Students of the class of 2009 are saying that it is pretty clear that Fairfield administrators were not ready for the approximately 90 extra freshmen admitted this year.
“The challenges I’ve faced, with having a large class, are dealing with administration and staff who weren’t prepared for a class of this size,” said Sarah McQueen ’09. “They seem to have problems accommodating so many students in a way which they have been able to do in the past.”
The class of 2009 consists of 948 students, which is the second largest admittance class in Fairfield University’s history. These students were selected from almost 6,900 applications for admission, said Karen Pellegrino, director of the Office of Admission.
The large class will create problems for the next several years. “Institutionally, we cannot over-enroll,” said Kurt Schlichting, professor of sociology at Fairfield, who conducts research for the admissions office.
“There needs to be a balance. Over the next three years we will feel the effects of the large class. It is a continual problem, including full classes and extra roommates,” Schlichting added.
Housing is an immediate problem. Freshmen are housed in one of four residence halls: Regis, Jogues, Campion and Dolan.
“Housing is the main problem,” said Academic Vice President Orin Grossman. “The number of triples is higher than we would wish.” However, Thomas Pellegrino, associate dean of students and the director of Residence Life, believes that the living conditions are typical for dormitory-style living at Fairfield every year.
“For freshmen in particular, the transition to college living is an adjustment both in having to live with someone new, sharing a limited amount of space and learning to acclimate yourself to a place where many different people with many different lifestyles contribute to the environment,” said Pellegrino.
For freshmen in triples, space and maneuverability are challenges, said Pellegrino.
“The vast majority of students have adjusted very well,” said Pellegrino. “My staff has been vigilant in addressing questions and concerns from students in converted room spaces.”
Another problem with the large number of freshmen is full classes. “The problems starts with additional sections of core courses with no faculty,” said Schlichting. “Adjunct professors are used with the bulge of freshmen.”
Advising the large freshman class has been another ongoing problem. Faculty members have volunteered and the office of the dean of freshmen have been dealing with advising the extra students said Debbie Chappell, the dean of freshmen.
“I think the administration should structure a better system of mandatory meetings with advisors, as I have not met mine yet, and I am not sure how to structure classes to meet the needs of my major,” said Don Rawling ’09.
To some freshmen, it seems like the administration has a lot on their hands.
“Our class size makes it harder for one-on-one attention,” said Jaysen Aponte ’09. “Extra help in tutoring fills up quickly. The administration can do more to make tutoring more accessible to freshmen.”
A financial credit has been extended to all students who were placed in triples, and the office of Residence Life continues the process of “de-tripling” students based on the date of deposit.
The increase in the number of students had boosted the percentage of AHANA students. AHANA students comprise 8.6 percent of the class of ’09, which is higher than the class of 2008’s 7.9 percent. But some students feel that increasing diversity by seven tenths of a percent is not enough.
“I hear bringing in more students has brought in more diversity, but I have not seen much yet,” said McQueen.
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