UCF Will Enhance Composition, Algebra Classes to Help First-Year Students

By Chad Binette Jan. 23, 2009

Photo: Jacque Brund

President John Hitt discussed a new initiative to enhance student retention and success during the Board of Trustees meeting Thursday.

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Aiming to increase student success and retention, UCF will launch a new initiative that creates smaller Algebra and Composition classes and emphasizes more faculty-student interaction.

The number of students in each Composition class will be reduced from 27 to 25 beginning in the summer, and eight pilot sections in the fall will have only 19 students, President John Hitt told the Board of Trustees on Thursday. UCF also will increase support for the University Writing Center.

Algebra classes will be restructured beginning in the fall so that students only meet for one lecture a week. Other Algebra sessions will be conducted as labs where students and faculty will work together on applied math problems.

The changes are a result of research that Hitt sought about the effects of class size on student learning. The research found that class size does not have a primary effect on student success, except in classes that teach skills such as writing and math.

“The success of first-year students is crucial to all universities, and UCF is dedicating additional resources to help those students thrive,” said Rick Schell, vice president and chief of staff. “These enhanced opportunities, along with the efforts or our dedicated faculty members, will further prepare students for success throughout their academic careers and after they graduate.”

In other action Thursday, the Board of Trustees:

-- Approved the establishment of a new technology fee and increases to fees for student activities and service, health, athletics and transportation access. The technology fee, authorized by the Legislature and expected to be adopted throughout the State University System, will be set at 5 percent of the tuition rate. The money will be used to enhance instructional technology resources, and a committee of faculty and students will determine how the revenues will be spent.

The increases for the other fees will be about 5 percent each. The additional revenues will help UCF operate the Recreation and Wellness Center, add Counseling Center staff and expand the UCF shuttle service for students.

In addition, the trustees voted to increase parking decal fees for students, faculty and staff by 5 percent. Committees of faculty, staff and students recommended the amounts of all of the increases approved by the Board of Trustees.

-- Welcomed new College of Optics and Photonics Dean Bahaa Saleh and thanked former dean Eric Van Stryland for his leadership the past 10 years. Van Stryland is continuing to teach and conduct research at UCF. Trustees also welcomed Marwan Simaan, the new interim dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Simaan became the first National Academy of Engineering member to join the UCF faculty in 2007.

-- Watched a video presentation about UCF TV, which now can be seen on Bright House Networks Digital Cable Channel 1 in addition to Channel 300 of the Video-On-Demand service. UCF TV shows include “Money Talk$ America” hosted by Sean Snaith, director of the Institute for Economic Competitiveness, and “UCF SportsKnight,” which highlights games, coaches and players from all UCF sports.  Other UCF TV programs feature symphony concerts, speeches from the world’s leading newsmakers and scholars and the latest research breakthroughs in health care, lasers and more. The UCF TV presentation was led by Tom Huddleston, vice president for Marketing, Communications and Admissions. Visit www.ucf.tv  for more information and a programming schedule.

-- Learned that UCF ranked 34th among U.S. universities last fall with 62 National Merit Scholars in the first-year class.

-- Discussed several Student Development and Enrollment Services programs that enhance students’ educational and personal growth at UCF. Vice President Maribeth Ehasz and four students described LEAD Scholars, services for transfer students and a host of other programs offered by SDES.

-- Heard about the success of the UCF Alumni Association from executive director Tom Messina. The Alumni Association coordinates 21 regional chapters, 16 that are based in colleges such as Nursing and Engineering and Computer Science and seven other chapters. Messina cited the association’s success in engaging young alumni and increasing the rate of alumni who are members.

UCF Stands For Opportunity: The University of Central Florida is a metropolitan research university that ranks as the 6th largest in the nation with more than 50,000 students. UCF's first classes were offered in 1968. The university offers impressive academic and research environments that power the region's economic development. UCF's culture of opportunity is driven by our diversity, Orlando environment, history of entrepreneurship and our youth, relevance and energy. For more information, visit http://news.ucf.edu.

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