Freshman policy could become a problem

Like her anxious classmates, 17-year-old Baldwin High School senior Helms is ready to break free. Helms planned to start college next fall at Georgia College & State University until a controversial freshman residency requirement postponed from last year changed her plans.
“I didn’t want to go away to college because I would have to pay for an apartment or pay to live in dorms. I thought it would be easier financially to stay here, but now it’s not,” Helms said.
When Georgia College & State University became Georgia’s only public liberal arts university in 1996, a number of policies were overhauled and a freshman residency requirement was established. Dr. Bruce Harshbarger, assistant vice president and dean of students, said that after an evaluation of GC&SU’s housing, the administration decided to postpone the policy for a year.
“At the time, GC&SU had the oldest residence halls in the University System of Georgia. The President and her cabinet decided to postpone the residency requirement until the halls could be either renovated or replaced,” he said.
After a year’s delay, the policy will take effect fall semester of 2004. Then, all freshmen will be required to live in campus housing, and exemptions are few and far between.
To qualify for an exemption, students must be married, show unique hardship (including but not limited to students with disabilities, which cannot be reasonably accommodated in student housing), be the primary caretaker of a dependent child, a transfer student with over 12 credit hours (not including joint enrollment or advanced placement credit) or attending GC&SU as a part-time student (taking under seven hours of courses).
Many parents in the surrounding community expect a mile radius exemption for students living in the area. While GC&SU has complied with this expectation, the exemption comes with a twist: students must live within a 25 mile radius and qualify for the Pell Grant -which may be more difficult than some think.
“Pell is based on income and financial need,” Harshbarger said. “It was selected as the criterion for seeking a local exemption due to financial hardship, since it’s an established indicator of such hardship.”
The Pell Grant is a need-based federal grant awarded to students based on Cost of Attendance, the Expected Family Contribution and enrollment status.

Those who don’t qualify for the Pell Grant may struggle scraping up over $5,000 a year for dorm living and expenses, especially considering the lower cost of living at home.
Helms’ mother Cathy says the extra cost isn’t worth it.
“It’s just an extra expense,” Mrs. Helms said. “We are able to send our kids to school, but not out of state or out of town. That’s why we wanted Mary to go here for her basic core classes, but she won’t go to GC&SU if she’s required to live on campus. I think the reasons the college wants to do this are good, valid reasons, but I think it should be optional for those who live in the county.”
Those reasons, according to GC&SU President Dorothy Leland, relate to students’ academic success.
“Both national and local data show a positive correlation between freshman academic success, as measured by GPA and graduation, and being a part of an on campus living/learning community,” she said.
Harshbarger also suggested a correlation between academic success and the new residency requirement.
“First-year students who live on campus do better than commuters, know more people, are better connected and are involved more deeply with the campus and with other students,” he said.
“The residential, high-interaction nature of the first year at GC&SU is one of the fundamental characteristics of the liberal arts experience, and it may or may not speak to a particular student’s needs or interests,” he continued. “It may discourage those who would choose GC&SU as a short-term option before transferring elsewhere, but fortunately, GMC and Macon State still provide that option in this region.”
“We live here in town, so it’s not like we are choosing GC&SU because of its liberal arts offering,” Mrs. Helms said. “It’s convenient, locally accessible, affordable and the benefit is that she’ll also get a top notch education. Mary could go to the other local college, but I think the quality of education will probably be less.”
To avoid moving five miles from her current residence, Lauren Harrison, Helms’ classmate at Baldwin High School, has already decided to attend Georgia Military College, a two-year college located in Milledgeville.
“I’m going to GMC because I’m from Milledgeville, and I’m not going to live in the dorms,” Harrison said. “I’ve always heard that GMC’s classes are really easy, but I don’t think it’s going to be that bad. I was going to apply to GC&SU, but I never did because of the rule.”
Helms agreed. Between the two girls, neither could name a single classmate who’s committed to GC&SU in light of the freshman residency requirement.
“It’s just understood that people are going to GMC because of the dorm rule. A lot of people are going because of that. Lots of people are going to other schools because of it,” Helms said.
“I sincerely hope we don’t lose students because of the residence policy, but I fully support it,” said Dr. Beth Rushing, Dean of the School of Liberal Arts. “A strong liberal arts education involves so much more than what happens inside the classroom. Living in residence halls puts students in the middle of everything that happens on campus-things like art events, lectures, parties, sports and student organizations. While the cost to local students may be higher than it would be if they lived at home, I think it’s better to see that cost as an investment in student success.”
“I’ve heard there is a lot of partying, and there is no opportunity for quiet time and studying,” said Mrs. Helms. “I’ve known students who’ve lived in the dorms at other colleges and their parents put them in apartments as soon as they could because the dorms were too much of a social place.”
If the school doesn’t exempt her child, Mrs. Helms says she’ll have no problem cutting all ties with GC&SU.
“GC&SU will lose a student that is graduating in the top 10 of her class with a GPA of 3.99. She’s an excellent student, and I think she’s an asset to the college. If I could pull my oldest daughter out of GC&SU, I would do it in protest. I would take both of my students out because it’s that upsetting.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Mar 19 2004. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry