Faculty Senate says mentoring could raise retention rates

Nicholas Valenzuela Arizona Daily Wildcat As presiding officer of the Faculty Senate, Jeff Warburton addresses those in attendance at yesterday's first Senate meeting of the semester.

Hiring mentors to talk with students is not a simple process, said Sen. Donald Davis, a hydrology and water resources professor.

"I think retention is a tough problem," Davis said. "There's no easy solution."

University of Arizona President Peter Likins said Tuesday that the university retains just three of every four first-year students.

Not every faculty member should be allowed to mentor, said Jeff Warburton, Senate presiding officer and theatre arts associate professor.

Davis said Michael Gottfredson, vice president for undergraduate education, has been unable to hire a sufficient number of faculty mentors. He said students hungry for guidance line up outside Warburton's office in Gila Residence Hall during the busier times in the semester.

These students, Warburton said, sometimes fear talking with professors and asking for their help.

Although UA's retention rate increased slightly this year, it still needs to be improved, Davis said.

The University of Arizona is ranked 24th out of its 25 peer universities for student retention, Davis said.

Sen. James Clarke, a political science professor, said it is unfair to compare the UA to California universities because they have a three-tiered system that places some students into community colleges before moving them to state universities.

"This gets them prepared for the next level," Clarke said.

Davis said the UA can learn from Arizona State University, which has had a better time recruiting and retaining students. ASU, he said, offers more $1,000 scholarships than the UA and can guarantee its students internships or part-time jobs.

In other business:

Provost Paul Sypherd told the Senate the Arizona International Campus could face a sharp funding drop if the Legislature doesn't change Gov. Jane Hull's and the state Joint Legislative Budget Committee's budget proposals.

Hull suggested earlier this month cutting $276,100 from AIC's state funding to bring it in line with the $8,390 average cost-per-student at Arizona's three universities. AIC's current cost-per-student is $20,901.

Sypherd said $2.5 million is needed for AIC to survive its third year and to provide facilities for its students when the branch campus moves to UA's main campus this summer.

Sypherd said although he did not know where AIC will find the needed funds, the UA could re-allocate its general budget to account for the gap.

"We're making sure we provide necessary services," Sypherd said.

Warburton asked Senate members to send questions to him via e-mail about the proposed Nike partnership with UA's Athletic Department.

He said the Senate will further discuss the issue with a university budget expert at its next meeting, Feb. 9.

Sen. J.D. Garcia, a physics professor, said he opposed the contract due to claims of Nike's human rights violations and poor working conditions.

"The fact that other universities do silly things doesn't mean we have to," he said.