Standard 6: Student Services

Dartmouth has long been known as an institution that recognizes the complementary nature of education inside and outside the classroom. The Dean of the College, and the areas reporting to him, have a clear vision of the relationship between the academic mission of the College and the wide range of residential and co-curricular options that supplement and enhance the education that students receive in the classroom. In addition, Dartmouth recognizes the need to provide services that help students make the best possible use of the educational opportunities they are offered. The First-Year Office, the Office of the Class Deans, the Academic Skills Center, and several other offices that provide academic support are seen by students as resources that play an important role in their development, both as students and individuals. Dartmouth is fortunate to have a staff that enjoys the widespread respect of students and faculty alike.

The appointment of a new Dean of the College this summer has also been greeted with a great deal of optimism and hope within the wider community. There is a shared sense that this appointment, in conjunction with the release of the Student Life Initiative, will help to provide a fresh vision for strengthening an already strong student affairs program. In the visiting committee's brief meetings with student leaders, it was apparent that there is a wide range of opinion among students on major issues, such as the merits and demerits of the fraternity system and the best way of organizing social and residential life at Dartmouth. The anticipated release of the Student Life Initiative has inspired productive self-examination and discussion among students — discussion that can only have productive outcomes for them in the long run. We presume that such dialogue will continue in the future and encourage continued engagement.

In the meantime, the student services staff has begun thinking in productive ways about smaller measures that can help to strengthen Dartmouth's residential and social arrangements. The recent increase in the Student Activities Fee is a modest example of such measures. It is worth noting that further increases in the funding of non-fraternity social, extracurricular and residential arrangements would be welcomed by all students, no matter what their opinions on the issue of fraternities and sororities and their place at the College. The fees Dartmouth collects from and redistributes to students in these areas seem somewhat modest when compared to other colleges, and there is widespread desire on the part of students for additional resources.

In any event, it is clear that this is a particularly interesting and exciting time for the student services at Dartmouth, and the visiting committee was both heartened and impressed by the thoughtfulness and effort that have already gone into improving this area in recent years. The release of the Student Life Initiative this winter will help to assure that these efforts and improvements will continue for the foreseeable future.