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Ted Hoef

By the time you are reading this newsletter, your son or daughter will be well into the 2nd half of their first semester of college. Time sure does go by quickly. Thanksgiving will be here shortly. Soon, students will be preparing for those end-of-the-term projects and studying for final exams.

It is during the second half of the semester when new students start experiencing higher levels of stress. All of the projects, papers, and presentations start to really pile up in their courses and they sometimes find themselves struggling to keep up with the work load. It may also be the time when they get a lower-than-expected grade on an assignment. This is especially true for writing assignments and oral presentations because this is where many students find the greatest difference from what was expected in high school. You can help by being supportive, and encouraging your son or daughter to use the resources at the University, especially the Academic Resource Center and Writing Center.

In many classes, professors may be urging students to keep abreast of world news. Webster’s Student Government sponsors a readership program on campus that provides free copies of USA Today and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch to students every day. Students can pick up a paper at one of many newspaper racks around campus.

Student Advocacy

Approximately 65 student leaders from the Student Government Association and student organizations attended a session called Setting the Delegates’ Agenda, held during the Officers’ Summit on September 18 and generated a list of items that they would like to see improved at the University. They then voted for the top seven (7) items that they wanted to see discussed at the October 1 session with key university administrators. I facilitated the agenda-setting session.

These student leaders, joined by Student Government Association (SGA) and other student leaders (65 total), then met with the following administrators on October 1, and discussed the highest priority topics. The discussion was facilitated by Justin Raymundo, president of SGA.

Administrators in Attendance
Elizabeth Stroble, president
Neil George, chancellor
Jim Staley, vice president for academic affairs
Dave Garafola, vice president for finance and administration
Paul Carney, vice president for enrollment management and student affairs
Larry Haffner, vice president for information technology
Faith Maddy, vice president for development and alumni programs

During the Officer’s Summit on September 18, two or three student leaders volunteered to present each of the seven topics at the discussion session on October 1. These students coordinated the research on each topic and developed professional PowerPoint presentations. These student leaders spent many hours on these presentations.

The top seven items and the presenters included:

1. Information Technology Upgrades: Dexter Earney and Kelsey Risman made a presentation about student interest in expanding wireless Internet access campus-wide, providing guest sign-in for wireless, and upgrading servers to increase reliability of network and reduce problems that students experience.
2. Recreational and Performance Space: Megan Goodrich and Deanna Beaton made a presentation about student interest in having more space and/or more access to existing space for recreation (e.g., club soccer) and student performances such as the Surfacing one-act play festival, and more access to fine arts space for students who are not fine arts majors.
3. Dean’s List Criteria: Students Danny Dean and Jeff Royer made a presentation about student interest in re-evaluating the criteria for the Dean’s List.
4. Student Employment “Budget” Positions: Aubrey Gohl, Brian Noss, and Emily Bahr made a presentation about student interest in increasing the number of budget student employment positions on campus.
5. Library Coffee Shop featuring Kaldi’s: Michelle Overington and Lauren Meyer made a presentation about student interest in extending the hours of the coffee shop in the library.
6. Convenience Store: Cristina Alfaro and Matthias Muutuki made a presentation about student interest in establishing a convenience store on campus.
7. Sustainability Coordinator: Nick Dunne, Lauren Flecke, and Jennifer Smith made a presentation about student interest in hiring a sustainability coordinator.

The student presenters did a great job in making a case for their proposals. The University administrators in attendance were all extremely impressed with the professionalism that the students displayed in researching and presenting their topics. The administrative team will meet with the students on November 3 to discuss potential follow-up activities for each of the top seven issues.

This Delegates’ Agenda program, held once per semester, is a great example of Webster’s commitment to being student-centered. Student leaders have done an excellent job of bringing important issues to light over the years, and this has helped Webster to continue to improve campus life for students.

For additional information about this program, you can check out article in The Journal at: http://media.www.webujournal.com/media/storage/paper245/news/2009/10/08/News/Students.Present.Issues.At.Delegates.Agenda-3797709.shtml

We hope to have another newsletter out to you in December. We’d love to get your suggestions for future articles.

Sincerely,

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