University of North Carolina
General Administration
Freshman Survey
Fall 2000
Thank you for participating in the Fall 2000 Freshman Survey! The university received responses from 881 freshmen, a 72.5% response rate!!!!! Below is a freshman class profile and responses to many common freshmen comments.
Freshman Profile
Total New Freshman for Fall 2000: 1,216
- Male: 51%
- Female: 49%
Top 5 N.C. counties providing largest number of freshmen:
- Mecklenburg (119)
- Wake (84)
- Buncombe (60)
- Guilford (58)
- Catawba (43)
- From In-State: 91%
- From Outside NC: 9%
Responses to Freshmen Comments
Family Income
Several freshmen asked why the university is collecting parent/guardian income information. The State of North Carolina seeks to provide access to Higher Education for all of its citizens and information from this survey is used to provide financial profiles of students for state lawmakers. They review this information to determine if citizens from all income levels are served in institutions of Higher Learning.
Campus Events Information
Looking for something fun to do? Need to know the schedule of events on campus? Want to join student organizations and meet new people? The university student home page: www.wcu.edu/studenthomepage/ provides several calendars of university-wide events, phone directories, recreational activities, cultural events, athletic events, and student organizations to name a few. Check this page and its links frequently for student-related events, activities, and opportunities to meet new people. Student organization information is also available through Linda Riouff, Assistant Dean of Students, University Center, x7206 or on the University Center student organization page at http://www.wcu.edu/UnivCenter/index.html.
CAT Card Information
Questions about the CAT Card may be directed to Debbie Hyatt in the One Card Office, 3rd floor, H.F. Robinson Building, x7003 or on the web at http://busafrs.wcu.edu/onecard/ . Meal plan questions should be directed to Debbie Hyatt or Clete Myers in WCU Dining Services at x7396 or on the web at http://wcudining.wcu.edu/.
Computer Help
Need assistance with computer software packages such as PowerPoint, Word, Excel, or the Campus Pipeline? For help with computer software problems, contact the new Technology Assistance Center for students (x7067) on the ground floor of McKee Building, room 91, Monday through Friday, 8 AM - 5 PM. Office hours will be extended for student convenience in the near future. Feel free to drop in or contact Dr. Chris Snyder at csnyder@wcu.edu for an appointment. In addition, contact the Computer Center Helpline by phone at x7284 on campus for help with software problems. A full menu of Computer Center and Resnet resources is located on the Computer Center's web page at http://www.wcu.edu/cc/.
Financial Aid and Scholarships
General financial aid information at Western may be obtained online at http://www.wcu.edu/finaid/. Scholarship information may be viewed on the College Foundation of North Carolina website from the WCU Financial Aid web page above or feel free to drop by or call the WCU Financial Aid Office at x7290. The office is open between the hours of 8 AM until 5 PM, Monday through Friday, second floor, in the H.F. Robinson Building.
Student Employment
Need a part-time job? Contact Career Services at x7134 on campus. All non-work study and some off-campus student jobs are listed in this office. Office hours are 8 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday in Killian Annex Building, room 238. WCU Dining Services also hires students part-time. Contact WCU Dining Services at x7396 for more job information. If you are interested in a job in a specific academic department, contact the departmental office. The office may have work-study jobs available or may hire students for special events. Finally, you may qualify for a work-study position through the Financial Aid Office, 2nd floor, H. F. Robinson Building, x7290. Check with the Financial Aid Office to see if you qualify.
Parking
Responses to parking questions have been referred by Gene McAbee, Chief of University Police.
The parking problem faced by many freshmen is not one of quantity, but lack of convenient parking close to academic buildings and residence halls. There are over 400 parking spaces at the baseball field lot and 100 more available across the creek from the Ramsey Center. On lower campus, there are not enough parking spaces at the residence halls to allow freshmen to park there. At Harrill, there are vacant spaces at night, but not enough spaces to handle the large number of freshmen nor are there enough to handle the rest of freshmen in Albright, Benton, Buchanan, and Reynolds. While a first-come first-serve system could work at Harrill, it is more likely that allowing freshmen to drive to Harrill to look for a space would encourage them to park illegally there when they could not find a space rather than going to the overflow lots as we would expect. It is our goal to try to provide enough parking in the Hill area to allow freshmen to park there in the future. There are plans to expand the lot across the street from Harrill, but the University does not currently own the land necessary to provide parking near residence halls.
Parking decks seem to be a simple solution, but parking decks cost approximately $10,000 per parking space. Since parking lot construction and maintenance must be supported by parking fees, the cost of parking decals would have to increase dramatically to finance a parking deck. Tuition and state taxes may not, by law, be used for this purpose. Also, the location of a deck is problematic. A deck on the lower campus will not help freshmen on the hill nor help commuters if the deck were constructed for residents in the residence halls. In addition, Western's master facility plan calls for the establishment of a walking campus which will eventually close Centennial Drive and move most of the parking to fringe areas around the central academic area.
Western is one of the few institutions in the state system which actually has enough parking for all vehicles. Many of our sister UNC campuses do not even allow freshmen to bring cars to campus the first year or charge $100 or more to allow freshmen a parking sticker.
On the question of traffic enforcement and patrol practices, police officers who violate traffic ordinances while on routine patrol are subject to disciplinary action. Finally, it is our goal to reduce the number of citations the university police issue, but that goal is contingent on gaining compliance with the regulations, not ignoring violations. As long as there is illegal parking, there must be parking citations.
If you have further questions, please contact the University Police Office at x7301.
Residence Hall Maintenance
Ant problems? Does your residence hall room need repairs? Or do you have a housekeeping/cleanliness question? Contact the Housing Office located in Scott Residence Hall at x7303, Monday through Friday between 8 AM and 5 PM. The Housing Office will assist you with your problem, or you may directly log your problem online at http://busafrs.wcu.edu/maint/request.cfm. Requests are processed every 24 hours within the Housing Office and to the Physical Plant if necessary. For your convenience, there are also maintenance request boxes and request cards in the lobby of each residence hall. Completed cards are picked up every 24 hours for processing.