Barriers
' By STANLEY F. PAULSON
Dean, College Of the Liberal Arts
' lt may be a student view that deans
-and other administrators are inac
`l.essible, formidable, and even like it
''''that way. My view is that this dean is
accessible, easy to talk to and ready to
1 ' itemove any supposed barrier that
,exists.
a The problem, I suspect, is in the size
'' n and complexity of this academic city.
*" 1 1-Iow does a dean communicate with
.5000 students in Liberal Arts or they
with him on matters of mutual concern?
)
I believe most students want to
~',F,pmmunicate with those who most
"' directly affect them in their un
.der graduate lives and, alas, the dean is
-;
.410 probably the highest on that list.
Professors, departmental and college
advisers are closer to student times of
,Aecision.
What we have tried to do in the College
of the Liberal Arts, therefore, is to
edevelop opportunities for students to
work with those who most affect them.
As a result we have student
organizations in some 17 departments
providing for mutual consideration of
areas of academic concentration.
For students with broader college
Paper works for output, but...
information flow resembles drip
".; By 808 FRICK
Daily Collegian Staff Writer
, Faculty-Administration
Before students can give responsible
..,,Input into the administration, they first
must have complete, accurate output on
• the administration's actions output
:„fnat is provided, in part, by The Daily
cpllegian.
It is the Collegian's relationship with
~; t he administration, then, that largely
,L_Optermines the quantity and quality of
,news about the administration that the
.tiniversity community receives.
~,The level of cooperation between the
.Penn State bureaucracy and the student
newspaper varies from nonexistent, to
begrudging, to very open and candid.
To a journalist, of course, there seems
49 be too many in the former and not
asnough in the latter categories.
is, Probably the greatest hindrance to
`reporters is a general directive to staff
and administrators that prohibits them
from answering even the most simple
questions without clearance from some
higher source.
One classic example of this happened
'4'About a month ago after a power
't' blackout •on campus. A Collegian
:'•ieporter called the Maintenance and
operations office for information. The
'conversation went something like this:
,"Reporter: I'd like some information on
olthe power failure that occurred today.
•'+Office: That data won't be released until
tomorrow.
'Reporter: This is for tomorrow's paper,
is there someone else I could call? I
really need it tonight.
I)Tfice: No, I'm sorry, this Is the only
stiffice with that data.
Reporter: You mean you have the in
formation but you won't give it out?
0 9
o .
. ° e -
e .
I i
_ _
=--
ADMINISTRAni
wg
the
daily
Illustration by Tom DeSanto
fall as executives, students build bridges
interests, we have, 22 student
representatives ' working with faculty
members on college committees
covering virtually every aspect of
college operations.
The Liberal Arts Student Council deals
with issues of student concern on a
college-wide level, and its officers are
included in the advisory groups of the
college. Randy Albright, president of the
council, and other officers are invited to
meet with me, members of the dean's
staff and all of the department heads of
the college in our bi-weekly meetings, to
be informed of all college developments
and to present student views regarding
them.
Last week, for example, members of
my staff and myself met with 30 students
of the council to discuss library hours, an
experimental course the students wish to
see established, course evaluations and
council, relationships with students on
commonwealth campuses. The council
president and I meet each group of in
coming students to Liberal Arts to invite
their participation in the council and in
other College affairs which meet their
own interests.
Because we are in agreement that
career opportunities for Liberal Arts
Office: Can't
Reporter: I'm sorry, can't.
This dilemma was remedied by a call
to an official in the University's Office of
Public Information who simply ordered
M&O to release the information. It was
released.
Considering Penn State's public in
formation department's responsibility
for maintaining a good image of the
University, they are helpful not only in
opening channels for simple stories, but
even controversial ones occasionally.
Some important information which
students have an obligation to know
because of its impact on the health of
this institution financially, and therefore
academically, is not released.
University President John W. Oswald
told reporters at the last Board of
Trustees meeting that the University's
finance people had contingency plans for
cutbacks in the University and tuition
increases according to the amount Penn
State gets from the state.
The Collegian was not given the
spgcifics of those contingency plans or
the names of the banks Penn State has
borrowed from over $27 million to
date to keep the institution running.
Therefore, no credit ratings could be
obtained from those banks.
Perhaps the most frustrating, time
consuming hurdle in getting the news
from the administration to students is
communication by telephone.
In theory, this hunk of technology is
designed for person "A" ( the reporter)
to talk with person "B" ( the ad
ministrator). .
Often the conversation would need to
take only a minute or two, just to ask one
simple question or get a referral to
someone else, but persons "C" through
Collegian op-ed
Size limits administrative dialogue
By M. LEE UPCRAFT
Director of Residential Life
Real, honest to goodness, effective, no-nonsense
communication occurs when people, in face to face
contact with one another, share their important
thoughts and feelings, and are listened to in turn.
Understanding and respect are natural outcomes of
such communication, although honest differences may
remain. It is a model of communication that should
characterize student-administration communication,
right?
WRONG! It is a myth. It is a naive model, given a
large university. It hasn't worked, it doesn't work, and
it never will.
I know because, as a student leader, I experienced the
frustration of trying to use this model to communicate
with the administration; and as an administrator, I
experience many of the same frustrations in using this
model to communicate with students.
Sheer numbers of students, limited time, complexity
of issues, ignorance, apathy and indecisiveness all
contribute to the problem.
How does one administrator, responsible for 12,000
residence halls 'students, really know what is on their
minds? How does the president of this university know
Secretary helps unravel Old Main
By KAREN E. EGOLF
Daily Collegian Staff Writer
Have you ever tried to see an ad
ministrator and failed?
After explaining your problem to the
secretary, she sent you somewhere else.
Or, after calling his office a dozen
times, the secretary said she would have
Dr. So and So return your call. And he
never did.
Part of the problem is the ad
ministrators' tight schedules, but many
times the students are also at fault,
Gloria Decker, secretary to Robert
Dunham, vice president for
Undergraduate Studies, said.
"If the student knew a little bit more
about who he should see at the
University, a lot of times he wouldn't
have to come to the vice president's
office," she said. "I don't. think Dr.
Dunham's ever refused to see a
student."
Many times students' problems could
be solved in the students' colleges, she
said.
students are matters' of, deep concern
within the college, students, faculty and
administration cooperate in' career
counseling forums and in a special
Career Day when Liberal Arts alumni
from many different fields come to
campus to provide advice and assistance
to those looking forward to job op
portunities after graduation.
We think we are organized to provide
every student a chance to meet and talk
with faculty and administrators about
what is on their minds. That doesn't
mean it happens; only those students
who take the initiative to make and keep
appointments, to attend meetings and to
follow up on referrals will ever believe
that it really works.
Developing such personal initiative is
one of the most important learning
experiences college or life can
provide.
Moreover, students will continue to
have an important role in shaping the
development of education now and in the
future as they have in the past. Perhaps
we should remind ourselves in the
current concern with the library, that
students in American colleges in the last
century were instrumental in helping to
"Z" (secretaries) don't fit into the
theory.
According to secretaries, their bosses
are either occupied, or busy. Or, are up
to their ears, busy as a bee, have many
irons in the fire, on a kick, on the hop,
have other fish to fry, etc. Anything but
in.
This is not to blame secretaries = they
merely follow their bosses' orders. The
administrators who can't spare a
moment to help keep the student
population informed about their
University are to blame.
Being 'too busy' is not much of an
excuse. One administrator, Gail Norris,
director of the Planning and Budget
office for the University, always seems
to have time for reporters, even during
this hectic Fall Term with the budget
crisis.
There are other Old Main executives
who keep a high profile, most notably the
new provost, Edward D. Eddy, who has
indicated he will act as a pipeline for
student input to the administration.
Still, such administrators are few and
far between. The pep talk given new
reporters who join the faculty
administration beat on the Collegian is
not very inspiring; we believe in letting
the rookies know just exactly how'
frustrating dealing with the ad
ministration is.
But many still volunteer for the beat
and report on the most important issues
despite the tedium.
The real question is, even if the in
formation gets in print, what impact will
students' reactions to it have?
The University's power system was
once described by a University professor
as "A command economy with illusions
of democracy." ' •
what is on the minds of 32,000 students at University
Park, not to mention another 20,000 at our branch
campuses?
I don't know of any so-called "upper level" ad
ministrator who is not willing, from Dr. Oswald on
down, to spend time communicating with students.
Likewise, I don't knoyv of any student leader who has
been unable to get someone in the upper administration
to sit down and talk about a student concern. Both sides
are willing, both sides are capable, but somehow the
problem remains and it doesn't seem to be anyone's
fault.
Sometimes a problem is labeled a communication
problem when it isn't. For example, during the recent
library crisis, I heard many students complaining that
the administration wasn't really listening to students.
On the contrary, I know of no administrators involved
in this dispute that didn't understand exactly what
students were saying. And students clearly understood
what the administration was saying.
A communication problem? On the contrary, the
communication was excellent; it was just that students
didn't like what was being communicated.
Sometimes a problem in communication is created by
the media, particularly The Daily Collegian. Whatever
"At most, 10 to 15 per cent that come
here really need to see the vice
president," Decker said.
That figure includes all students who
have academic reasons for seeing the
vice president. Many journalism and
Speech 200 students also request to
speak to Dunham, she said.
She said the staff first tries to. deter
mine whether the student is at the right
office. Then she asks if he has talked to
the dean of his college about the
problem.
"If a student would learn to go there
first, he wouldn't need to come to the
administration," she said, adding that 90
per cent of the time the problem should
be handled in the student's college.
If the student has gone through all the
channels, Decker said she tries to
schedule an interview with the vice
president the same day that the student
comes to the office or at the earliest
possible time.
"Sometimes he's booked solidly from
;., build up college and university libraries.
Historian William Rudolph points out
that in the 1830 s, student literary
societies had broader and better
libraries of their own than the university
or college libraries. As a result of their
conviction that institutions must take
Open channels 'turn on' effectiveness
By DAVID W. ALLEN
President, Black Caucus
When thinking of the Penn State University administrative
structure, one pictures a giant, bureaucratic, red-tape
wrapped, lunch-box-shaped machine with many controls and
levers that have little or no meaning or purpose.
I particularly recall certain experiences like the "Bouckeh
Shields shuffles," or the proverbial one-liner, "You must have
your I.D. card."
For many students, the administrative body is like an un
seen force that moves students, money and credits in
mysterious ways. There is no contact between the student and
the people for whom he pays tuition for salaries. The ad
ministration is supposed to be here to ensure that college life is
a positive experience.
There happens to be a fault in a concept of fundamental
economics. I believe it might be readily assumed that ad
ministrators are paid by pennies from heaven.
In actuality, all administrators and some faculty are
eight o'clock to the evening a couple
weeks in advance," she said. "The kids
have to realize that it isn't always
possible to walk right in."
Many times when the students do not
get to see the administrator, it is the
students' fault, not the administrator's,
she said. The students try to change
appointments or do not know exactly
what they want to discuss with the vice
president.
She said another problem is created
because students do not realize how busy
the administrators are. Dunham, for
example, makes budget decisions,
handles admissions scheduling, course
cards, textbook lists and up to 900 course
changes per term, and attends "tons" of
meetings, among other responsibilities.
Many times a secretary can help the
student as much as the dean can, she
said. The secretaries know where to
refer students and can make recom
mendations about what procedures to
follow.
responsibility for central libraries, the
development of the great intellectual
resources the libraries now represent
was greatly accelerated.
Today, more than ever, when the
University has less financial re
sources, it is especially important that
—Jo t
Thursday, October 20, 1977-3
your opinion of this newspaper, you must admit that it is
read, and read carefully by administrators and
students.
Impressions are created, directly or indirectly, in
tentionally or unintentionally, that can inhibit or
facilitate student-administration communication. It is a
huge responsibility, and one that should not be taken
lightly.
I may have to spend a considerable amount of time in
any given day correcting an erroneous impression
created by the Collegian, or I may occasionally thank
God that the Collegian got it right, and formed an ef
fective communication link with students.
In the final analysis, if I am to make effective
decisions as an administrator, I must attack the
communication problem on all fronts. I must expand
my interpersonal contacts with students, recognizing
that 1 am but one person among 32,000.
I must insist that those who work for me also have a
commitment to listen to and advocate for students.
I must work with student leaders who purport to
represent student views and listen to their concerns.
I must continue to develop and expand all
mechanisms of communication, both formal and in
formal. I hope, given the limitations identified above,
that communication is accomplished.
economically supported directly by students. Thus comes the
presumption that the Penn State administrative body, on all
levels, would be partial to students' and-or their parents'
concerns. Possibly if this little point of fact was reemphasized,
there might be fewer hassles for students in general.
Yet, students, there is also a slight error in our thinking. The
administration can be penetrated and dealt with on a personal
level. Each and every administrator, office and staff person
belongs to the human race, most understand basic English,
and all are not totally ignorant of student problems.
Practically all major administrators and their specific
responsibilities can be found by contacting an RA, USG, a
knowledgeable old-head or by dialing 116. Most have offices
with doors and phones.
The easiest way to make the administration effective is to
utilize it. Students, be forceful remember who is the boss.
This type of revolutionary thinking is apt to make the ad
ministrative system more effective than more pay increases,
computer print-outs and lunch breaks.
ropes
A new policies and procedures manual
was distributed to appropriate ad
ministrative offices, including every
dean's office, this year, she said. The
manual tells administrators where
students can go for help for specific
problems and what procedures they
should follow.
Secretaries can be another hindrance
for students rather than a help, she said.
"Sometimes they get turned off by the
secretary, and the secretary
.hasn't
checked out what the student needs,"
Decker said.
The student should first define his
problem and then take it to the proper
person, usually in his college. This could
solve the problems that students face
when trying' to see a member of the
administration, she said.
. "If they'd go to the dean's office, a lot
could be explained to them before they
come here,," she said. "I think they're
very willing to see a student if his reason
is legitimate for seeing them."
students, faculty and administrators
work together to maintain and improve
the quality of academic life.
We may not be able to do things in the
same way, but only a lack of creative
planning and motivation can keep us
from doing better.
Photo by Ken Keeper