July 22, 2002

As members of a generation that has grown up watching the likes of Survivor, The Real World, and The Osbournes, the 110 incoming freshmen attending Professor David B. Miller's June 28 orientation seminar were not cowed as they took their seats, preparing to be lectured on how college is different from high school. Collectively, their body language screamed out "Yeah, right. Whatever."

The group was nonchalant, confident, even chatty, as Miller, a veteran psychology professor at UConn, started his session. Soon, however, the group grew silent. And, before Miller had finished, some of the teenagers were wide-eyed.

"The key to success or failure at UConn is you," he told the students, as they settled into their seats. "You're going to have to attend classes religiously, and learn time management skills, study skills, social skills and note-taking skills. And it's all going to fall on your shoulders.

"High school is gone, it's out of the picture - history. UConn is the real world," he said.

The seminar was one of 22 led this summer by Miller; another 11 are being taught by Steve Jarvi, director of the Institute for Student Success, and David Ouimette, director of First Year Programs. The 60-minute presentations are

part of an enhanced effort by the Division of Enrollment Management to retain and graduate students who enroll at the University.

"The programs are designed to ensure that students start off on the right track by succeeding in the first semester," said Dolan Evanovich, associate provost for enrollment management. "We've revamped the entire student orientation process during the past 18 months, starting our dialogue with students early in the summer, then continuing the discussion throughout the year.

"Academic expectations, personal decision-making, respect for others, responsibility as part of the University community, and pride in UConn. These are all very important messages that we discuss and reinforce throughout the year with students," he said.

Already, UConn fares well among public universities in freshman retention, regularly ranking among the top 20 schools in the nation. In September, nearly 90 percent of last year's freshman class will return, a slight increase from 88 percent the previous year though still several percentage points lower than administrative goals.

The University's overall graduation rate also has increased, Evanovich said, to 70 percent for the class that came to UConn in 1996. That number, too, places UConn among the best public research universities in the country.

In his orientation sessions, Miller hopes to build on those rankings by letting freshmen know, even before they step foot in a UConn classroom, that the smooth ride they may have had in high school is over.

"You studied for what, 15 hours a week in high school?" he asked the students, drawing hoots of laughter. Most of them acknowledged studying for barely a quarter of that time during their senior year, and a number, including some who received A grades in high school, said their studies were minimal.

"Well, to succeed here, you have to put in three hours of study for every one hour you spend in class. Most of you will be in class 15 hours a week, so that's 45 hours of studying," he said, eliciting groans.

"In high school, I'm sure your teachers told you what would be on the test, what to study, even where to find the information. Here, anything is fair game - material from lectures, the text, required reading, extra study on your own. We don't teach to the exam or tell you what you need to know for it. You are responsible for all the material, as well as the interrelated material," Miller said, adding that one-third of the freshman taking his class generally fail his mid-term exam.

In college, he added, "extra credit is not an entitlement. There are no automatic make-up exams, no curving and, no, effort doesn't count - effort is expected. Excuses? Forget about it."

The students were impressed.

"Some of the facts, like the work outside the classroom, were pretty scary," said Alison Ingman, a new student from Bergen County, N.J., after Miller's often humorous multi-media presentation had ended. "But I'll do it."

"I knew college would be tough, but I didn't think it would be this hard," added Kyle Baillargeon of Seabrook, N.H., "especially the part about more responsibility - that I'm going to have to do it all myself, I can't ride on anyone's coat tails."

The reactions came as no surprise to Miller.

"This is a serious issue for professors, because we're seeing more and more students who think the demands of UConn are comparable to high school. Yet it's not even close. So I'm delivering what has to be a very scary message," he said. "At the same time, many of the students are thanking me for alerting them and are even trying desperately to get into my classes."

"This is a serious issue for professors, because we're seeing more and more students who think the demands of UConn are comparable to high school. Yet it's not even close. So I'm delivering what has to be a very scary message," he said. "At the same time, many of the students are thanking me for alerting them and are even trying desperately to get into my classes."