Interview with the Provost Office

Interview with the Associate Provost Dr. Mary Gartner:

Q:What do you think are the biggest challenges freshman have to face when coming to college for the first time?
R: I think it would have to be all the adjustment issues that effect these freshman such as being away from home, time management, school structure, the amount of free time, distractions from friends, potential roommate conflict, self-control, and issues at home. Also the numbers and report tell us that students with a declared major do better than students with an undeclared major, and freshman are undeclared more than any other class. The declaring of a major gives freshman a direction and surrounds them with people with the same interest.

Q: Can you further elaborate on what you mean but these adjustments?
R. Sure. Well lets start off with time management and how much free time freshman actually have. In high school you required to be there for seven to eight hours, compared to college that is completely different. You might not have class on some days, you might have class at 8:00am and not another untill 12:00pm so the stucture of school is different and takes some adjusting to. Also the free time that freshman have here is much more than they had in high school especially without anyone down ther back making sure they do their work. This free time that freshman have is not honestly free! This is the time where they need to be studying and thats what causes the typical freshman to have lower grades than any other class. The typical formula for sucess is for every hour in class you should be studying two hours out of class.

Q: The location of frostburg has been a reoccurring topic brought up amongst the freshman body? Do you think that location or weather at frostburg has anything to do with freshman pulling poorer grades?
R: I dont think so, in fact I think that Frostburg's location should actually help freshman students focus. Frostburg is in more of a rural area then some of the other colleges. Imagine if they attended College Park, there are concerts, events, and just much more distractions. Weather! They will use any excuse they can find not to attend class or take responsibilities. Most of our students are from the surronding area. Does it get cold in frostbrug faster than some areas? Yes, but the snow fall actually is not that much different. Does the weather effect students more here, I wouldnt be that naive and say no but is it really the weather? Now that they are away from home there is nobody forcing them to go, there is no bus to take them to school. So when it does snow and rain, it takes a lot of responsibility to make sure they still attend class.
Q: Do you think there is anything FSU could do to help improve freshman grades, besides the routine academic monitoring and so on?
R: We already do a lot for our freshman by placing them in academic based communities. We want our freshman to be on our campus as much as they can. Like I said before freshman that are invest in FSU have better grades. This is why we make freshman students attend atleast two uncampus events. This is a way of getting them to stay on here. But I think allowing freshman to drive and bring their cars to college their first year is a big issue. I say this because freshman get home sick and drive home every weeekend. Going back home to hang out with there old friends instead of making new ones. This wasted time going home is addtional time neglected on studying. Another issue with allowing freshman to drive is the potential of underage drinking and driving. Freshman are going to be tempted to get behind the wheel, so do make the right decision and some do not. Is this problem only confined to the freshman class no, but it still plays a part in the develpment of the college freshman.

Q: In your opinion what freshman do the best here at FSU?
R: Thats a good question. It has to be the freshman that develop a source of identificaion with the university which gives them an anchor to our campus. This keeps them from going home every weekend, makes them more social, and a much more balanced students. We have found those who have this identity with the campus have better grades then the uninvolved freshman. The reports say that freshman that play sports, join a fraternity/sorority, or in a club/ organization do better as well. This goes back to identifying with the campus. Finally these activities and organizations have manadatory GPA requirements and study hall. So for example for a freshman to continue playing basketball for the whole season they have to maintain above a 2.0 I think. So even if they are uninterested in class they have to do what they have to, to continue playing sports. What ever motives students to go to class and pass is okay with me.