June 22, 2007
Dear Colleagues,
Many of you probably read the editorial in yesterday morning's News-Star, "Survey shows progress at ULM." The editorial praises our efforts in reviving our campus, and it recognizes that our students are rating us higher than ever before. The ACT Student Opinion Survey is just one way of measuring the health and progress of our institution. In the survey, ULM students noted their gratitude for faculty and staff, ranking high the attitude of faculty toward students, value of advice from advisors, preparation for future occupations and the availability of faculty outside the classroom. Students also applauded ULM facilities and programs, such as the new Student Union Building, study areas, classroom facilities, Aramark food service, library facilities and services, recreational programs, computer services, college-sponsored social activities and job placement services, all areas that ranked higher than national norms. These survey findings are significant, and in many ways, indicative of the tremendous collaborations we have shared over the past five years. I sincerely thank you, ULM's faculty and staff, for your perseverance in making great progress transpire.
Your efforts are shaping each student’s journey at ULM. I was reminded of this yesterday when walking across campus. I saw a long line of PREP students, most wearing their maroon t-shirts, crossing the street in groups according to their respective colleges. This is the first time our future students learn about university services, talk with professors in their majors and meet other students interested in the same academic disciplines. I want to thank the staff members who organize our truly remarkable orientation program, and I want to thank our faculty for providing encouragement for our future students, encouragement that is often our students' first taste of ULM.
Through our work together, we continue to attract extremely bright students; last year, the average ACT score of our incoming freshman class was the highest in the university’s history. While it certainly helps that we can offer our students a great studying spot at Starbucks and an inviting home in one of our new suite-style apartments, it’s the quality of education at our institution that is captivating more academically-prepared students than ever before. Our students know they can attend ULM and not only benefit from our smart classrooms and other modern technologies, but they can benefit from experts in their interested disciplines. An education at ULM provides students with an outstanding foundation for life and work after graduation.
To ensure the success of our students and to improve student retention, our faculty and staff are exploring new and innovative teaching methods. Many of our Math, Biology, Chemistry and English folks are working throughout this summer to revamp the teaching and learning atmosphere of several core freshman subjects. They are discovering ways to integrate technology, such as online tutorial programs, with classroom instruction. Our faculty and staff recognize that even our brightest students learn differently, and these new methods will address those gaps.
Much of our institution’s prosperity can be attributed to the work of our faculty and staff, and I thank you for your many contributions.
Originally published in the News-Star June 21, 2007
Survey shows progress at ULM
The news must have gone down as smoothly as a Starbucks cappuccino.
Students at the University of Louisiana at Monroe have ranked their school above the national average in the 2007 ACT Satisfaction Survey. ULM has seen a gradual increase in its score since 2002, when Jim Cofer became president, from 3.26 to this year's 3.99 out of 5.0. The national average was 3.93.
The scores reflect the school's renaissance since Cofer arrived.
When Cofer first stepped foot on the ULM campus, it was a hodgepodge of architectural design. The dormitories were obsolete. Classroom buildings were shopworn, badly in need of painting. The campus seemed settled in a malaise. Few students spoke proudly of attending ULM; in some cases, it was the university of default: affordable and close by.
Under Cofer, the campus has been abuzz with new construction and new ideas.
A new, cohesive look mirroring the new library gives a sense of identity and purpose. ULM finally looks like a campus. Existing buildings were painted often with faculty and staff volunteering the labor.
Students applauded new residence halls and eateries, computer services, social events and recreation. Other areas obtaining high marks include job placement services, food, availability of advisers and preparation for future employment.
A new speaker program has offered the likes of Bill Cosby, Robert Kennedy Jr., Ben Stein, Doris Kearns Goodwin and Steve Forbes. Students attended for free.
A change in the school's mascot, ordained by the NCAA, generated healthy community involvement and excitement, settling on Warhawks.
ULM is a happening place once again. But the main mission is far from forgotten.
New approaches to preparing students for college, higher entrance standards and a fresh focus on academics are evident. ULM is in the middle of its summer PREP programs, an orientation program for incoming freshmen that includes registration. New academic tutoring programs are in place.
"I want to help every single kid graduate," Cofer said. "That's the most important thing to me. If it means working one-on-one to make it happen, that's what I'll do."
The university is addressing one age-old problem students identified in the survey a lack of parking. An intermodal transit facility is going up and the parking along DeSiard Street is being reworked to increase parking places and safety, but ULM is still largely a commuter campus. Chances are, the campus will never be able to provide enough convenient parking spots to satisfy.
Still, the university should be pleased at the score; it indicates students are enjoying their college experience.
"It's clearly evident that the things faculty and staff are doing are working," Cofer said. "We're where we want to be and headed in the right direction."
The scores prove the point.
James E. Cofer, Sr.
ULM President