Enhancing Student Quality
Reflecting more diverse geographic origins than ever before, this year’s
freshman class at the University at Albany included high-quality students
from 30 states and 18 countries. The geographic reach of the class was
one reflection of the University’s multifaceted, strategic efforts
to recruit and retain growing numbers of highly talented students. From
a pool of 17,667 applicants (up 3.8 percent from the previous year),
the University enrolled a larger freshman class – 2,278 students,
up from 2,200 than last year – while enhancing academic quality,
as measured by criteria developed by the State University of New York
System Administration. Under those criteria, students in Groups I and
II, the highest selectivity groups as defined by SAT scores and high
school GPAs, increased as a percentage of the enrolled freshmen to 87
percent. Nine percent of the freshmen are either out-of-state residents
(176) or international students (34). The
University’s success in attracting well-qualified students is the
result of focused efforts across all campuses, ranging from more robust
recruitment and marketing to academic offerings responsive to the needs
of talented students, and residence halls, campus activities and services
that contribute to a quality experience for students. To assure that students can make full use of computing technologies, for example, the University recently completed a major overhaul of the entire residential network, giving students ten times as much bandwidth on a more secure network.
In
order to increase selectivity while admitting a larger freshman class,
the University has made a targeted institutional investment in merit
scholarships for high-achieving undergraduates by increasing these scholarships
ten-fold since 1996. The
University welcomed 173 new Presidential Scholars to campus this fall,
a record 20 Frederick Douglass Scholars, and 87 College Scholars. Curricular
Initiatives Across
all disciplines, UAlbany prepares students for the challenges of a changing
world by actively exploring new ways of thinking and learning, by linking
theory and practice in imaginative ways and by shaping new curricula
responsive to society’s needs. Exemplifying
these efforts are a number of new curricular initiatives developed by
the University’s nine schools and colleges. The
School of Informa-tion Science and Policy combined two existing master’s
degree programs into a broader and more technologically competitive
master’s degree in information science. The new curriculum reflects
the increased convergence of traditional information-based professions,
such as librarianship and archives management, with information technology.
A key element of the new program is the requirement that students participate
in a three-credit internship experience to give them the hands-on exposure
that will help them compete in the work world.
In
the College of Arts and Sciences, the highly regarded East Asian Studies
program is growing with the help of a four-year, $1.99 million grant
from the Freeman Foundation. The funds are being used to create new
courses, accommodate more students, and give undergraduates the chance
to travel and study in East Asia. At
the Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, a new
graduate certificate in nonprofit management and leadership offers educational
enrichment for the Capital Region’s voluntary sector workforce
and UAlbany students interested in working for non-profit agencies.
For those considering study at the master’s degree level, it offers
an overview of learning opportunities available at Rockefeller College,
the School of Social Welfare, and the School of Information Science
and Policy. Planning
for the Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management and Leadership
was part of the Center for Women in Government and Civil Society’s
Nonprofit Education Initiative, a four-year program made possible by
a $600,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The
University’s newest school, the School of NanoSciences and NanoEngineering,
reflects the importance of the emerging field of nanotechnology and
the need to prepare students for this field. The School plans to offer
cross-disciplinary doctoral and master’s degree programs in selected
science and engineering tracks pertaining to the nanosciences. According
to a recent report on the federal government’s National Nanotechnology
Initiative, the University at Albany and the University of Washington
(Washington State) are the first two schools in the nation to have graduate
nanosciences programs under consideration A
letter of intent for the School’s proposed curriculum has been
approved by the State University of New York System Administration.
The more detailed curriculum proposal has been assembled by the School’s
faculty and was reviewed by external consultants; institutional governance
councils are in the process of reviewing the proposal. The University’s
goal is to begin enrolling students in 2003. An interdisciplinary initiative known as HumaniTech is engaging faculty from across the University as well as other cultural and educational institutions in efforts that integrate the humanities, art, science and technology. The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation recently awarded a $10,000 grant to support HumaniTech’s Technology Play Project. Five brief technology-based plays are to be produced to dramatize the impact of technology on human existence.
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