hours' train ride to NYC. I see the kids out all the time having fun. By all accounts, the theater dept. is supposed to be terrific.</p>

<p>Thanks, Joango. Good to know!</p>

<p>i agree with kindred, I think Drew is going through a period of change. I, for one, think that is a good thing.</p>

<p>In looking at the English Dept we noticed a high number of adjunct professors. These appear to be doctoral students at Drew. Does anyone have any input on the English Dept and , in particular, creative writing? Also, how often are courses taught by adjuncts? Does anyone know if Drew uses a lot of adjuncts in other departments? Thanks</p>

<p>I can only say my son and his girlfriend had English professsors that had Phd's, but maybe this link will help or another student will comment.
<a href="http://www.depts.drew.edu/research/cds.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.depts.drew.edu/research/cds.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>So anyone else thinking of attending Drew?</p>

<p>as far as profs go, most of mine have exceeded my expectations.</p>

<p>I have one prof, Mr. Rezai (sp), who teaches full time at Columbia, and only teaches my modern middle eastern history class here. I have another prof. who is my FAVORITE, Professor Fancy, who I believe is an adjunct prof here but has studied at harvard, yale, and now princeton.</p>

<p>Sounds good to me..</p>

<p>HereWeGo, although you can be a great professor from a state school, my son also had duel Ivy league professors, not that they talked about it, it was just in their bios. What he likes is the passion that they teach from, whether the subject is your cup of tea or not, you get drawn in to some degree from their enthusiasm. My anti-bio son for instance had Professor Fox for a course in bio and he talked more about that subject than his others! You never know where a spark might come from.</p>

<p>I am also "anit-bio" and am taking a course with Professor Fox right now. While I still don't love bio, the class is fine, and she makes it as painless as possible.</p>

<p>Travelling hopefully:</p>

<p>My son is also considering attending Drew to double major in theater/German. It's a really tough choice, since he was accepted to the Syracuse acting program and really, really loved Skidmore. But the merit aid, proximity to NYC and some of the off-campus program opportunities are likely to tip the balance toward Drew. Has your D decided yet? I think we will make the trip to accepted students' day next weekend for peace of mind.</p>

<p>We'd love to hear any other input, especially about the quality of the theater and academic programs.</p>

<p>My d is definitely attending. I have been communicating with one of the theater students there as well as some theater people in NY and Drew is very very well known and highly regarded for its theater. Lots of performing opportunities and great internship programs. TOns of contacts with the Broadway world.</p>