| Ransom Hall proposed for freshman success center |
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| Written by Joan Khalaf, The Shorthorn senior staff | |||||
| Tuesday, 29 September 2009 08:49 PM | |||||
  Education senior Monica Dorsey works on a science project Tuesday at Ransom Hall. The university is highly considering Ransom Hall to be converted into a new freshman center named University College, slated for completion August 2010, with no finalized 24-hour computer lab site replacement in mind. The center will provide incoming freshman with academic advising, counseling, and College Level Examination Program testing. (The Shorthorn: Rasy Ran) By Aug. 1, 2010, the entire building would be transformed into a one-stop shop for freshman with advising, testing, tutoring and most services first-year undergraduates would need. The 24-hour computer lab and UTA Computer Store on the first floor, and the computer labs for classes on the other two floors, would be removed, said Donald Bobbitt, provost and academic affairs vice president. “In my office, we have this moral obligation to make sure every student is successful,” Bobbitt said. A university officials ad hoc group, meaning it is not intended to be permanent, will draft a recommendation for President James Spaniolo, outlining the estimated renovation cost of where they choose to put the center, among other project details to be finalized. Bobbitt said Ransom Hall’s central location, across from the University Center, made it the first choice. After monitoring the hall’s use, officials determined the labs were underused. English graduate student Matt Navy said he thought a better location could be considered. “I see the whole school as a freshman center with the UC and the Maverick Activities Center,” he said. It has yet to be determined where Ransom Hall computers would go, but Bobbitt said that they may be placed in labs or spaces may be created with casual seating arrangements and a social environment. Spaces in Davis Hall were also considered, but offices, like the Financial Aid Office, cannot be moved. The group is considering placing the UTA Computer Store either in the UC or partnering with the UTA Bookstore. Computer Store manager Pam Tremaine said she would be upset if the store moved to the bookstore, since Follett owns it. “I consider us more of a service than a business,” she said. “They’re [the bookstore] there to make money, and we’re there as a service to students.” Nikhila Kommireddy, an Office of Information Technology employee and computer science graduate student, said she could only foresee a problem if there were no more 24/7 labs that all students could access. Visual communication junior Mark Larimore, who takes a digital design class on Ransom Hall’s second floor, said he would be for the change if his class would move to where his other classes are located — the Fine Arts Building. “We’re very detached being over here,” he said. Senior Vice Provost Michael Moore headed the Task Force for the First Year Experience and Undergraduate Retention, which analyzed ways to retain students, specifically freshmen. He said that the first year is a critical time and having the center will help freshmen that are struggling, instead of making them run around campus for what they need. “I think this will be one of the biggest changes to come to UTA in a very long time,” Moore said. Biology freshman Brent Collins said the center is a great idea. “Being a freshman, you don’t have a feel for the campus yet or know quite where to go,” he said. “Having something like that would be nice.” Biology freshman Laura Cardona said she would rather not have a center for freshmen, because it would increase their dependence. “Since they’re on their own, I think they should have to go around campus and do what they have to do,” she said. “Freshmen should let go of depending on others to help them.” Views: 500 | E-mail
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 27 January 2010 03:35 PM ) | |||||
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