Members of the Faculty Senate discussed new methods of cultivating student success during and after their time at TCU at its meeting Thursday.
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Kathy Cavins-Tull said there is a pattern of cognitive and social development students go through during their time at college.
Cavins-Tull said the Student Affairs faculty strives to help students grow as individuals.
“There is a notion of challenge and support,” Cavins-Tull said. “Having the right amount of challenge for a student and the right amount of support is where the rubber meets the rope.”
Cavins-Tull emphasized the importance of student involvement and introduced the Sophomore Penny, a program that she said pushes second-year students to seek autonomy, interdependence and identity.
Student and Academic Affairs has also implemented behind-the-scene programs as safety nets for students, Cavins-Tull said, such as a new suicide prevention program and case management.
“Case management is a program that meets on Monday afternoon that identifies students that seem to be having difficulty and getting them the appropriate resources to get back on track,” Cavins-Tull said.
Dean of Transfer Students Kay Higgins also discussed ways the university could make transfer students’ transition into TCU smoother and more successful.
Higgins said many transfer students do not receive the guidance they need upon entering TCU and proposed the idea of an advising center being available in every college at the university.
TCU alumnus Shawn Worthen is the new Director of Athletic Academics. Worthen said he wants to help athletes be able to take the same path of success he walked by providing learning assistance, academic advising and mentoring.
“Grades will be sent out to faculty every Monday,” Worthen said. “If professors call the athletic department with concerns, we can react and we will react.”
Director of Academic Services Marsha Ramsey explained the idea of a university-wide testing center. The concept of the testing-center is modeled after the Neely School of Business Testing Lab.
The majority of the Faculty Senate voted for the proposal of a university testing center in the future. No concrete plans on the proposal have been made.
Assistant Director of the TCU Office of Institutional Research Tanisha Arrington concluded the meeting by explaining the new eSPOTs system.
Provost Nowell Donovan said the new eSPOTs system gives professors assessment tools to help them improve in their teaching abilities.
Fall 2012 survey period is Nov. 14 – Dec. 5.
