Technology And Program Changes Implemented to Improve Undergraduate Education At UB

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo is making a concerted effort to improve the overall undergraduate experience and to help students, including transfer students, move more easily through the university system and graduate within four years of enrollment.

Nicolas Goodman, vice provost for undergraduate education, said major changes in UB's services and programs for undergraduate students will improve student advisement, eliminate bottlenecks and enable students to finish their degrees in a timely and efficient manner.

Goodman said that although the 1995-96 New York State budget likely will call for reductions in state support for SUNY and a tuition increase, UB is still one of the nation's best buys in higher education.

"The improvements in the administration of undergraduate education that we are implementing will make it an even more attractive option for college-bound students from across New York State," he added.

€ Improvements in undergraduate registration, class scheduling and student advisement. A pre-registration system accessed via a touch-tone telephone has been implemented that, for many students, eliminates hours in course registration lines. Students also can access by touch-tone telephone the new Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS), which keeps students accurately apprised of the status of their progress toward a degree by providing them with the number of credit hours accrued and the number and type of credits still needed to satisfy graduation requirements.

€ Creation of more sections of introductory courses offered by departments to the general student population (i.e., Math 101, Psychology 101) and are required for admission to advanced-level classes.

€ Availability of 20 new advanced-technology classrooms and enhanced access to campus computing facilities.

€ Earlier notification of financial-aid packages for incoming freshmen. Notices of financial-aid awards are now sent to students immediately after their acceptance so that students and parents can quickly assess loan and grant requirements and determine likely out-of-pocket expenses. According to John Karrer, director of student finances and records, many students who apply to UB also apply to smaller SUNY colleges, which have until now been at an advantage in this regard because their size allowed for faster response regarding financial-aid packages.

€ Reduction in the minimum number of credit hours required by the university for graduation from 128 to 120. Goodman noted that many individual degree programs, particularly those in professional schools, still require more than 120 hours for graduation. Most other universities have a 120-credit-hour minimum and the 128-requirement was more than required by the New York State Department of Education.

€ Establishment of the Council of Arts and Sciences Deans, which includes deans from the faculties of Arts and Letters, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences and Mathematics. The council oversees and coordinates undergraduate arts-and-sciences education, tracks course demand and helps assure the availability of adequate sections of the general-education courses offered through their departments and required for graduation from UB.

€ Changes in the general-education curriculum for undergraduate arts-and-sciences majors, a group that comprises more than half of the university's undergraduate population. The new curriculum can be more easily adapted to accommodate the degree requirements of individual departments, with the aim of reducing the amount of time it takes to obtain a degree.

€ Increased access to degree programs for undergraduate arts-and-sciences majors. Junior undergraduates, who previously had to complete a number of prerequisite courses before being admitted to a department, found themselves in jeopardy of losing financial aid if courses weren't available, since department enrollment becomes a requirement by junior year. They now will receive provisional department acceptance pending the completion of those courses if they have a 2.0 grade-point average and have completed at least 60 credit hours.

€ Negotiation and improvement of inter-institutional articulation agreements that ease problems confronted by students transferring from other colleges and universities. UB has signed a joint-admissions agreement with Monroe Community College and is discussing similar agreements with Erie Community College, Jamestown Community College, Niagara County Community College and Genesee Community College. The university recently named its first transfer and articulation coordinator. Goodman said the State University of New York system guarantees that students who complete a two-year community-college program satisfactorily may be admitted to a SUNY four-year college or university.