Pace Paw Print

In explaining Pace University to others, I like to point out that for more than 100 years, Pace has been in the business of helping our students transform their lives. That is a deep responsibility, but it is also the source of tremendous pleasure for the faculty and staff. And it is one that all of us embrace. Part of that responsibility is to help you finish what you started.

Why is that important? To put in one or two years of hard work at Pace and then to drop out is a terrible waste. Future employers will be looking for a diploma. But there is much more involved. We know that students who seek to finish their degrees more often than not receive high quality academic advising, stay on track academically, build powerful career networks, make long-lasting friendships, and make strong connections with faculty and staff members that stand them in good stead for years to come. Those who consider transferring to another university sometimes find that the time and effort involved in finding a new academic home are substantial, and that the expected benefit is not as great as the benefit of finding a solution to their problems at Pace would have been. We want to help you solve those problems.

Of course, some students may need to leave for personal reasons, or may change their career plans or views about what is important to them. But our Three-Year Plan provides for personal attention to each student who is considering dropping out or transferring.

The first step is to make sure that applicants have accurate information for deciding to come here. Not long ago, we found students leaving because they could not find programs in pharmacology, fashion design, and architecture, none of which we offered. Our new view book and the students who reach out from our new call center to people who inquire about Pace are clearing up many such misunderstandings.

We also are increasing ways to make sure prospective students have a good idea of what life and learning at Pace will be like. This year we are adding a second Admitted Student Weekend with sample classes and an overnight stay. For those who join the Pace community, this program means better ways to help you cope with problems without leaving.

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To help new students forestall minor discouragements, this fall we distributed a pocket-sized "Passport to Success", with useful phone numbers and a "to do list" of things like "pay balance of payment due by deadline." A similar card went out at the end of the first term, and a list of "things to do before you go home" will go out near the end of this term.

This fall we also implemented a new freshmen advising program. A full-time faculty member or professional staffer from the school chosen by each new student now serves as an academic adviser to that student, teaching a newly-reconstituted freshman seminar, UNV 101. They will continue advising through the spring, and will then hand off their students to the advisers who will guide them through their majors. (Students undecided about their schools work with the Center for Academic Excellence and other advising offices to get insight into the major that best matches their interests and career goals.)

To make sure you always have someone to turn to, both the Office of Student Assistance (OSA) and the Office of Student Success (OSS) now have special e-mail accounts. For issues like bills and registering, write OSAFeedback@pace.edu. For everything else, or if you just don't know where to turn, the OSS address is success@pace.edu. Both promise an acknowledgement within 24 hours, though resolving issues may take longer.

Technology can help, too. Many academic counselors and deans now give their IM names to newly-accepted students, and several have Facebook accounts. Even the multiplying Pace Facebook groups catch problems. When one student recently filled in his "status" as "transferring," an academic adviser he'd known in the group promptly asked if she could help.

We want to talk personally to each student who is thinking of dropping out or leaving. We hope that you will tell us (your adviser or success@pace.edu) if you or a friend is giving consideration to leaving. Your adviser, someone from the OSS or a member of your school's decanal staff will discuss it with you personally to see what we can do to address your financial, academic, or social concerns. We are taking very seriously any changes in students' financial circumstances.

We are also working hard to continually improve the quality of student academic and social life. We review very carefully your responses to the National Survey of Student Engagement, and, as a consequence, we have encouraged more participatory learning. Assessments are underway of the core curriculum and civic engagement/AOK1 classes. In the longer run, synergies from the cross-disciplinary Centers of Excellence envisioned in the Three-Year Plan will magnify our curricular strengths.

We recruited 400 more new undergraduates this fall than last year. We are delighted to have you all at Pace and we want to keep you here for a full undergraduate career. It will help both you and the university.

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