In a recent survey of 501 University of Arizona students by FMR Associates Inc., a Tucson-based research company, 81 percent said they often felt "overwhelmed and frustrated." The UA also received low ratings for faculty responsiveness, despite high ratin gs overall.

The Wildcat contacted UA Dean of Students Melissa Vito, via electronic mail, to find out her feelings on the campus climate and how it might be changed for the better. Vito has been dean of students for three years.

What are your main goals for the year?

Finalize review of the campus climate study. We have been researching other institutions nationally this summer to see who else has done campus climate surveys and how we compare in terms of student experience. We are also scheduling some additional focus groups (some were conducted last spring) with specific student groups to round out what came out of the survey.

We will then actively present this information to students, faculty and staff to help set priorities and identify issues.

I want to work to increase the visibility of this office to the general student population. I will be continuing the Minority Student Advisory Group and am establishing a Dean's Leadership Group, which will be comprised of about 40 student leaders from ac ross campus. The purpose will be to keep this office informed about issues students are facing. Additionally, students from this group will have the opportunity to work together on a common project to help impact the campus community in a positive way.

Other goals include continuing to move the Student Union project forward and providing leadership to the other units in student life.

What are important issues that the UA will face this year?

I think that the university will continue to be challenged by limited resources. The decisions which will be made relative to priorities and services to students will be complicated. I hope that students will stay informed and use avenues available to mak e their voices heard.

How do you plan to make the campus climate better?

Ultimately, this takes more than one person. My approach is to educate as many people as possible to the benchmark survey which we just did to heighten awareness. There are others on campus also addressing the climate, and I am aware that there will be a campus "theme" and various means of getting this out to the campus.

I am establishing a student leader group which I talked about above, which will bring together students across campus addressing how to improve the climate in concrete ways. I have high expectations for this project.

What are your feelings on the Integrated Instructional Facility and the Memorial Student Union?

I think that when you look at both projects combined, they reflect a very powerful attempt to improve the quality of the campus community, physically. The IIF project will bring much-needed classrooms and technology, and also combined learning support ser vices in one facility.

The Union is really the heart and soul of the campus. It is the one community center on campus - remodeling is critical, not only to meet health/safety issues, but to fully realize the potential of the facility. I hope that we will see a Union which is al ive with programs, activities, and which integrates with the Mall and other outdoor space.

Both projects are important to campus.

How will IIF impact student activities during its construction?

Students and staff are already looking at ways to preserve or modify activities during the construction of the IIF building. Carol Thompson, associate dean in this office, chairs the Mall committee, and they initiated discussions last year around this iss ue. Alternative locations are being looked at for Spring Fling and Homecoming. The university's ability to continue these activities during construction will require that the community come together and offer temporary options.

What do you feel should be done to improve undergraduate education?

I think we are on the right track currently. Class delivery to undergraduates is vastly improved over a few short years ago. We are making a concerted, universitywide effort to welcome freshmen.

I think that students would like to see more faculty outside of the classroom, and so expansion of programs like the Faculty Fellows is really important. In the campus climate survey, students noted that they felt faculty were really excellent here, but t hat they would like more access to them.

What can be done to improve the graduation rate?

There is no simple answer to this question because student success is tied to a number of factors. However, once you get beyond issues like academic preparedness and test scores (which can help predict student success), there are other things which can be done within the university to help improve the graduation rate.

It is important for students to develop and academic connection - to have an adviser who is accessible and has accurate information. Mentors across campus also help students get connected. Students who have a clear idea of where they are going tend to hav e higher graduation rates, so it is important that students be provided with opportunities to begin career exploration as early as possible. Much work has been done and is being done, through cooperative efforts between Career Services and the colleges, t o provide these opportunities for students. The Office of Undergraduate Education has been very aggressive over the past couple of years in establishing mentoring programs, expanding programs like Courses in Common.

We tend to lose students between their first and second year. So much institutional emphasis is currently being placed on helping students succeed as freshmen. The New Student Center, which has recently moved to Bear Down, is a program which was developed to focus on getting freshmen connected and plugged into the resources they need to succeed.

Since the majority of our freshmen live in residence halls, we are able to impact most freshmen through programs and activities in those environments. This year, the residence hall staff is implementing a thoroughly revised educational program designed to promote community learning. It is very exciting and has potential to make a significant impact on students' lives. In doing so, the potential is also there to improve each student's potential for success and graduation.

According to the campus climate survey ... 81 percent of those surveyed often felt "overwhelmed and frustrated," and 57 percent felt "alienated and not part of the system." Do you think such feelings are an indication of the need to revamp undergraduate education at the UA?

I think these answers reflect the need to continue the emphasis which was initiated several years ago, by (UA President Manuel) Pacheco and others, to streamline this environment and make it as easy as possible for students to negotiate the "system." We a re not there yet, but significant improvements have been made in how students register, change classes, apply for and receive financial aid and a number of other processes. We need to continue to review policies and practices to make sure that they are as simple and clear as possible and that they are administered in a consistent, humane way.

We also need to continue the initiatives I mentioned above. In addition, we need to expand the way we get students involved in campus outside the classroom, in areas like service learning and other clubs and activities. These activities not only help conn ect students to the community, but also give students an opportunity to apply classroom learning outside the classroom. Past budget cuts have impacted our ability to offer concerts and other major activities, which help make students feel a part of the co mmunity; however, the recent merger of the Student Union with the Department of Student Programs will help strengthen programmatic opportunities for students.

What can be done to alleviate the "perceived emphasis on research over teaching" which came out in the survey?

Expansion of programs like the Faculty Fellows will help address this perception by placing more faculty in situations outside the classroom with students. Expansion of the Freshmen Colloquia also address this perception as new students are provided an op portunity to interact with faculty in a small colloquia setting.

This is a major research university, and I think that expanding the opportunities for all students, including undergraduates, to be able to work with faculty and conduct research is important. This is happening in a number of areas. The creation of new kn owledge through the research which is conducted here is very exciting and is critically linked to excellence in teaching. I think sometimes we lose sight of this, though.

What are the UA's immediate plans to improve students' "university experience"?

I think I have addressed a lot of this above. The emphasis on streamlining bureaucracy, enhancing first-year programs, establishing mentoring programs, expansion of the Honors Program, the proposed major rebuilding of the Student Union and the building of the IIF are all very exciting, current activities which will directly and positively impact the lives of students' university experience.

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