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Campus Trailblazers

Setting the Pace: Kay Cuozzo, Director, Office of Academic Services

As director of an office that offers help to UNH students in a multitude of ways, Kay Cuozzo and her staff help students adjust to the University, then help them to stay in school through graduation. Take, for example, Freshman Experience, a one-credit seminar the Office of Academic Services provides for full-time freshmen who are making the transition from high school to college. Freshmen who are struggling get plenty of help from Cuozzo and her staff, who have significantly increased retention rates among students.

Her Goal:

That every single person affiliated with the University of New Haven thinks about what they can do to help the students every day. The Strategic Plan has allowed us to do that. I want those successes to continue.

Her Approach:

A major change I made when I became Director of the Office of Academic Services in 1999 was to open more sections of Freshman Experience and place a limit on the size of each of the sections. There were 11 sections in 1999. Now there are 32, with an average of 20 to 22 students per section. I teach one section. I get to know 22 students very well. The other teachers get to know their students equally as well. Then we do surveys at the end of the course and make changes to ensure that all students are successful.

What Freshman Experience Entails

A seminar that prepares students for college, Freshman Experience addresses issues that are pertinent to students. We’ve had credit counselors speak, we’ve talked to students about the inappropriate use of alcohol, and we have an assistant professor here, Tracy Tamborra from the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences, who has developed a program on sexual assault. Those are just a few examples.

The Bottom Line:

My whole office is about giving students the skills to stay in school. We work closely with Student Affairs, Residential Life and faculty to enable University of New Haven students to stay here and be successful.