Kathryn Rosenbaum
Editor-in-Chief
The Xavier Newswire 3800 Victory Parkway Cincinnati, Ohio 45207-2129 On-campus location: The Publications House, 3739 Ledgewood Dr. Telephone: 513.745.3607 Advertising: 513.745.3561 Fax: 513.745.2898 Email: Kathryn Rosenbaum
Editor-in-Chief Nathan Sergio
Advertising Manager Full list of staff contacts www.xu.edu/newswire
Survey shows satisfaction with Xavier
New students, graduating seniors polled on Xavier experience
Emily Hoferer
Managing Editor
First-year students are content with academic life at Xavier, and graduating seniors were pleased with their Xavier experience, according to results from the 2008 National Survey of Student Engagement.
The NSSE surveyed 904 students at Xavier to measure engagement of their first-year experience and their overall experience once they are seniors.
NSSE is an alternative way to assess a university. Many universities, including Xavier, are ranked in other famous outlets, such as the U.S. News & World Report’s annual top colleges ranking or rankings from the Princeton Review.
“The NSSE is the leading instrument of choice to solicit feedback in students’ experiences in higher education,” said Dr. Kathleen Simons, the Associate Provost for Student Life and Leadership.
Richard Pulskamp, the director of the office of Decision Support and the person responsible for administering the survey and interpreting its results, said that NSSE is important because it measures the things that Xavier should be doing, and what really matters to the students.
“NSSE doesn’t test,” said Pulskamp. “Instead it asks ‘are the students here doing the things that are necessary to their learning?’”
Of the 450 first-year students surveyed, 93 percent had a favorable image of the university. Pulskamp attributes the high first-year rates to the effort that Xavier puts into the first year experience.
Ninety percent of first-year students said that they believe Xavier is committed to their academic success.
The notable statistic from surveyed seniors was that 87 percent would choose Xavier again if they were to repeat their college experience.
In the NSSE results, Xavier is put into three comparison groups.
The first is called the NSSE Universe, which is all the universities that participated in the survey.
The second is the masters group, which is universities with master’s programs and the last is Jesuit universities. According to Pulskamp, Xavier ranks very favorably against the NSSE universe and Masters groups and is on par with other Jesuit institutions.
The survey has five focuses when assessing four-year universities.
They include the level of academic challenges, level of active and collaborative learning, which includes community engagement and group work, the student-faculty interaction, an enriching education experience and a supportive campus environment, such as the availability of tutoring and the accessibility of offices such as the bursar and registrar.
Fifty-six percent of first-years said that Xavier’s faculty is available, helpful and sympathetic. While this may seem low, Xavier ranks high when compared to all other universities in the three different categories.
The results are from a survey conducted via email in the spring.
First-year students are mostly composed of the incoming freshman class, but also includes students who completed their first year at Xavier. The seniors are measured as students eligible to graduate in May 2008, and include many nontraditional students.
Compared to other rankings, Pulskamp said that NSSE was the best.
He said that “U.S. News only cares about selling magazines and the Princeton Review only cares about selling books.” To him NSSE does not have these concerns and is therefore the best survey.
Pulskamp said that improvements could be made in bettering the sophomore experience and to require students to do more writing.
“We don’t do well on some [categories], do well on others,” he said. “There is always room to grow.”
Simons said that she is proud of the NSSE data but there is still work to be done. She wants to look at students who are not as engaged as some of their peers. “We need to find out who is not engaged and why,” said Simons.
Pulskamp will present the results to administrators and the board of trustees.
Fallout from offensive costumes continues
John LaFollette
Editor-in-Chief
A meeting of university officials and student representatives concluded that recent events related to racial insensitivity around Xavier’s campus require both short and long term responses, participants at the meeting said.
The university is still dealing with fallout from costumes worn at a student party over Halloween weekend.
Photos posted on Facebook, which have since been removed, depicted two graduates of the University of Cincinnati wearing black face.
A town hall meeting has been scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 13 in the Gallagher Student Center Theatre to which all students are invited to discuss the events and their ideas for the future.
Jess Pasionek, the Student Director of Diversity, will moderate the event on behalf of the Student Government Association.
“While this is a disturbing incident, this is also an opportunity to address the issue of diversity in our community,” Pasionek and SGA President Craig Scanlon said in a statement.
“The meeting will allow for open dialogue and conversation in the hopes of moving toward a more inclusive community,” the statement said.
Dr. Kathleen Simons, Xavier’s Associate Provost for Student Life and Leadership said that the university needs to improve its “cultural competencies” at the student and administrative levels.
“We’re still wrestling with the best way to respond to this,” Simons said.
Dave Johnson, the director of the Peace and Justice programs, said that Thursday’s town hall meeting was needed to make sure that everyone on campus is on the same page.
“We need to have a community conversation now about how this event has impacted Xavier,” he said.
Simons said that as a representative of the student body in the administration, she will be paying close attention to student comments at the town hall meeting.
“I’m really looking to the students, to say ‘What do you think?’” Simons said.
In addition to scheduling a town hall meeting, a message from Xavier president, Fr. Michael Graham, S.J., was posted on the portal last Thursday evening.
The timing of Fr. Graham’s response, which came almost a full week after the night of the party, was frustrating for students who thought the message should have come sooner.
Simons says that this frustration stems from “unreasonable expectations,” and that the university’s initial lack of information about the incident, as well as scheduling problems with Fr. Graham and other university officials, made a timelier response impossible.
“It’s not fair to respond to something without all the facts,” Simons said.
Simons said three other situations—matters having to do with student discipline, the rally for president-elect Barack Obama on Nov.3 and the university’s budget—also contributed to the delay.
Memorial dedicated to fallen Xavier grad
Amy Windhorst
Campus News Editor
Amy Windhorst
MSG Michael Murphy (left) and LTC Patrick Hampton at the new Matthew C. Mattingly Memorial outside the Armory.
Just outside of the Xavier University Armory, Capt. Matthew C. Mattingly was declared a “hero” during a Veterans Day memorial dedication ceremony early Tuesday afternoon.
The 1998 Xavier University graduate died in combat on Sept. 13, 2006 while stationed as a paratrooper in Iraq.
He was killed in Mosul, Iraq, when gunfire hit his helicopter.
During the battle, he was able to save the lives of several men on the ground, the Army said.
Some of his decorations included the Bronze Star, which is the military’s fourth-highest medal for heroism, the Purple Heart and the Air Medal with Valor device.
The dedication ceremony itself was brief but emotionally charged, and was held in the Armory where Capt. Mattingly had first decided to pursue his Army career. Friends, family and current ROTC students filled the space.
“He heard the words of Jesus and lived his life as salt for the earth and light for the world, and for his response, we are grateful,” said Reverend Al Bischoff.
Classmate and friend Luke Gordley shared memories of Mattingly, including several amusing anecdotes from their time at Xavier.
“Matt had a goofy side to him,” said Gordley. “He never wanted anyone to take him or themselves too seriously.”
The speakers painted a picture of Captain Mattingly that was not only a war hero, but a human as well.
“Matt made the ultimate sacrifice so that others wouldn’t have to,” said Gordley.
At one point the ceremony moved outside, where Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Hampton revealed the monument. Hampton read aloud the inscription on the plaque, which bears Mattingly’s name, date of death, and military decorations. At one point, Hampton embraced Mattingly’s mother, who had been watching the ceremony along with Matthew’s siblings.
The Armory has also dedicated a classroom to him, entitled “Captain Matthew C. Mattingly Warrior Hall.” A small reception was held there after the ceremony had ended.
The love for the memory of the fallen 30-year-old was evident. Gordley summed up these sentiments in his closing statement: “Matt, we miss you, we love you, and we know that you would be honored by what we are doing today.”