Fall 2002 enrollment at The University of Iowa totals 29,697, an increase of 929 students from fall 2001, according to the Office of the Registrar. The number of new first-year students totals a record 4,184 in 2002, up from 4,005 in 2001. It is the largest freshman class in the University’s history, according to Lola Lopes, associate provost for undergraduate education.
The increased number of first-year students included a 19.4 percent increase in the number of students from Iowa’s western counties. By comparison, enrollment of first-year students from central Iowa increased 2.9 percent and from eastern counties, 3.6 percent.
At the same time, the University has its highest enrollment of undergraduate minority students. A total of 2,568 minority students enrolled in fall 2002, an increase of 45 students over last year’s total.
Safewalk, a volunteer-operated student organization offers students, faculty, and staff an alternative to walking alone after dark. Safewalk’s services are available campuswide, Sunday through Thursday from 8:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., by calling a campus number and asking for a walk. Two escorts—one male and one female—are assigned to each walk, and students need not be alone to request Safewalk’s services. For more information, visit Safewalk’s web site at www.uiowa.edu/~safewalk.
A shiny, red apple for the teacher has been replaced by a certificate and “thank you” letter at The University of Iowa, thanks to the UI Center for Teaching.
The center, charged with improving curriculum development and teaching, initiated “Thank-A-Teacher” as a simple way for students to say “thanks.”
“It’s a fairly simple way of giving good teachers a pat on the back, without involving huge effort and expense,” says Wilfrid Nixon, center director. In order to use the system, students first access a web site, www.uiowa.edu/~thanks, and then send a message saying that a particular teacher has helped them in their work. The message is sent to the center, where a certificate and letter of thanks are printed for a faculty member or teaching assistant.