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Some
of our Best Practices
Common
Reading
In September of 1988, Carleton added a "common reading" to New Student
Week. The book was and continues to be chosen by any faculty, student
and staff members willing to spend time over winter break reading
five books (culled from nominations). We have always looked for
books that engage issues of race, class, culture, or ethnicity and
that are "good reads." The book selected is sent to all incoming
students over the summer, and the second evening of New Student
Week, new students gather with faculty and staff for a convocation.
Typically, three presentations are made-one by a current staff member,
a second by a faculty member, and the third by an alumnus. Following
the convocation, students, faculty, and staff gather in small groups
for discussion. Each group is facilitated by at least one faculty
or staff member and one upper class student.
In
structuring the common reading as we did, Carleton faculty and staff
hoped to engage incoming students in a community effort, to enact
for them the way various disciplines bring into focus different
facets of a work or problem and to help students identify and talk
about matters that are of interest to them and of strong concern
to the Carleton community. While struggling with difficult issues
such as those raised by the works we have chosen is never easy,
it is as essential to the College's health as it is to society's.
New
Student Week Leaders
New
Student Week Leaders guide new students through successful transitions
to Carleton. In addition to meeting new students and working on
a dynamic team, NSW Leaders gain extensive knowledge of Carleton,
plus leadership training and experience in areas of facilitation,
team building, and program planning.
Leaders
- Meet
with a group of 10-15 new students several times during New Student
Week.
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Help new students understand the NSW schedule, lead "getting to
know you" games, and answer questions.
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Provide summer correspondence/welcome letters to new students.
- Develop
skits and perform in the Student Life Skits Show.
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Assist with all aspects of the New Student Week programs, i.e.
Registration, setting up the Academic Fair, the New Student Talent
Show, Into The Streets, and move-in.
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Facilitate discussion groups for Common Reading or It's Not All
About Sex.
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Create information sessions to introduce new students to certain
aspects of Carleton life.
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Create door decorations for New Student Week group members.
We
expect them to:
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Attend and participate in all Spring and Fall training, as well
as all of New Student Week.
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Demonstrate a desire to assist new students, a willingness to
learn skills for small group facilitation, and a knowledge of/interest
in campus resources.
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Participate in designated meetings for your New Student Week group
during fall term.
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Be prepared to step up and help with programs requiring assistance.
- Maintain
informal contact with new students throughout their first year
to help facilitate the students' transition to Carleton.
Their
compensation is:
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Cool NSW clothes and loads of fun!
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Room and board for the duration of training and New Student Week!
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The chance to develop some friendships with new and returning
students!
A
Significant Challenge
Making
good advisor/advisee assignments for incoming students is an enormous
challenge for us. Carleton does not have a required first year course,
although about 70% of our incoming students enroll in what we designate
"a special course for first year students." We have evidence which
suggests that the best advising results from faculty advisors and
student advisees knowing one another, but there are many impediments
to making the matches: faculty are limited to 18 advisees each;
departments assign majors to faculty before we assign first and
second year students to advisees; there's no required course first
year students reliably enroll in; and faculty are eligible for a
term's leave after nine terms (three years) of teaching-with the
result that in any one year about a third of the faculty have a
leave coming to them.
We're
doing our best given the constraints, but we would be interested
in experimenting with even radically different models (assuming
no increase in either cost or faculty work load!). Any ideas out
there?
Team
Members
- Elizabeth
Ciner, Associate Dean of the College
- Steve
Davis, Director for Academic Support Center
- Mark
Govoni, Dean of Students
-
Robert Tisdale, Professor of English and the Liberal Arts
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