Boston University's 4,300 first-year and transfer students received a personal telephone call from the school's administrators last week, The Boston Globe reported. Rather than calling about disciplinary actions or bad grades, administrators including the dean and provost of the university checked in on the students' initial adjustment to the college lifestyle. Students and professors alike have lauded this initiatve, and administrators at peer institutions have commended the Boston University administration in light of the fact that only 57 percent of students at four-year colleges graduate within six years, according to The Globe. The commonly reported problems of homesickness and roommate difficulties, combined with the financial demands engendered by the current economic climate, contribute to the large amount of stress in college freshmen, The Globe reported. Students reacted positively to the phone calls, and expressed their appreciation for the personalized contact via the Dean of Students Twitter page, according to The Globe.
The Campus Advisory Committee at Brown University, which will advise the Presidential Search Committee in the selection of the successor for current Brown President Ruth Simmons, received 55 applications for two undergraduate spots as of the Oct. 6 deadline, according to The Brown Daily Herald. The application process included a 500-word essay outlining what applicants wanted in their next president, as well as a series of short responses describing how the applicant embodied six qualities of leadership and diversity chosen by Chancellor Thomas Tisch, a member of the Brown Class of 1976. The two students selected will work with faculty members, as well as medical and graduate students, in the presidential selection process throughout the academic year, The Herald reported. Finalists will be decided by Oct. 20, according to The Herald.
Applications from British students to international universities have spiked, prompted by a nearly three-fold planned increase in tuition rates at British universities and malaise in the national economy, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. Many British students seek to strengthen resumes through the international experience of studying abroad, and are attracted to the liberal arts curriculum offered at many U.S. institutions. Other European universities in countries such as Denmark and the Netherlands offer lower and sometimes free educations to residents of the European Union, which is another significant draw for British students, according to The Chronicle.
