Western Front - 1973 October 12

              the # western front western Washington state college
Vol. 66
No. 5
FRIDAY
October 12, 1973
Ten Cents
Recycle all paper
Buy your tickets at the
VU for tomorrow's
John Prine concert
Western's enrollment problem identified
Many drop out
before finishing
by KEITH MYETTE
Keeping students enrolled at Western
rather than recruiting new ones is the
main problem facing the institution
according to a study released by the
office of the Associate Dean of
Students.
The study, published last May and
now on reserve at Wilson Library, was
based on the responses of students who
had not yet earned their degree and had
dropped out for at least one quarter
from fall, 1970 up to and including
fall, 1972 (some students involved in
the study eventually returned to
Western).
Reasons given by students for
dropping out include changing life and
career goals, increased financial
difficulties and Western's "quality of
education."
Associate Dean of Students Ray
Romine said that he hoped the study
would be constructive and that faculty
members would not take an immediate
defensive posture.
Romine recruited two graduate
students, Paul Hastings and Larry
Nelson, to prepare the study. Nelson has
since completed his studies and has left
Bellingham, but Hastings, who still
attends Western, said that the school
their goals," and consequently stay in
school.
Questionnaires were sent to 3,115
ex-students and 911 were eventually
returned. The 33 per cent return was
not "optimum" according to Romine,
"It points out trends, but is not
conclusive," he said.
According to the report, Western is
faced with three alternatives: to accept
enrollment declines; attempt to attract
new students; or attempt to reduce
a t t r i t i o n among students already
enrolled.
The attrition rate seems to be "the
obvious place to begin the attack" on
enrollment declines, the report added.
Western has always had a high
attrition rate, but it is "becoming
increasingly difficult" to replace
students who have dropped out, the
report said.
From Fail quarter, 1971 to Spring
quarter, 1972 the gross attrition rate
(not including graduating students)
hovered near 41 per cent (4,237 .
students), according to Hastings.
The questionnaire was divided in
four sections including confidential
information, "causal" reasons for
departure, "free choice" reasons for
departure and a final section giving
respondents a chance to make
open-ended comments.
"Clues as to what might be done to
alter the attrition rate, as related to
these areas are in evidence," the report
said. "The remaining question is what
action, if any, will be taken."
Although "there is no need to
capitulate to every student whim," the
study said that student perceptions
should not be ignored.
Respondents had a choice of up to
34 variables to choose from.
Conceivably an individual could mark
one question or all 34.
PAUL HASTINGS
The need to take a full-time job
forced 25 per cent of the respondents to
drop out of school and over 27 per cent
indicated that they were no longer able
t o financially support their own
education.
The study suggested strengthening
the financial aids program through
increased student employment, loans
and scholarships.
Some of the larger "free choice"
reasons for quitting included changing
vocational or life goals, indecision about
life goals, unhappiness with the general
education program and dissatisfaction
with the conpetency of instruction.
Changes in life and career goals
accounted for a whopping 40.6 per cent
of responses. Although this "does not
necessarily indicate inadequacy on the
part of either the student or the
institution," the report said that' the
college should develop programs "which
can assist students in making wise
(career) choices" and other programs
involving on-the-job field experiences.
Over 25 per cent of respondents
indicated a dissatisfaction with "the
competence of instruction which
c o n t r i b u t e d strongly to leaving
Western." Nearly 33 per cent indicated
negative responses to the general
education requirements. About 20 per
cent cited lack of personal attention
from instructors and another 20 per
cent mentioned "inadequate academic
advisement."
Slightly over 20 per cent of the
respondents dropped out because they
had attended Western for several
consecutive quarters and decided to
take a break.
Fountain stops, cities dark
as result of energy crisis
(Ed. Note: This is the first
installment of a series of analytical
articles concerning the energy crisis. The
series will be weekly. Future articles will
deal with electricity, gasoline and
heating fuel shortages what is being
done to alleviate the shortages and what
individuals can do to help.)
by BOB SPEED
The Seattle skyline isn't as bright as
it was last year, state freeways aren't as
well illuminated and Western's fountains
won't flow because of the shortage of
hydroelectric power in the Northwest.
These are only some of the
developments following on the heels of
a controversial nation-wide gasoline
shortage this summer.
President Nixon has imposed a
mandatory allocation system on
supplies of natural gas and heating oil,
to prevent sections of the country such
as New England and the upper Midwest,
where winters are severe, from
experiencing shortages.
Dow Chemical Company has
announced a potential shortage of
a n t i - f r e e z e , as w e ll
Most of the shortages will only
indirectly affect home consumption. In
the Northwest there is sufficient fuel
oil, unless there is an unusually severe
winter, according to the Oil Heat
Institute in Seattle.
The primary problem in the
Northwest, a shortage of hydroelectric
power due to draught, will affect
industry more than most home
consumers. However, over 1,000 people
have already been laid off their jobs as a
result of industrial cutbacks, and more
can be expected to lose jobs.
The objective of the heating oil and -t3
propane allocations is to spread the ^
shortage so thinly that it will not i$
significantly affect any region or the CJ
economy.
Priorities have been established for
propane. At the top of the list are
residential use, agricultural production,
food processing, hospitals and nursing
homes, and mass transit vehicles, among
A SIGN DISPLAYED BY A BELLINGHAM GAS STATION
inside...
Special section on what's happening
Entertainment and Art on and off campus. For special events,
including films and concerts, see pg. 9-12.
Whatcom Clinic provides alternative
A place where people can find out what their problem is and have
something done about it. See pg. 4.
others. Priorities have not yet been
established for oil, which will include
diesel fuel, heating oil, kerosene and jet
fuel.
If electrical power use is restricted,
industrial users will be most affected.
Industry in Washington uses half the
electrical power consumed, with
aluminum plants using the largest
amount. In comparison, residential use
amounts to about one third of the total,
according to the Governor's office.
So far, voluntary cutbacks by
industry and the public have been close
to the norms established for the state,
but there is still a long road ahead, the
office said.
The situation is severe. If no
cutbacks occurred and nature were not
XQ cppperate ,by dropping a normal
amount of rain this winter, reservoirs
behind the Columbia River dams would
be completely empty by late February,
according to the Bonneville Power
Administration (BPA).
A state-wide seven-and-a-half per
cent cutback is necessary all winter to
prevent a potential 30 per cent shortage
by March.
If the state were to depend solely on
Mother Nature, we would have to have
three times the normal rainfall this
winter, said Don Hodel of the BPA.
Should even a small reduction of oil
shipments from the Arab countries
occur, or should the U.S. have to ship
oil to Israel, oil and gas rationing might
become necessary this winter, as
happened in World War II.