Ohio University - Athena Yearbook (Athens, OH)

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Risk, cont. whole, students were becoming more study-minded. Those who dissented cited last spring ' s riots as a step backward for O.U. ' s public image, and one response described the new students as duller people. We want to provide a ' reasonable ' place for students to live. They should enjoy the living learning environment and want to return. states Arthur Gibson, director of housing. The enjoyment of dorm living is a personal thing, but the administration does keep tabs on what options could improve the situation. Freshman dorms were established two years ago and no serious problems have appeared from the Housing office ' s point of view. International students have now filled two dorms, and the number of graduate students living in University housing has increased by 30 per cent. Of the 43 dorms in existence. 39 are now occupied. Because the enrollment has increased, four previously closed dorms were reopened fall quarter. We expect the present number to be sufficient for any future ex- pansion, however, said Gibson. What changes will the future bring? Tentative suggestions include offering more room and board plan options, or more special interest activities. Another plan would allow students to live in dorms with others in their own academic major, somewhat like the Honors Tutorial and graduate students programs. Is the Housing office providing an enjoyable, reasonable place for students to live? The student opi- nion on freshman dorms was split down the middle: half felt it was a good program, half disliked it; the ad- ministration saw no real problems. As for the ten- tative suggestion for dorm divisions by academic major, 64 per cent thought the idea would be too confining. The future of the curriculum and faculty areas hinges on one phrase: budget cuts. This year, we just have to cut and get by, said Dr. Joseph Tucker, assistant provost. And it looks like the curriculum will have to continue to get by for the next several years unless the state increases its support. The situation isn ' t totally dismal, however, because of the addition of a seventh college, the new College of Osteopathic Medicine. A freshman class of 24 students initiated the program which is expected to grow to 500 students within ten years. Promoters of the school an- ticipate that all of the West Green will eventually be eaten up by medical services. President Charles Ping, in his State of the University address in September, expressed his desire that O.U. emphasize its liberal, rather than professional, studies. Will there, consequently, be more strict general educa- tion requirements? The Freshman ABC grading policy, which allowed freshmen to drop D ' s and F ' s, was abolished in November. At that time the Faculty Senate was also considering a university-wide English com- position requirement. Any additional new courses will create a need for more professors, a need which might feel the financial pinch. No new professors are being hired, and those who go on leave or retire are not replaced, according to Faculty Senate Chairman Richard Bald. Full-time Athens campus faculty numbers have dropped from 1 ,- OOO in the 1 960 ' s to 700 at the present time. We were really in the doldrums two years ago because of the interim president, the severe budget problems, and the dropping enrollment, said Bald. The faculty attitude has improved some lately. he added. Mostly, it ' s just a watch-and-wait-and-see feeling. Everyone watches and waits to see what kind of reorganization and shuffling will occur in the curriculum and faculty areas due to budget cuts. One accepted fact is that tuition will continue to go up. Other than that, the future lies in putting our imagination to work on the task of becoming more comprehensive. said President Ping. With little money to work with, it may take a lot of 22 Risk, Life, Go to the Head of the Class

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A game of Risk, Life and Go to the Head of the Class By Sharon Pearcy Do Not Pass Go; Do Not Collect $200; Do Not Balance This Year ' s Budget. It ' s almost a game, the running of a university. ' ' It ' s a game of Risk. Life and Go to the Head of the Class all rolled into one. You risk building new dorms to accommodate extra students and end up going back three spaces because enrollment suddenly drops. You spin to recruit good students, but are penalized publicly because of riots and a party school image. And, landing in a national inflationary period does nothing for the shape of your budget. But let ' s play another game for a moment, a game called Future The object is to maintain a poverty stricken university on a lower-than-ever budget without letting academic standards, facilities, or student satisfaction drop. It takes balance and coordination, but the Ohio University administration has had a few years of practice. Any number of persons may play this game. In fact, as the number of players increases, more money rolls in, and the game becomes easier. So what does the Future really hold for O.U.? There are two ways of looking at the question: 1) from the side of administrative planning; and 2) from the side of student reaction to those plans. The latter was gathered, for this article, by questionnaire. A randomly selected group of 1 00 students was asked to respond to questions about new University proposals and ten- tative plans. The best place to begin an analysis of the University is where the student does; at the admissions office. Ac- cording to Dr. James Walters, director of admissions, this year ' s 1 3,809 student enrollment increased for the first time in five years. Freshman enrollment jumped 1 6 per cent and transfer students. 29 percent In the past, enrollment peaked in 1 970 at over 1 9.000 students and then steadily declined to the 1975 low of 12,800 What has spurred the recent increase? For the past two and a half years, we have practiced an aggressive marketing policy, said Dr. Walters. Research shows that if we can get the student to Athens, the campus will sell itself. ' ' Thirty new programs have been developed, including the scheduling of eight prospective student weekends Although we are encountering the party school ' and low standard ' images daily, they are considerably weaker. he said. Perhaps this attracts the students not applying to O U. who are more conservative, straighter. and more career-oriented in Walters ' opinion. Surprisingly enough, the admission requirements are less strict than they were ten years ago In the 1 960s. the large number of students applying allowed the University to be selective Now, we cannot legally be selective until all the dormitories are full. stated Walters And how do you fill your dorms? One way is to tear some down so there aren ' t as many. Howard Hall has already bitten the dust, and the administration has its eye on Scott Quadrangle With less dorm space. O U will be able to practice a more selective admissions policy The future of admissions entails reaching the 1 4,500 student mark and then self-imposing that ceiling The reason for the past decline in enrollment was that the in- stitution got too big, too rapidly, says Walters. We don ' t want to get that big and pay the price again. The admissions office is seeing a more serious stu- dent applicant. according to Walters, one who is more career-oriented and conservative. Walters uses the phrase drugs are down, beer is back to describe the social habits of this new breed But what do the students themselves have to say. and what do the statistics show? Statistically. 83 per cent of O.U. students visited the campus before deciding to attend, and most chose the school because of the campus or an academic depart- ment Of the 1 0O students who responded to the questionnaire, 68 per cent felt that the University ' s public image was improving and 70 per cent noted a change in the type of student now attending Oil. Most thought that the improvement stemmed from an ad- ministrative crackdown on admissions and that, as a Craig Holman The campus is portrayed in a miniature model in Baker Center Risk, Life, Go to the Head of the Class 21

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Craig Holman Above: Dr James Walters works at his desk in the university ad- missions office Loft: A student volunteer gives a tour to prospective freshmen during a winter weekend program designed to bring high school students to campus for recruiting. Craig Holman Above: A student checks her transcript on the computer terminal in the Registration office in Chubb Hall Below: West Green, the future site of expansion of the medical school and allied health services Craig Holman C.J. Hamplon Risk, Life, Go to the Head of the Class 23