MIT Reports to the President 1998-99

• DEAN FOR UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION AND STUDENT AFFAIRS
  • ADMISSIONS OFFICE
  • ATHLETICS, PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT
  • CAMPUS ACTIVITIES COMPLEX AND CAMPUS DINING
  • CHAPLAINCY
  • COUNSELING AND SUPPORT SERVICES
  • MIT CARD OFFICE
  • ODSUE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
  • OFFICE OF ACADEMIC SERVICES
  • OFFICE OF CAREER SERVICES AND PREPROFESSIONAL ADVISING
  • OFFICE OF MINORITY EDUCATION
  • RESIDENTIAL LIFE AND STUDENT LIFE PROGRAMS
  • ROTC PROGRAMS
  • STUDENT FINANCIAL SERVICES
  • STUDENT SERVICES CENTER

DEAN OF STUDENTS AND UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION

From ODSUE's perspective, the year 1998—1999 was divided into two rather distinct halves. During the first part of the year, we focused intensely on the cultural, legal, and administrative issues surrounding alcohol use on campus and MIT housing policy. These issues involved frequent, often highly publicized interactions with the Boston Licensing Board, the Suffolk County District Attorney, and many other community and regulatory groups. They were complicated by a series of incidents involving alcohol use among MIT students, especially those residing in fraternities. As a result of these interactions and incidents, MIT took the following significant actions:

• Instituted a citation system for alcohol violations
• Required fraternities, sororities, and independent living groups to have a resident advisor
• Extended MIT Campus Police patrols to Boston
• Revamped freshman orientation to have less focus on residential selection and more on educational choices and opportunities

In the late summer and early fall, these activities culminated in three major events. The Task Force on Student Life and Learning published its final report. President Vest decided to house all freshmen on campus beginning in the fall of 2001. The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office made their report regarding the death of Scott Krueger in the fall of 1997. The second half of the year was devoted to following up the longer-term implications of all these events, and especially their implications for strategic planning at MIT.

The planning process began for a new undergraduate residence, including selection of the architect, Steven Holl, and formation of a Founders' Group chaired by Professor (and Housemaster) Anne McCants. The planning process began for a redesign of the entire MIT residence system formation of a Residence System Steering Committee, chaired by William Hecht (president of the MIT Alumni/ae Association) and staffed by newly appointed Associate Dean Kirk Kolenbrander. The Committee on the Undergraduate Program formed the Educational Design Project as a sub-committee, co-chaired by the Dean for Undergraduate Curriculum Kip Hodges and Professor Steve Benton, to follow up on the recommendations of the Task Force for curricular and pedagogical reform. A comprehensive strategic planning process in ODSUE was begun that includes refinement of the budget process, redefinition of the function of the Enrollment Management Group, and clarification of the roles and responsibilities of ODSUE office heads. The ODSUE Visiting Committee held a special meeting of in January 1999 to review the Task Force Report and to discuss its implications for the organization, mission, and resources of ODSUE.

A number of important organizational changes affected the position of ODSUE at MIT. Of these, the most important was the appointment of Lawrence Bacow as Chancellor and the decision to have ODSUE report to him. This decision was announced at the beginning of 1998—1999. About a year later, at the end of the period under review, Kip Hodges left ODSUE to return to his faculty position in Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences. The dean's position he had filled was somewhat modified to take into consideration the simultaneous retirement of Norma McGavern as Director of the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, after many years of excellent leadership. Consequently, Kim Vandiver, professor of Ocean Engineering, was named Dean for Undergraduate Research, to provide general oversight of UROP and also to move forward the agenda for educational reform that had been so well defined by Dean Hodges.

After vigorous searches two other key appointments were made in this period. Richard Berlin was named the Director of Campus Dining. Kate Eastment was named ODSUE's first Director of Development Projects, reporting to the Dean of Students and Undergraduate Education but with close ties to the Office of Resource Development.

This has been a watershed year for ODSUE and for MIT. MIT has defined and accepted a vision of residential and campus life that makes it an integral part of the MIT educational experience. ODSUE is preparing itself to deploy the human and financial resources necessary to implement that vision. Furthermore, the work of the Educational Design Project and other faculty initiatives (for example, continued pilots for the proposed new Communications Requirement) have converged with the availability of new resources to open an exciting period of experimentation and revitalization in our academic program. Here too ODSUE will play a key role in implementing a major institutional initiative. Even before the arrival of the year 2000, we have the sense of standing on the threshold of a new era.

Rosalind H. Williams

ADMISSIONS OFFICE

The goal of the Admissions Office is to identify, recruit, select and enroll the best students of our type in the world. This year has been our most successful year on record despite the fact that we are in an era marked by uncertainty and an increasingly competitive marketplace. As other colleges have moved to financial aid based on merit in an effort to enroll the best students, we have maintained our commitment to the principle of need-based financial aid. Despite the fear that the best students would be inclined to enroll elsewhere due to our competitors' merit aid offers, we observe that, in fact, the opposite is true. By the two major indicators of a university's attractiveness to applicants - admit rate (the percentage of applicants admitted from the pool) and yield rate (the percentage of admitted students who enroll)–MIT has finally entered "the most selective college" category this year. MIT's freshman admit rate this year was 19 percent and the new class is yielding at 61 percent, up from the 55 percent we experienced for three years in a row. (The most selective private colleges have an admit rate between 10 and 20 percent and a yield rate of 60 percent or higher). Moreover, we are enrolling 80 of the world's top 300 academic superstars. Finally, there are now only two schools to which we lose more students than they lose to us - Harvard and Stanford.

Admissions statistics were the following:

• Our freshman applications were up 11 percent to 9,138.
• The enrolling freshman class will include 43 percent women, 18 percent minorities (including an 18 percent increase of African Americans), 7 percent academic superstars. Every state except Wyoming, Mississippi and South Dakota is represented. International students represent 50 countries although if US Permanent Residents are included, 65 countries are represented in the class. Twenty-nine percent of the enrolling freshman class is at least bi-lingual; 64 languages are spoken at home.
• The freshman admit rate was 19 percent, the smallest applicant-to-admit ratio in MIT history.
• The freshman yield rate is 61 percent (currently).
• We will enroll 35 transfer students to make up for the decrease in the freshman class size, down to 1,040 this year from last year's 1050. The transfer admit rate was 18 percent and the yield is 78 percent.
• Graduate applications were up 7 percent this year to 12,912. The yield is also up to 57 percent from 53 percent last year.

Educational Council statistics are the following:

• Currently there are 1,849 Educational Counselors (ECs) representing 50 states and 54 other countries. Twenty four percent (437) are female and 5 percent (90) are minorities.
• ECs interviewed 90 percent of all applicants.
• ECs arranged 51 central recruiting meetings for admissions staff around the US in 43 cities last fall. They also sponsored a record 47 admitted student receptions this spring and 8 enrolling student receptions this summer.

The Educational Council Office has been redesigned. Two major initiatives have been identified. First, the role of the Educational Counselor has been expanded to encourage more alumni involvement while enhancing our recruitment efforts. ECs now have a choice of three roles in which to serve:

• interviewer (the traditional role).
• recruiter (identifies top talent from the field and does outreach).
• resource (agrees to help when needed).

Second, an Advisory Group of five ECs was appointed and has worked intensively with the EC Office with suggestions to improve service to ECs.

• The Director of the Educational Council has begun to lead EC training sessions across the country. Each EC region will be visited for training every three years.
• Most communication with ECs has switched from paper to electronic.
• An electronic newsletter is sent to all ECs each month.
• A secure EC database is being created. In a few months, ECs will be able to update their biographical information, request materials, check the status of their interview reports, or check the application status of the students they interview.
• A three-year term limit has been reintroduced.
• ECs will now receive credit for their length of service to MIT.
• The EC Office staff now meets monthly with the staff from the Alumni Association (AA) to plan joint projects. This year the AA participated in Campus Preview Weekend and the EC Office has encouraged more Alumni Club involvement among ECs.

We increased our Web presence in three ways. Freshman and graduate applications went on line in PDF version. The freshman application can also be filed electronically through CollegeEdge. We created a secure mechanism for applicants to check the status of their applications using the Web. In addition, we created Web sites for Campus Preview Weekend and for admitted students.

We created a plan for the new enhanced Web site for Admissions and Student Financial Services which is about to be built and should be fully functional within six months.

We changed the focus of the Campus Preview Weekend in April to include all admits. Nearly 45 percent of admits chose to attend. This effort led not only to an increase in the overall yield (73 percent of CPW attendees decided to enroll), but to a record high yield for both the minority (70 percent) and the female (69 percent) attendees as well. We consider this to be the most successful yield event MIT has ever sponsored. It had the added benefit of serving as a campus-wide MIT student event.

We worked with the Publishing Services Bureau to design the next generation viewbook and other promotional materials that are being distributed to prospects for entry in the fall of 2000.

Working with ODSUE IT, we redesigned the Graduate Admissions Database to create a centralized system in which departments retain their own databases and are able to download the centralized data to fit their own needs and goals.

We made several key hires to the staff. We added an Associate Director responsible for recruitment and yield planning who also serves as the major connector between Admissions and ODSUE. Second, we created a new minority admissions team by promoting an Assistant Director (an MIT alumna) and adding another alumnus (Ph.D. in toxicology) to serve in her position. (This is the first time in which the minority admissions team members are both MIT alumni). We now have strategic plans for both of these areas.

We are taking over responsibility for generating the promotional materials regarding financial aid at MIT. In order to do this effectively, we are about to add another staff position, one who will work closely with Student Financial Services. This individual will also bring Web experience to help our Publications Team expand our Web presence.

More information on this department can be found on the World Wide Web at http://web.mit.edu/odsue/admissions/www/.

Marilee Jones

ATHLETICS, PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT

The Department is dedicated to providing adaptable, high-quality, student-oriented physical education, athletics, recreation and intramural programs that encourage opportunities for participation, competition, confidence, and leadership while enhancing the MIT athletics and health fitness environment for the entire MIT community. The Department's association with other units in ODSUE is proving to enhance the quality of educational experiences for student-life and learning and community services at MIT.

The sports of women's ice hockey and women's indoor track & field were elevated to varsity status. Each enjoyed successful seasons with winning records.

Planning continued toward the development of the Central Athletics Facility that features a 50-meter swimming pool, health fitness center, sports medicine facility and additional locker rooms. In addition, the Alumni Pool space was evaluated for renovations that will coincide with the development of the Stata Center. Over the summer of 1999, a new synthetic turf field will be laid on Jack Barry Field. Additional physical plant improvements include: bringing baseball and softball fields to level grade, installing glass backboards with breakaway rims on all basketball courts in Rockwell Cage, repairing and painting the west wall of du Pont Gymnasium, installing new gymnastics equipment paid for by USOC grant, lowering steam lines on Briggs field below grade for safety purposes, continuing repairs to both Steinbrenner Track and Johnson Athletic Center second floor facility divider system.

MIT hosted approximately 30 events sponsored by non -MIT affiliated grouped in Athletics Department spaces. The total number of non-intercollegiate varsity special events hosted totaled over 70. There were a total of over 13,500 reservations placed for Department of Athletics facility usage throughout the year.

Sales of Athletic Cards declined slightly (by 217 purchases, 2 percent) over the course of the 1998—99 academic year, but revenue increased due to improved oversight.

Registrations for 1998—99 totaled 7,915, which represent an increase of 408 (5+ percent) over 1997—98.

In 1998, the Department implemented a new WWW-based registration system. This format permits students to register for their physical education classes on-line from anywhere in the world. Thanks go to ODSUE-IT for its assistance with this project.

Most of the 17 full-time faculty members in the Department attended the American Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) National Convention held in Boston in April.

Despite an increase of activities offered from 17 in 1997—98 to 19 in 1998-99, intramural participation decreased significantly as 7,860 students (down 981 from 1997—98) representing 668 teams (down 128 teams from 1997—98) exhibited their loyalties by competing for their dormitory floors or fraternity houses. Not included in the 1998—99 numbers are softball participation figures, which are unavailable, but were significantly lower than in the past due to lack of field space for competition.

Financial support guidelines for Club Sports program needs (developed in 1997—98) continued to be implemented. Of the 46 programs registered this year, 15 competing Club Sports received financial assistance. Participation figures were up 4.5 percent from 1997—98, and 38 percent of participants were women (down 2 percent).

As usual, our student-athletes turned in many outstanding performances. Highlights of the 1998—99 academic year include:

• Tracy C. Sadowski ‘99 led a list of 13 student-athletes who were named to the GTE Academic All-America teams. Sadowski was selected in both field hockey and lacrosse.
• The women's air pistol squad won the National Rifle Association team championship.
• Victoria A. Best ‘99 became the leading career point scorer in MIT women's basketball history with 1,425 points. Best led the women to the most successful season in the history of the program with a 20-8 record and a first ever berth in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) New England Division III Tournament.
• The men's varsity four + coxswain took the silver medal at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship.
• J.C. Olson ‘00 and Sonja J. Ellefson ‘01 each broke the Institute all-around record in men's and women's gymnastics respectively. Ellefson, who currently holds every event record at MIT, won the ECAC all-around Division III championship with a meet record, and was the only Division III women's gymnast to qualify for the Division II national championship.
• Nine MIT teams showed up in national rankings, led by women's sailing which ranked as high as second.
• The men's ice hockey team competed in the national club hockey championships in Utah.

The department has defined the following planning objectives for FY1999:

• Continue efforts to diversify the Department through the identification, recruitment, and employment of more women and minorities in administrative, management, head coaching, and teaching positions.
• Continue efforts to fully integrate the Department into the Office for the Dean of Students and Undergraduate Education (ODSUE).
• Continue development of a planned approach to funding the Central Athletics Facility, along with the renovation of existing facilities based on the Department of Facilities Audit results. Explore marketing and promotional activities aimed at creating revenue streams for facilities expenses.
• Continue to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of daily operations through an ongoing review of processes and utilization of computer technology.
• Continue the development of the Department's Strategic Plan while devoting special focus to our current intercollegiate sports programs, including limiting squad sizes or creating additional funding support.
• Develop a planned approach to involve faculty/coaches and other staff in research and other scholarly professional endeavors. Continue active participation in the planning of the Center for Sports Research.

Several personnel initiatives were put in place to support the leadership of the Department. Richard Brewer was named Administrative Officer for Business Affairs. Richard replaced Cheryl Eccles who became Administrative Assistant to the Director of Athletics. Gregory Algarin-Marquez and Heather Crook were hired as full time assistants in the Department Business Office. Physical Education administrative assistant Temple Odom resigned to pursue other opportunities in Michigan where she will be moving with her husband. Assistant Professor Jarek Koniusz was selected as Assistant to the Director of Physical Education. Christopher Nightingale and Andrew Lee were hired as full-time athletic trainers replacing Kimberly Goulding (American International College) and Scott Roy (Dartmouth College) who departed for other professional opportunities.

Professor Gordon Kelly returned to full-time teaching following a ‘98 Spring term leave of absence. During his leave, Professor Kelly edited a compilation of course syllabi that includes most of our physical education class offerings

Among the coaching staff, Richard Dyer retired as rifle coach at the conclusion of the academic year. He will be replaced by John "Jerry" Mulloy in September ‘99. Halston Taylor returned from his leave of absence with ODSUE and resumed his role as men's varsity cross country and indoor and outdoor track & field coach. Taylor also assumed the responsibility for women's cross country on an interim basis. Assistant Professor Paul Slovenski was named interim women's track & field coach replacing Joe Sousa who retired. Slovenski will take over as women's varsity cross country coach in September ‘99. Susan Lindholm was named interim head coach of women's varsity crew replacing Mayrene Earle who resigned. Lindholm will continue in the position through 1999-2000. William Holland was hired as the part-time head coach for nordic skiing. Professor Joseph Quinn. He was replaced as men's club-varsity ice hockey head coach by part-time hire Mark O'Meara.

More information about the Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation Department can be found on the World Wide Web at http://web.mit.edu/athletics/www/.

Richard A. Hill

CAMPUS ACTIVITIES COMPLEX AND CAMPUS DINING

The mission and purpose of the Campus Activities Complex (CAC) is to be the center of campus life for students, faculty, staff, alumni/ae, retirees and guests. A recent report by the Task Force on Student Life and Learning describes the Institute as a triad comprised of Academics, Research and Community. It is clear that in this new vision of MIT's educational process, the concept of Community is given new importance. Through its programs, services, and facilities, CAC supports our community by offering educational, recreational, and social opportunities for both community interaction and the exchange of ideas, concerns, and interests. With the support of its affiliated volunteer organizations and the CAC Advisory Board, the department strives to foster individual growth and build community spirit.

Now in its third year as part of the Office of the Dean of Students and Undergraduate Education (ODSUE), the Campus Activities Complex (CAC) has had new opportunities to realize its mission. CAC has established vital links and affiliations that have enabled both the CAC and other Student Life departments, particularly Residential Life and Student Life Programs (RLSLP), to better serve the MIT community through the improvement of services, programs, and operations. These efforts include the creation of the new Campus Dining Office and the implementation of the new scheduling and event management system (EMS). The office has also developed a new Community Programs and Services function.

The CAC provides a comprehensive program of educational, cultural and social activities to build a sense of community among students, faculty, staff and retirees. The programs and services which contributed to this objective included the Institute Awards Convocation, the Student Art Association, MIT Hobby Shop, CAC Advisory and Program Boards, the United Way Campaign, MIT Activities Committee (MITAC), Quarter Century Club and the Association of MIT Retirees.

This year's Institute Awards Convocation honored 49 students, faculty, staff and organizations as recipients of 29 awards. At the 1999 commencement ceremonies, the Class of ‘99 announced the selection of the 24 Hour Coffeehouse as the recipient of its Class Gift.

The Student Art Association (SAA) again reached capacity enrollment of 1,090 students. The SAA is in the process of developing the capability for digital photography, for which space has been designated. The Wiesner Student Art Gallery exhibited a variety of student art work, including photography, Chinese painting, ceramics, and woodwork. Works of the winners of the List Fellowships and the Schnitzer Prizes in the Visual Arts highlighted the exhibition season. Currently on display in the Gallery is the second annual show of photographs from the SAA. We are adding two new drawing courses and a photo-toning and hand-coloring class to our fall offerings

The MIT Hobby Shop celebrated its 60th anniversary this year with alumni/ae, faculty, staff and students. Featured speakers, Mr. Dick Poirier ‘50, Hobby Shop Director Ken Stone ‘72, Professor Alex Slocum ‘82 and Chancellor Lawrence Bacow ‘72, spoke of the important practical experience they gained as members of the Hobby Shop. The Hobby Shop continues to offer the entire MIT community a place to undertake building projects as personal hobbies as well as for course work. Ken Stone taught Woodwork Fabrication and Design (SP.751) in the fall semester as a Freshman Advisory Seminar. During the spring term, African Music (21M.293) students built instruments, including thumb pianos, xylophones and a drum, for their final projects. Teams from Product Design and Development (15.783J/2.739J) prototyped a speaker and a children's play structure. Hobby Shop facilities and equipment were also used by students in 2.007, 2.009, 16.00, 3.082. During IAP, the Hobby Shop offered Furniture Making and a new class in Loudspeaker Construction. Membership continues to be strong with 200 new members.

The CAC Advisory Board, chaired by Jamie Vinsant ‘99, addressed several community issues over the course of the year. Members of the Board represented the MIT community on the selection committees for several open CAC staff positions and on the committee overseeing the renovation of Kresge Auditorium. In addition, the Board assisted various members of the CAC staff in improving their programs and services, including the further development of the CAC Program Board.

In its third year, under the leadership of Farheen Qadir ‘99 and Rita Lin ‘98, the CAC Program Board concentrated its efforts on responding to the community's need for increased alcohol-free social programming. Its efforts resulted in several weekend social events and in the strengthening of the Spring Weekend Committee, co-chaired by the CAC Program Board's Kartik Mani ‘98. Specifically, the Halloween and Valentine events in the Stratton Student Center Lobby proved particularly successful, as well as study breaks in the Conor Moran Lounge of the Student Center, a Cultural Symposium, a live music series on the Student Center steps, and a hypnotist in Lobdell Dining Hall. Finally, through the IAP Games Tournament, two students competed regionally and nationally in the Association of College Unions International table tennis tournament.

This year, CAC sponsored a party to celebrate the 85th birthday party for MIT's mascot, the Beaver. The party included a cake for 1,000 people and music provided by the Logarythms and Chorallaries. At the party, a contest was announced to decide which members of the MIT community would design the new Beaver mascot costume. The winners of the contest, Solar Olugebefola ‘99 and Jessica Wu ‘98, are currently working with Ed McLuney of the Student Art Association on the final design. The new Beaver costume will make its debut in the upcoming school year.

The Office of Special Community Services (OSCS) is responsible for augmenting the quality of life for MIT employees by helping to meet their work/life needs through the provision of a range of community programs and services as well as by promoting community service and volunteer opportunities. The various programs under OSCS have expanded to include all MIT employees on campus as well as at Lincoln Laboratory in addition to serving a large retiree and student population. OSCS moved from its location in Building 20A-023 to new quarters in the lower front lobby of Walker Memorial in Building 50-005 in early July 1998.

The Association of MIT Retirees, co-chaired by Dorothy Bowe and Walter Milne, successfully completed its fifth year. Membership in this group has reached 530 dues-paying members. The group sponsored overnight trips to Tanglewood and Boothbay Harbor and a day trip to the Adams Historic Site. They also sponsored a seminar series entitled "What are you doing with the rest of your life?" with session focussing on how to select a physician (with Dr. John Moses and social worker Dawn Metcalf) and on how to make wise decisions in financial planning (with Glenn Strehle). Members of the group were also able to take advantage of a computer training program offered by Joanne Larabee of Information Systems and weekly golf classes with retired golf instructor Jack Berry. In addition, members volunteered at a number of venues in and around the MIT community.

The MIT Activities Committee, with assistance and leadership from the campus Co-Convener, Muriel Petranic, and the new Lincoln Laboratory Co-Convener, Karen Shaw, organized more than 66 events this past year for approximately 4,375 members of the community. One of the highlights of the year was the Mother's Day Sunday Brunch held at the MIT Faculty Club on May 9. This event, coordinated jointly with the Faculty Club, brought over 330 community members together for a memorable day of fun, fellowship and delicious food. Also this year, the MITAC office Lincoln Laboratory relocated to a larger office in Room LL-B-210. MITAC has implemented credit card sales for customer convenience, and a MITAC "year-at-a glance" calendar that was distributed to everyone in the campus and Lincoln Laboratory community. In addition, MITAC worked with the Association of MIT Retirees to organize day and overnight trips for current employees and retirees.

The Quarter Century Club (QCC) inducted 107 new members at a luncheon held at the MIT Faculty Club in March. (This increased the membership roster to over 2,750 members). Other events held during the year included the annual Summer Picnic in August, the Silver Club High Tea for Ladies in October, and the Holiday Gathering in December. In addition, James J. Fandel, President of the QCC, and the Board of Directors served as co-hosts at the annual President's Retirement Dinner in June that was hosted by President and Mrs. Charles M. Vest at the MIT Faculty Club for 99 retiring members of the MIT community. At last year's Retirement Dinner, the formation of the William R. Dickson Retiree Education Fund in honor of retired Senior Vice President was announced. The QCC established the $100,000 fund to assist its retired members, by awarding grants to fund their educational goals. An initial fundraising effort by the QCC has increased the original endowment particularly due to a generous donation of $5,000 by the MIT Employees Federal Credit Union. The W. R. Dickson Retiree Education Fund program will start to accept applications for grants starting on July 1, 1999.

The annual United Way Campaign reached 100 percent plus of its goal. Events held during the Campaign, including a bake sale, clothing drive, raffle drawings and a solicitor thank you party helped raise community awareness about the United Way. Bill Wohlfarth and Travis Merritt co-chaired the Campaign. Two new positions were added to the Steering Committee that met regularly to discuss campaign strategies. With the assistance of the United Way Steering Committee and Chief Solicitors appointed by the various Departments, Laboratories and Centers, the campaign goal was exceeded. There was also an increase in the number of Leadership Givers (those that give $1,000 or more). In addition, MIT was awarded the "Spirit of Sharing Award" by the United Way of Massachusetts Bay.

CAC operations staff were available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide event planning, support and supervision to more than 12,500 events with a combined attendance of over 600,000 people. In addition, CAC coordinated the operational and logistical aspects of many of the Institute's major events, including Commencement, Tech Days, Freshman Orientation, Spring Weekend, Massachusetts State Science Fair, Alumni Reunions, the visit of Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji, Laboratory for Computer Science Conference with Bill Gates, Special Olympics, and the Enterprise Forum.

CAC continued to maintain and service the Stratton Student Center, Walker Memorial, the MIT Chapel, the Religious Activities Center, Kresge Auditorium and Tang Center. These facilities house stores, services, multipurpose facilities as well as departmental and student organization offices. Lighting and seating in common areas was upgraded to serve the recreational and educational needs of students more effectively. In addition, facility-use evaluation and planning continued in an effort to use limited space as efficiently as possible. Ongoing health and safety efforts continued, with a particular focus on aiding student organizations in establishing dark rooms and printing processes that comply with Institute standards.

CAC continued to collaborate with Residential Life and Student Life Programs (RLSLP), Athletics, Campus Police, and the Registrar's Schedules Office in regard to event coordination and support through the weekly event review meetings.

The first phase of the Kresge Renovation ($7 mil.) project was completed making the facility ADA compliant. Sophisticated sound and light equipment and new seating were installed in both Main Kresge and Little Theater. In addition, a new stage was installed and life safety improvements carried out. New floors, lighting and sound equipment have been installed in Rehearsal Rooms A and B. In addition, a green room has been made available for presenters and performers. The Kresge auditorium restrooms have been refurbished. The MIT chapel is currently under renovation to provide air conditioning and controlled lighting. The first level of the chapel is currently being evaluated for ADA compliance.

The basement level of Walker Memorial ($250K) was also renovated into a new office complex for the Office of Special Community Services. This was necessitated by the demolition of Building 20. The new office suite supports all administrative elements of the program including working space for the four volunteer organizations that work with OSCS.

The Event Management System (EMS) was introduced in both the Campus Activities Complex and the Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation Department as the primary scheduling platform. This unified system enables the two departments to maximize the schedulable facilities and provide improved customer support. In addition, EMS will be utilized by Campus Police, Conference Services and Residential Life and Student Life Programs to facilitate event registration.

CAC's administrative and financial area concentrated on bidding out the dining services contract, the search for the Director of the Office of Campus Dining, continued implementation of SAP to include the Department of Facilities module, integration of financial reporting with other areas of ODSUE and the further development of CAC's Business Enterprise Program.

This year, the Student Center's portfolio of retail tenants changed considerably as Information Systems consolidate computer sales and repair services into one site and with the departure of Newbury Comics. A new Copy Tech Center opened in the former location of the MIT Museum Shop. Vacancies remain and efforts are underway, in a very challenging retail market, to fill the empty storefronts. In addition, as part of its lease renewal, LaVerde's Market underwent a substantial renovation to the store's layout and merchandizing systems.

This was the second full operating year for CAC's Business Enterprise Program which has been designed to provide effective management and support to both the programmatic and fiscal aspects of various campus services. With the integration of the 24-Hour Coffeehouse, Gameroom, Source Box Office and Student Center Lobby Vendor Program, the Business Enterprise Program has enabled the Student Center to meet the needs of the MIT community more effectively. The Program has also enabled CAC to fund programs and services, including the CAC Program Board, and provide growth and development opportunities to approximately 65 student employees.

The Source Box Office, a movie theater-style ticket service, enabling on-demand ticket printing for a multitude of campus events, reached its highest gross revenue level since its inception. This service has reduced both the event planning cost of having tickets printed by off-campus vendors and the labor cost of various groups selling tickets for their individual events.

There were several changes in the administrative staff this year. Richard Berlin was hired as MIT Dining Director following a national search conducted by the Spelman-Johnson Group. Carminda Lemire was also hired as our new Administrative Staff Assistant following a regional search. Tina Trager, Assistant Manager for Event Planning, resigned to move out of state while Sean McGehearty, Operations Supervisor, resigned to pursue a new career. Ricky Gresh left the temporary full-time position of Program Coordinator for Student Activities, a position shared jointly with Residential Life and Student Life Programs. All three positions were in a search processes at year's end.

Within support staff, Karen Ruccio was hired as our main office Administrative Assistant replacing Sabrina Greenburg who left MIT. Pamela Caliskan transferred from the Foreign Languages and Literature section to replace Carrie Young, who resigned as Administrative Assistant (P/T) in our MITAC Lincoln Lab Office.

There were also numerous changes within the service staff positions assigned to CAC from the Facilities Department.

CAC continued to provide employment opportunities for over 75 students. The department developed its Student Employment Program to support the personal and academic growth of student employees. In addition to hiring MIT students, CAC offered several Graduate Assistantships for students in Higher Education Administration programs at local universities. Jamila Ponton and Kara Veley, graduate students enrolled at Harvard University, provided programming support for the Program Board, the Wiesner Student Art Gallery and the Office of Special Community Services over the past year.

The search for the Director for the new Office of Campus Dining was successfully completed. This represents the first step in the establishment and development of the Office of Campus Dining as the central coordinating body for dining services on campus.

A Request for Proposal process was completed for MIT's prime food contractor. After considerable review, the entire contract was awarded to ARAMARK. Final contract negotiations are being completed currently. This contract transitioned the E19 dining operation from Chartwells to ARAMARK effective as of June 25, 1999. With the exception of leased spaces and student run businesses, all dining locations on campus are now operated by ARAMARK.

In order to be Y2K compliant, the Office of Campus Dining is upgrading its current card reader point-of-sale system. After review by a cross-functional group including MIT Information Systems, the next generation Diebold system was chosen based upon the strength of data security encryption scheme. The new hardware will also be compatible with the next system software currently in beta testing at other institutions.

The Dining Implementation Group identified three strategic capital renovation projects. These projects include residential dining in McCormick, the Refresher Course at Sloan, and, in conjunction with the junior class, the Lobby 7 Donut Shop. Plans were also proposed, as part of a projected administrative space change, to move the Office of Campus Dining to the Stratton Student Center.

Campus Dining conducted a number of pilot special meal programs this year including a Monday night dinner program at McCormick, a two night/week dinner program at Walker Memorial for East Campus residents, and a lunch program four days/week at the Faculty Club for the Sloan community. All have met with community approval and will be developed further this coming year.

More information about Campus Activities Complex and Campus Dining can be found on the World Wide Web at http://web.mit.edu/campus-activities/www/.

Phillip Walsh

CHAPLAINCY

There were a number of significant events this year involving the chaplains. The year began with The Hands Project. Created by Sasha Bergmann Lichtenstein, this community building activity led to the creation of a piece of sculpture. The pairs of hands eventually created a globe that was exhibited in several locations across campus and at the national conference on Education as Transformation held at Wellesley College in late September. Several members of the MIT community contributed to the Conference and the MIT Religious Life Center has been designated as a model for inter-faith space in a program growing out of the Conference. This program recognizes MIT as a model to be emulated by other colleges and universities as they try to institutionalize the religious diversity they experience.

The Technology and Culture Seminar had another successful year and moved closer to achieving the endowment needed to guarantee continuation of this nationally known program. Speakers this year included Chris Lydon, Philip Morrison, Noam Chomsky, Mitchell Kapor and Lester Thurow.

Under sponsorship of the Office of the Dean of Students and Undergraduate Education and the chaplaincy, several speakers were brought to campus. These included The Reverend Peter Gomes speaking on the topic: "After Matthew Sheppard: The Bible and Homosexuality". Intervarsity Christian Fellowship sponsored several programs as did Hillel. Connections were established with The God and Computer series led by Dr. Anne Foerst. These connections will result in a new lecture series during the fall of 1999.

The Office has collaborated with Archives and the MIT Museum on several projects. As the office has become more concerned with issues related to community, it has developed a sensitivity to what student life and learning has been like in the past. Among other things, this interest has resulted in a short film on Women at MIT which included interviews with Dr. Sheila Widnall, Dr. Emily Wick, Dr. Mildred Dresselhaus and Dorothy Bowe. This bit of history utilized photographs in the Museum that needed to be catalogued and moved to the Archives. The chaplaincy took the lead in encouraging the project which went forward with results seen in the Mid-Century Convocation Exhibit.

The Mid-Century Convocation in 1949 marked the beginning of MIT as we know it. The 50th Anniversary of this milestone event was celebrated this spring. With the encouragement of Dean Rosalind Williams and Dean Robert Randolph, a commemorative exhibit was mounted for Tech Day and then located in the Compton Gallery through the summer. The photographs mentioned earlier played an important part in this successful enterprise, but the highlight of the show was the rediscovered film of a speech delivered at the Convocation by Winston Churchill. The entire speech and a short highlight reel were available to those viewing the exhibit.

During the year two students died. Kevin Chao '01 died in July in an automobile accident. Michael Manley '02 took his own life in February 1999. Both of these tragic events had impact on the community at large and in each case appropriate resources were made available to students and others affected by these untimely deaths. Efforts were made in both instances to reach out to the extended families and to assist them in coping with their loss.

Robert Randolph

COUNSELING AND SUPPORT SERVICES

The mission of Counseling and Support Services (CSS) is to provide personal counseling to all students in a highly competitive and stressful environment. Such counseling will seek to dignify each individual student in his or her efforts to learn within both academic and personal contexts. Personal support includes counseling students on a range of issues, including academic, psychological, interpersonal, financial and even career matters.

The 1998—99 academic year was considerably less traumatic than the previous one, but it was not free of tragedy. The suicide of a first year student in late winter deeply affected many segments of this community. For individuals and groups still engaged with trying to understand the series of events that had unfolded the year before, the loss of this young person ignited yet another period of intense self-examination and reflection. Counseling and Support Services continued its efforts to assist students and to collaborate very closely with the MIT Medical Department, especially Mental Health, as well as with faculty, housemasters, student family members, campus police, chaplains and external hospital staff. CSS deans teamed with other support professionals and visited living groups on and off the campus. The counseling staff also focused on administrative matters, particularly those concerned with the Committee on Academic Performance, financial holds, late registration and Student Financial Services. It participated in a productive and ongoing dialogue with representatives of these offices and committees, and attempted to improve collaboration between the providers of vital services. Nightline and One 2 One, the Institute's peer counseling hotlines, continued to receive supervision from CSS staff. The office also presented and/or coordinated various workshops, training sessions and small groups discussions to address student and staff needs.

In addition to meeting with and assisting many individual students who had a range of personal and academic issues, Ms. Lynn Roberson, Coordinator of Women's Programs, collaborated with other administrators and faculty to present several very informative and exceptionally helpful programs and workshops for women students. These included but were not limited to: a retreat for women students at Endicott House (featuring a workshop on Negotiating With Challenging People that was presented by Ombudsperson Toni Robinson), the Women's Panel Discussion (an introduction to resources within the MIT community), Women and Health @ MIT, The FROSH Women's Lunch and Discussion Series (co-facilitated by Ms. Jessica Barton, Social Services), Asian American Women (co-led with Dr. Kristine Gerard of MIT Medical), the Biweekly Discussion and Support Group for Graduate Women (co-facilitated with Dean Blanche Staton of the Graduate Education Office). Ms. Roberson also teamed with Professor Helen Elaine Lee (Writing Program), Ms. Sandra Brown (Social Services), Ms. Lydia Douglas (independent filmmaker) and Dean Ayida Mthembu of CSS to examine topics ranging from body image to women and science.

Dean Ayida Mthembu continued to make contributions to the efforts of MIT's Committee on Campus Race Relations and Race 2000. She organized a successful and well-attended event featuring poet Traci Morris and percussionist Kazi Oliver, met with diverse members of the MIT community to promote the Grants Program and participated in the development and community presentation of a faculty and student panel: Is Black Black? with Professor Lani Guinier of Harvard Law School. Other critical activities included: The Freshman Leadership Program, a reception for the dancers of Urban Bush Women and a retreat for African American women students. Dean Arnold Henderson, Jr. remained on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee and assisted with the planning and organization of the annual celebratory breakfast.

Mr. James Collins, Assistant to the Dean, has been regularly attending the Institute's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues Group which meets every other week to discuss LGBT issues that affect the MIT community. The group has organized and funded educational and outreach programs to promote community awareness in addition to programs specifically geared to the Institute's LGBT students. Participation is open to everyone in the MIT community. Last year's regular attendees were a fair representation of our community, although there is a strong need for greater faculty participation.

Mr. Richard Goldhammer, Learning Disabilities Specialist, continued to meet regularly with Institute students who have documented learning disabilities. There are approximately 100 documented LD/ADHD students at MIT. He also assisted many other students who were perceived by faculty members or others as possibly having learning problems. His work has greatly enhanced MIT's ability to meet the needs of students who may require additional consultation and support. He has also enabled the Committee on Academic Performance and our faculty to assess student disability issues objectively and constructively.

Counseling and Support Services has defined the following goals:

• To counsel and advise undergraduate and graduate students on a wide range of personal, academic and career matters.
• To consult with Institute faculty, staff, family and friends on a variety of personal issues including the necessity for intervention and the provision of support and the potential impact of personal difficulties on academic life.
• To respond to personal student crises and emergencies, assessing risk, offering advice and assistance to the MIT community as needed and making appropriate referrals to medical personnel and others.
• To provide special support for women, minority, gay/lesbian/bisexual students, and for students with learning disabilities.

Counseling and Support Services made a strong effort to meet its established goals. Although 1998-99 was generally a better year for MIT's student population and the community as a whole, CSS faced many serious issues and frequently was under considerable pressure to provide a range of services when it had limited resources. We expect to hire a new dean by the fall of 1999. This addition to the staff will provide additional contact hours for those in urgent need. The staff is very grateful to the MIT administration for making the renovation of CSS's physical space a priority, and is delighted to be in its newly completed office (5-104) after spending four months housed in temporary quarters. This is the first time in more than three years that the entire staff has been situated together as a unit. The opportunity to exchange information more freely and to coordinate efforts more easily represents a step forward.

Dean Jacqueline Simonis, who is responsible for in-service training and counseling supervision in CSS, continued to address the office's goal of obtaining more regularly scheduled and relevant programming. She initiated a two part training session on substance abuse conducted by Dr. Ronald Fleming, Social Services. She also sponsored issues in psychotherapy session that was presented by Dr. Amy Brager, MIT Mental Health. In addition, Dean Simonis consulted with Career Services and developed a procedure for case discussion in that office; she followed up with a presentation/discussion with the Career Services staff about resource referrals for Institute students. She also planned and coordinated a fall meeting with Harvard's Bureau of Study Counsel.

Dean Kimberly McGlothin, who is responsible for supervising Nightline (MIT's peer counseling hotline), attended the annual American Psychological Association Conference. Dean Jacqueline Simonis attended a conference on In-Service Training and Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for Panic, Anxiety and Phobias. Dean of Student Life Margaret Bates and Dean Arnold Henderson, Jr. were panelists in a session concerning university student mental health issues sponsored by the Consortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE) Conference at Harvard University.

The Counseling and Support Services staff will continue to look at how its counseling contact hours can be most effectively distributed. Because the office provides support that may range from long-term therapy to walk-in appointments, it is frequently helpful to examine the service's existing system and determine if there are better ways to serve clients. Another goal is to expand staff development by identifying opportunities for further education and training, bringing in outside speakers and visiting colleagues at other institutions. The office will also continue its policy of reaching out to all segments of the Institute community and pooling efforts with other colleagues, providers and educators.

Ms. Suzette Clinton, Senior Office Assistant, joined the CSS staff in October 1998.

More information on this department can be found on the World Wide Web at http://web.mit.edu/counsel/www/.

Arnold Henderson, Jr.

MITCARD OFFICE

In FY1999, the MITCard Office staff continued to enhance core office capabilities through additional technical training and by researching, acquiring, and implementing new systems software and hardware to meet Institute-wide customer service need. The MITCard Office staff processed some 35,900 new MITCards and 49,600 images including 3,100 student roster pages for faculty use. Demand for MITCard Office services continued to increase as users created new and innovative applications for the MITCard.

The MITCard Office continued to facilitate interdepartmental work using MITCard database resources to meet both current and long-term service objectives. Some examples include our meeting with the Facilities Department to develop a security access and vendor negotiation knowledge base. A plan for a distributed one-stop employee MITCard production program was designed and presented at the request of the Human Resources Department. We worked closely with Lincoln Laboratory to develop their use of the MITCard for campus services and applications.

The Office created an ongoing safety awareness program in conjunction with, and at the request of, the Campus Police Department. As part of this safety awareness program, the MITCard Office now distributes special safety booklets to all new employees when they receive their MITCards. This booklet familiarizes new employees with safety procedures here at the Institute. The office budgeted and staffed a satellite operation in the Student Services Center. Summer conference Card service demand was often immediate and the staff responded to the increased card use successfully. We continued to build business and service applications with Campus Dining, Libraries and Parking that enabled the community to accelerate and facilitate service access.

The MITCard Office developed a database conversion plan with ODSUE IT and the MIT Information Systems Integration Team to use MITNet for delivering MITCard data resources securely Institute-wide. This conversion plan utilizes existing Oracle protocols to securely transmit MITCard data transmission over the MITNet. This opens valuable interdepartmental conduits throughout the MIT community while adhering to the mandates of the Institute's Privacy Policy. For example, departments will be able to obtain student rosters directly thereby eliminating the traditional five to seven day waiting period.

In the Human Resources area we strengthened MITCard Office staff by hiring Daniel Michaud in November. Lawrence Maguire became a Board Member of the National Association of Campus Card Users (NACCU).

More information on this department can be found on the World Wide Web at http://web.mit.edu/mitcard/.

Lawrence E. Maguire

ODSUE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

The mission of ODSUE IT is to provide high quality information services support to a wide ranging set of users within ODSUE and MIT. This support focuses on the automation of business processes and information systems to provide students, faculty and administrators with timely and accurate information and support.

Major events taking place in FY99 included our move to Building 11, the consideration of replacement technologies for MIT's Student Information System, and the organizational realignment of ODSUE IT.

Early in FY99 the office moved to the fourth floor of Building 11, allowing the entire department to be co-located while moving closer to our users. This has enabled us to provide more timely and efficient support of desktop computers and maintenance of existing systems as well as the analysis and implementation of new functionality.

Guided by our user partners, ODSUE IT initiated an analysis of the future direction of the Student Information System (the SIS serves student, parent, faculty and administrative clients of Academic Services, Admissions, and Student Financial Services). This analysis culminated in a recommendation to senior management that we undertake a more comprehensive review of the SIS system requirements to be followed by an in-depth trade study of potential long-term solutions.

Finally, ODSUE IT ended the year planning for becoming more closely aligned with the Systems Services Group (SSG). While servicing the needs of ODSUE will remain the mission of ODSUE IT, we will become part of the SSG (along with Financial Systems Services). This will allow ODSUE IT to investigate and utilize synergies inherent in these two organizations which serve the administrative computing needs of a large number of MIT staff.

Planning began in December of 1998 to replace 1/3 of the desktop machines across ODSUE. Working in partnership with Information Systems Office of Academic Computing, we deployed a total of 161 new machines and re-deployed 96 machines throughout ODSUE. The deployment was sensitive to those users migrating from the Macintosh to the PC platform, making sure that users were comfortable with their new computing environment.

In collaboration with our users the following major projects were completed this year:

Scheduling and Event Management System (EMS) Rollout: In August of 1998, the Dean Evans Scheduling and Event Management System was rolled-out to approximately 25 users. These users included non-ODSUE staff, including those in Campus Police and Conference Services. ODSUE IT collaborated with Information Systems Support Services, Office of Academic Computing to deploy upgraded desktop computers, get the EMS server on-line and provide training to both EMS users and administrators.

PFEE: The freshman on-line essay evaluation, developed in the spring of 1998 as a pilot project, was adopted as the standard writing test for freshman and extended also to include transfer students. Enhancements for 1999 included more efficient student access, new administrative features, automation of programming tasks and development of user documentation.

IAP: Publishing of January term events, previously managed using paper forms, is now fully automated and integrated with the student information database and course catalog. Members of the MIT community enter subject and non-credit proposals for IAP using web forms. Authorization, work flow and versioning components manage the progress of proposals through draft, submission, policy committee review and approval. The printed guide and on-line guide web pages are downloaded directly from the database whenever needed.

Housemaster Advisor Access: Designed, developed and implemented a web site where Housemasters can access the academic records of house members. In the Housemaster's advising role, s/he can review the subjects house members have pre-registered for, review grade reports including completed audit, review subjects taken in current term including the projected audit and review individual student schedules.

Prerequisite Report: Designed, developed and implemented processes to define subject prerequisites and to identify students who have pre-registered or registered for a class and have not met those prerequisites. This system was implemented on the Web, providing the faculty with easy access to this information. This process supports entry of all permutations and combinations of prerequisites and co-requisites.

Y2K: With the Year 2000 approaching, we have focused attention on ensuring that all ODSUE systems will be fully functional as we roll over to the new year.

JAVA Infrastructure: An investigation into a Web based JAVA infrastructure to provide a robust user interface for application development is ongoing. This investigation has resulted in the development of prototypes and a future plan for implementation.

Premier Lottery: Designed, developed and implemented a Web based lottery system for students to register for tickets to the Premier of China's MIT address.

Parent Loan Information: MITSIS now has a central place to keep social security number (SSN), name and address of parents or guardians who will receive the loan note. MIT students can request MIT Parent Loan if their parent or close relative is an MIT alum.

Freshman Admissions: This project was postponed while we focused resources on the more comprehensive Student Information Systems requirements analysis project.

Financial Aid and Loan Services: Continued to streamline processing while adding necessary functionality.

Graduate Admissions System: Developed this distributed system to allow graduate departments to process applications for graduate admissions. Fully integrated with the Student Information System (MITSIS), the Graduate Admissions System allows the departments to accomplish all tasks related to Graduate Admissions Appointments, from fulfilling requests for applications and departmental inserts via a Mailing House to tracking repeat applicants, deferrals, readmits and admits to a higher degree.

Summer 1999 Tuition Subsidy: During the summer of 1999, MIT provided a 67 percent subsidy to graduate students registered for thesis / pre-thesis courses only. This effort involved cooperative work from ODSUE-IT, Student Financial Services, Academic Services and the Graduate Education Office. The new process allowed MITSIS to post the tuition subsidy to eligible student accounts with minimal end user intervention.

Following up on the FY1999 budgeting process, ODSUE IT will be partnering with other ODSUE departments to develop strategic plans which will provide guidance for development for the next several years. This strategic planning process will directly inform the development of the next generation of our Student Information System.

ODSUE IT expects to implement a new organization (candidate name Student Information Systems & Services) under the auspices of the Systems Services Group. While maintaining our dedicated support to Student Services clients, we expect to take advantage of our new organizational relationships to provide better service and development support to our clients.

With the hiring of an outside consultant, we have been more successful at identifying and hiring qualified information technologists. Since the marketplace remains competitive, we will continue to rely on extra assistance to continue our aggressive recruitment program. That program resulted in the following changes this past year:

Following up her multi-year support to Student Services Reengineering, Maria Fernandez agreed to join us as Project Leader and leader for Student Financial Services Student Accounts Team. After several years as a consultant programmer supporting the Freshman and Graduate Admissions systems Semyon Eskin joined us as a full-time employee as a Database Analyst, providing support to the Database Infrastructure Team. Stan Zemon, Analyst

Programmer, joined the Academic Services Team. He also provides support to Database Infrastructure Team. Ayca Darcan, joined us as Senior Analyst Programmer, bringing her experience and skills as Leader of Student Financial Services Financial Aid. Tony Porter and Riccardo Cosmey were hired as Technical Assistants. Their contributions to the Desktop Support Team have been enormous. Their attention to detail and quick response to ODSUE user problems has been felt across all ODSUE departments.

More information about this department can be found on the World Wide Web at http://web.mit.edu/odsue/odsue-it/.

Robert A. Rippcondi

OFFICE OF ACADEMIC SERVICES

The Office of Academic Services (OAS) made great progress towards its goal of supporting, administering, and promoting MIT's educational mission. This year's physical move located all of Academic Services in buildings 5, 7 and 11 and helped to stabilize our organizational redefinition and strengthen the working relationships of every member of our office. OAS continued developing its relationships with faculty, staff and students in conjunction with the findings and recommendations of the Task Force report.

The Academic Resource Center (ARC) includes many of the principal non-departmental academic resources for students and their advisors. The ARC places particular emphasis on freshman-focused services and activities, having responsibility for new-student orientation, freshman advising recruitment, training and management, and freshman-year programming in general.

Freshman Advising Seminars continue to be the most popular mode for freshman advising. Of the 1047 members of the Class of 2002, 850 freshmen chose this system, with the remainder being advised in random clusters of three to five by non-seminar traditional advisors.

As in previous years, freshman advisors came from many parts of the MIT community. The 189 freshman advisors for 1998—99 included 142 seminar leaders (12 of whom were co-leaders) and 47 traditional advisors. The advising cadre divided into the following subgroups: 95 faculty members, 3 visiting professors, 2 adjunct professors, 20 teaching staff, 12 research scientists, 52 administrators, 1 physician and 4 graduate students. Most advisors were assisted by one or more associate advisors.

At the beginning of September 1998, there were 24 Undesignated Sophomores. That number gradually reduced over the course of the academic year. At this point, only four sophomores remain undesignated. Each has been contacted, and we anticipate they will have resolved their choice of major by the start of the Fall 1999 semester.

Given the academic focus of the Academic Resource Center, our outreach efforts tend primarily to programming such as study skills and time management workshops. Continuing the new programming begun in Spring 1998 on choosing majors, the center offered two workshops to advisors in the Fall. These workshops supplement the annual Spring Orientations for New Advisors and the Fall Orientation for all advisors. In addition, ARC sponsored four dinners this year: three for seminar leaders and a new event for traditional advisors. ARC also gave a number of group sessions in living groups and to student organizations.

There were some major changes for Independent Activities Period '99 (IAP), particularly in the way that members of the MIT community submitted proposals for subjects and activities. All for-credit subjects and non-credit activities were posted to a web-based proposal system, using a newly-designed program developed in conjunction with ODSUE IT. A new, smaller format IAP Guide was easier to read, and the new IAP on-line site was continuously updated throughout IAP. Continuing students pre-registered for credit bearing subjects via the web for the first time. Nearly 600 activities (non-credit) and 90 subjects (for-credit) were offered.

Orientation '98 was new and exciting. A new schedule was created that included the following new features: a Welcome Dinner that featured interaction between new students, upperclass Orientation Leaders and Faculty; an alcohol presentation that promoted civility among students; BaFa BaFa, a diversity game; two new pre-orientation programs that involved community service and academics; a science symposium that incorporated an essay contest; a sports and wellness activity; and a Residence Midway that allowed all students to investigate their housing options without leaving campus.

With the introduction of Orientation Leaders, the anxiety level of most incoming students decreased. Through a survey that was given, students ranked as their favorite programs: meeting their advisors, the academic expo (new and improved) and the Residence Midway. The Orientation Committee was also restructured to have fewer, but more involved students. Orientation ‘98 was strengthened by greater collaboration among the ODSUE offices and more involvement by the faculty.

There were 230 active Associate Advisors for the academic year 1998—99. Through the Associate Advising Steering Committee, new programming consisted of a new Orientation training; a suicide discussion, 10 study skill programs, 2 FSILG presentations on academic survival, and 8 IAP related programs. The Associates created a new series called "How To" that incorporated approaching professors, navigating academic forms, and when and how to find help. The ever popular Choice of Majors Fair is being held not only during IAP, but also again in late March.

This past year has seen considerable growth in Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) endowment. Close to $3 million was added to the Paul Gray Endowment Fund for UROP, and about $100,000 was added to the UROP Endowment Fund, two of our largest funds. Student participation was slightly lower during this academic year both for credit and pay, nearly 20 percent lower in the case of credit, 6 percent in the case of pay. The credit-pay ratio last year was 61 percent—38 percent in favor of pay; this year it was 64 percent—35 percent.

UROP's IAP Mentor Program has proven to be one highly satisfactory way of helping prepare freshmen, by having experienced UROPers mentor beginners for several weeks during IAP while working on their ongoing UROP projects. This year the Mentor Program had over 40 mentors who worked with more than 70 pre-UROPers.

The pilot On-line Freshman Essay Evaluation was a major success. During the summer of 1998, the Writing Requirement Office offered three administrations of the web-based writing evaluation in a collaborative project with ODSUE IT. Exactly one-half of the entering class (527 students) voluntarily chose to take the test on-line before coming to MIT. These students and their advisors received detailed and specific written comments in addition to the summary scores that the traditional essay evaluation given during Orientation provides.

The Writing Requirement Office administered the standard Freshman Essay Evaluation during Orientation in August. Of the 416 students taking the test, 49 (11.8 percent) passed, 229 (55.0 percent) received the score of "Not Passing," and 138 (33.2 percent) received a recommendation to take a writing subject. In total, of the 943 entering undergraduates who took one of the essay evaluations, 202 (21.4 percent) passed, 525 were scored as "Not Passing," and 216 (21.4 percent) were encouraged to enroll in a writing subject. Another 79 entering students completed Phase One through credit on the AP Language and Composition Test.

During academic year 1998—99, an additional 1,042 students completed Phase One through options other than the Freshman Essay Evaluation. The Writing Requirement Office evaluated 299 Phase One papers (a significant decrease from 380 in the AY 1997—98), and 273 students completed Phase One through the paper option. Another 442 students completed Phase One through expository writing subjects offered by the Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies and the English as a Second Language Program in Foreign Languages and Literatures. In addition, as part of the curricular experiments mandated by the Faculty and conducted by the CUP, 327 students completed Phase One through communication-intensive subjects sanctioned by the HASS Overview Committee.

Of the 1,088 students receiving the S.B. Degree during the 1998—99 academic year, 303 (27.9 percent) completed Phase One through the Freshman Essay Evaluation or Advanced Placement Tests, 297 (27.3 percent) by submitting a Phase One paper, 364 (33.5 percent) through a traditional Phase One expository writing subject and 124 (11.4 percent) through a communication-intensive HASS subject. The Undergraduate Technical Writing Cooperative was used by 456 students (41.9 percent) to complete Phase Two, while 235 students (21.6 percent) completed Phase Two by writing papers evaluated by departmental faculty and instructional staff and 357 (32.8 percent) students completed the Requirement through a Phase Two Writing Subject.

The staff of the Writing Requirement Office has helped departments and individuals in developing and assessing communication-intensive pilot projects and in expanding existing programs.

The Academic Information and Communication area continued its work to provide students, faculty and staff with accurate and accessible information on academic opportunities, policies and procedures. Almost all of its efforts are the result of collaborations with other staff both from within and outside Academic Services. Recent activities include:

• Development of web pages on the Undergraduate Program, including descriptions and charts of Institute and departmental requirements and options for minors. The information for these pages comes from the MIT Bulletin, and the work was done in collaboration with staff from the Communications Office and Campus Wide Information Systems (CWIS).
• Development with staff from the Academic Resource Center of web pages on Choosing a Major, the Committee on Academic Performance, and First-Year Academics, as well as work with them on development of ARC pages.
• Redesign of WebSIS as a site offering access to student records and academic information to students, instructors and advisors. The new site will debut next fall and is the result of the efforts of a team including staff from the Registrar's Office, ODSUE IT and Student Financial Services.
• Revision of printed Registration Instructions/Class Schedules book and publication of information on the web.
• Development for Registrar's Office of web sites on graduation, tuition and enrollment statistics, as well as improvement of sites on final examinations, the academic calendar and transcripts. Also reformatted many of the Registrar's Office forms.
• Publication of brochure about Academic Services. Creation and maintenance of Academic Services web site and sites with lists of departmental academic officers and administrators.
• Compilation and editing of report of the Faculty Policy Committee's Subcommittee on Examination and Term Regulations, which was presented to the Faculty in May.
• Writing, editing and organizing copy for the Student Handbook, a revised version of the former student publication, How To Get Around MIT (HOWtoGAMIT), which will be published in August by the offices of Academic Services and of Residential Life and Student Life Programs.

The Classroom Management and Scheduling office spearheaded a major collaborative effort with faculty, Academic Computing, Facilities and the Planning Office in the renovation and upgrade of several classrooms spread throughout the campus. In addition, a major training partnership with Audio/Visual Services and Academic Computing resulted in several sessions each term that outlined the teaching possibilities in the technologically-equipped rooms. Some other key projects included:

• Major technology upgrades to lecture halls 1-190 and 54-100 to support course-driven computer teaching.
• Communication or reference cards providing faculty with a list of helpful telephone numbers, i.e. AV services, Building services, etc., for use while lecturing within the classroom.
• Fixed seating and carpet replacement in three major lecture halls.
• Relocation of several classes due to an emergency flooding situation in the electronic classroom, 1-115.
• Development and implementation of a searchable final exam schedule on the web.

The goal of the educational research section is to collect and disseminate data and design and conduct studies for faculty and administrators to enable them to make informed decisions which will promote change and improve the quality of the MIT curricular and co-curricular experience for our students. Recent activities include:

• Conducted a survey about Orientation ‘98.
• Participated in a national survey of entering freshmen sponsored by the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) at UCLA.
• Integrated a variety of reports about the freshman year experience into a final report entitled Looking Back at the Freshman Year and developed a demographic and academic profile about the cohort of students who entered in fall, 1994.
• Analyzed data from the 1998 Senior Survey, and disseminated data that was broken down by departments and schools.
• Surveyed Project Interphase ‘98 students in the middle and at the end of the program to determine areas of strength and areas where changes were needed.
• Assisted some offices and departments, namely Career Services, UROP, the Medical Department, and courses 3, 7, 10, and 13, with the development and/or analysis of student surveys.
• Compiled statistics about the Math Diagnostic, HASS classes and AP credit.
• Made visits to a number of department heads, school deans and administrators to inform them of our strengthened research capabilities as a result of the merger of the Registrar's Office and Undergraduate Academic Affairs.

The Teaching and Learning Laboratory (TLL) has increased its visibility within the Institute during the past year. Stronger links have been made with other educators who are involved in improving science and engineering education both nationally and internationally. Highlights of the year include:

The Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) is part of a five-university consortium that has been awarded a seven-year grant to establish an Educational Research Center (ERC) in Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering. Proposed projects include curriculum design and the development of innovations using new educational technologies. TLL worked with HST faculty, as well as educational and domain specialists from the other four institutions, in producing the proposal for the ERC.

TLL took the lead in organizing and administering a semester-long series, On the Cutting Edge: Innovations in Science and Engineering Education, that brought noted experts in the field of science and engineering education to the campus. A group of brown-bag lunches, during which MIT faculty described educational innovations in which they have been involved, was also part of the series. Average attendance for outside speakers was 50 (evenly divided between faculty, graduate students and staff); average attendance for the brown-bag lunches was 15.

The Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics (Course 16) is in the process of a multi-faceted effort to strengthen the department's educational efforts. TLL has worked in partnership with the department in this process. In particular, workshops on student learning and using student teams in class have been held for the faculty; information on evaluation and assessment has been provided; and Lori Breslow has worked closely with several faculty to bolster the communication component of the department's curriculum.

With Dr. Miriam Diamond, Lori Breslow co-taught Teaching College-Level Chemistry (5.95) for 12 Ph.D. students on university teaching and learning.

In addition, during this academic year, TLL consulted on outreach programs; participated in the planning of the d'Arbeloff Charrette; developed and led "TA School" for 9.100, a four-workshop series that covered student learning, classroom management, teaching a diverse population and evaluating writing and public speaking.

The Subject Evaluation office continues to administer the subject evaluation. Fall term, we tested a new evaluation form and in-house process with the help of the Physics department with great success. In the spring, this new process was used Institute-wide. We increased the scope of the evaluation to include questions about the use of information technology, subject hours, subject-specific questions and improved questions in the "comments" section. We are currently developing a new Web-site to post both the statistical results and student written subject summaries.

The Office responded to many inquiries pertaining to student information from the MIT community and beyond. The office also continued to partner with ODSUE IT in the development and implementation of on-line tools to support faculty in their roles as teachers and advisors. A particular emphasis this year was placed on outreach to the community.

The highlights this year included:

• Working with the Chair of Committee on Curricula (CoC) and Committee on Academic Performance (CAP) in developing an improved communications plan for contacting degree candidates. Elements of this plan include timely e-mail reminders, a new graduating student web site and partnering with the academic departments in identifying candidates deficient in Institute requirements.
• Developing and implemented an option to WebREG where faculty and administrators can get a report which identifies students who have not passed the prerequisites and/or who are not taking the required co-requisites.
• Designing, developing, and implementing a web site where housemasters can access the academic records of house members. Faculty as housemasters can review subjects house members have pre-registered for, review grade reports including completed audit, review subjects taken in current term including the projected audit and review individual student schedules.
• Developing, testing, communicating, and implementing new processes for assessing summer tuition for graduate students.
• Developing and implementing a new cross-registration program with the Massachusetts College of Art and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts.
• Facilitating the development of a new division, ESD on MITSIS.
• Improving communication and procedures to meet the ever increasing requests from Alumni/ae for transcripts and certifications.
• Working with the Chair of CAP, Student Financial Services, and Counseling and Support Services in implementing the Financial Hold Policy.

In 1998—99 student enrollment was 9,885, compared with 9,880 in 1997—98. There were 4,372 undergraduates (4,381 the previous year) and 5,513 graduate students (5,499 the previous year). The international student population was 2,255 and represented eight percent of the undergraduate and 35 percent of the graduate populations. These students were citizens of 102 countries. (Students with permanent residence status are included with US citizens).

In 1998—99, there were 3,202 women students (1,776 undergraduate and 1,426 graduate) compared with 3,101 (1,747 undergraduate and 1,354 graduate) in 1997—98. In September 1998, 448 first-year women entered MIT, representing 43 percent of the freshman class of 1,047 students.

In 1998-99, there were, as self-reported by students, 2,600 minority students (2,009 undergraduate and 591 graduate) compared with 2,691 (1,997 undergraduate and 694 graduate) in 1997-98. Minority students included 348 African Americans (non-Hispanic), 69 Native Americans, 535 Hispanic Americans and 1,648 Asian Americans. The first-year class entering in September 1998 included 502 minority students representing 48 percent of the class.

Degrees awarded in 1998—99 included 1,237 bachelor's degrees, 1,456 master's degrees, 17 engineer's degrees, and 486 doctoral degrees–a total of 3,196 (compared with 3,213 in 1997—98).

New staff in the office include: Kirk Kolenbrander, Associate Dean; Marsha Orent, Program Coordinator; Ertha Baptiste-Ikini and Denise Vallay, Facilities & Scheduling; Leonard Lu, Academic Information and Communication; Deborah Boldin and Jason Kelly, Curriculum Development and Faculty Support; Cynthia Dernay Tervalon, Teaching and Learning Laboratory.

Dan Darling left his position to join the Biotechnology Processing Center. Kenneth Reig left for an outside position. Mark D'Avila left his position to join the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Norma McGavern-Norland retired as Director of UROP. We will miss her dedication, intelligence and wise counsel.

More information on this department can be found on the World Wide Web at http://web.mit.edu/odsue/academic/.

Mary Callahan, Margaret Enders

OFFICE OF CAREER SERVICES AND PREPROFESSIONAL ADVISING

The Office of Career Services and Preprofessional Advising's (OCSPA) mission is to help students learn about the relationship between what they do at MIT and life after graduation, to develop the competencies required beyond technical knowledge, to make informed decisions about career goals and find opportunities related to their professional objectives, and to contribute to civilization.

OCSPA's philosophy is that career development is an ongoing process that includes: self-assessment, career exploration, choice of major, competency development; and preparation for the job search or graduate/professional school application process, and productive, rewarding lives. Above all else, it is a generative process, which provides a foundation for achieving goals throughout life. Students are encouraged to begin their career education early, including a visit to OCSPA during the freshman year or the first year of graduate school, to learn what career resources are available.

In striving to better serve MIT students, employers, alumni, faculty, and other administrators, Career Services and Preprofessional Advising seeks to contribute to a dialogue about Institute-wide learning. Our academic role at MIT is to build and maintain enabling systems, which encourage us as a community, and especially our students, to become self-managed learners who can contribute to learning organizations where we work and live.

OCSPA assists students in learning about the relationship between what they are doing at MIT and life after graduation; exploring career options in relation to choice of major; understanding the competencies required beyond their technical knowledge to succeed in the competitive global marketplace, and contribute to civilization; networking, informational interviewing, mentoring, internships, summer jobs and other opportunities to gain experience in fields of interest; applying to medical, law or other graduate/professional school; study abroad; writing a resume and conducting interviews; and finding employment after graduation.

Employers, like society at large, hire and most certainly promote on the basis of competencies, not majors. The required competencies get the job, but these competencies are not major dependent. It is important to ask where at MIT students learn what employers and society expect of them. In addition to technical knowledge, the desired competencies are: effective communication, critical thinking, team building, information technology, managing change, leadership, diversity, social responsibility, and self-managed learning. It is also important to ask what are other or will be new competencies that civilization will require of us.

OCSPA's efforts to focus on generative learning are intended to help us, both ask that question and find shared answers. While we have accomplished many objectives in this past year, addressing new services to students and employers, including demand from students for major specific employment recruiting and employers, equipment and staffing, OCSPA continues to have serious needs in terms of facilities and location.

OCSPA seeks explicit collaboration with the academic departments, especially through Deans, Department Heads, and other faculty, as a way to achieve our goal of providing effective career services to our students. In September 1998 we reorganized and redeployed our professional staff into School-based teams. These changes enabled us to strengthen our services to each School and Department, and to better serve students at all degree levels and in all disciplines.

In addition we have undertaken several key initiatives which affect our services in significant ways:

• Initiating programs that contribute to students' learning including the development of competencies required to contribute to society in the 21^st century
• Providing career development to students beginning with freshmen and first-year graduate students through a programmatic sequence of workshops and seminars
• Expanding use of information technology to better serve students, alumni and employers with direct access to our new web-based employment recruiting system, 7 days a week and 24 hours a day
• Gathering data from 83 percent of 1998 graduates on such topics as the post-graduation study or employment destinations of MIT graduates, the level of interest among students about career management; and graduates' self-perceived levels of competencies, and the level to which MIT has prepared them

OCSPA staff have also participated in events for prospective, incoming, and current students; aided departments in development of career information for their departmental website; collaborated on developing internship and other programs which provide professional opportunities to their students; and provided information about the post-graduation destinations of each School or Department's graduates.

The Department has created a menu of six career development and two premedical advising workshops. The capacity of the OCSPA website is also being expanded to incorporate interactive portions that encourage and support student learning. All of these workshops are available to students on the web for use at their convenience.

During 1998—99 the OCSPA staff achieved record levels of career development service to students including more than 2,032 individual career development counseling appointments, 109 career development workshops attended by 1,592 students, and more than 25 special presentations attended by more than 1,383 students. The following tables detail this level of activity and illustrate the new tracking system developed to record which MIT students are utilizing our services. For 1999—2000, it is intended that we will have data for the full year on all categories of service, and in sharing it with the departments, it may assist in their planning.

School of Science	782
School of Engineering	998
School of Architecture and Planning	143
School of Humanities and Social Science	46
Sloan School of Management	63
Total	2,032

From September 1998—April 1999, more than 382 students were counted during "Walk-In Hours."

1 — Get a Job! Introduction to OCSPA services and on-line recruiting system	13
2 — Finding a Place to Start: Step One in the Career Planning Process	9
3 — Smart Resumes, Cover Letter, andCVs	24
4 — Winning Interview Techniques	23
5 — Navigating the Job & Interview Market: Effective Search Strategies	10
6 — Competencies That Build Leaders in the New Millennium	4
Sub-Total	83
7 — The Medical School Application Process	5
8 — Medical School Essay Writing	3
Sub-Total	8
IAP	18
Total	109

Undergraduate	689
Graduate	737
Post-Doc	91
Alumni	42
Other	6
Not Specified	27
Total	1,592

More graduate students than undergraduates attended our basic workshops last year. Counting post-docs, there were 828 grad/post-docs and 689 undergraduates. This suggests the need to dedicate more programs specifically to graduate students.

(March 1999—June 1999 ONLY. Data not tracked prior to this date).

School of Science	113
School of Engineering	162
School of Architecture and Planning	50
School of Humanities and Social Science	15
Sloan School of Management	12
Whitaker College of Health Science and Technology	3
Total	353

MIT-Wide	475
For School of Science Departments	72
For School of Engineering Departments	374
For School of Architecture and Planning Departments	385
For School of Humanities and Social Science Departments	37
Sloan School of Management Department Presentations	40
Total	1,383

Over 1,400 of 1999 graduates, 63 percent of the graduating class responded to the second annual Survey of Graduates as they picked up their caps and gowns at the Coop during the week prior to graduation. A similar survey was completed by over 1,800 of 1998 graduates.

Each dean and department head has received a copy of their school and department's findings from the Survey of 1998 Graduates. The reports, generated with the assistance of the Office of Academic Services, provide data on graduates who reported receiving a degree from your department last June. It contains information about the demographics of the sample, their post-graduation plans, competency ratings, salary, career resources used, career planning, graduate school information and employment information.

We plan to provide the results of the 1999 survey soon, and as a point of comparison.

Our School-based teams in Career Services will also use this data in helping students understand the relationship between what they do at MIT and life after graduation.

From January 1999 to May 1999, Professor Gene Brown (Biology) and Dr. Robert Lees (Health Sciences and Technology) co-chaired an eleven member faculty committee that examined MIT's premedical advising system which had not been evaluated since it became part of OCSPA in 1982. The Committee concluded that many of the problems with the current system stem from the increasing number of applicants using the system (more than doubled since 1982). In addition, they identified a shortage of faculty advisors, a need for a more systematic approach to the advising process, and, in the case of some applicants, a need to take sufficient responsibility for their own success in the medical school application process. The committee recommended recruiting more premedical advisors, forming a faculty council to provide strategic leadership to the premedical advising system, developing an on-line premedical advisor assignment system, chartering of the American Medical Student Association (AMSA), and encouraging additional advising input from MIT alumni.

In 1998, there were 82 senior applicants and 82 MIT alumni applicants to medical schools. This compares to 99 applicants in 1988 including 69 seniors. The number of alumni applicants has doubled since 1988 and nearly tripled since 1986. In 1998, the total applicants included 83 men and 89 women (undergraduates, graduate students and alumni) applied to medical school and the rates of acceptance were 73 percent for the men and 58 percent for the women, a percentage that includes re-applicants. The MIT acceptance rate for all applicants (undergraduates, graduate students and alumni) is 66 percent, as compared with the national acceptance rate for all applicants (undergraduates, graduate students and alumni) of 42.3 percent.

Over 560 employers participated in OCSPA's on-line, web-based employment recruiting program delivered in partnership with JobTrak. Through this new system students and employers were able to communicate with each other throughout the job search process twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week. Employers posted jobs, students reviewed the job-postings and sent resumes over the Internet and together they were able to build interview schedules.

In 1998-99, 3,978 students registered with the OCSPA program compared to the 2,100 students in 1997-98. The number of registered students by degree included 1,878 undergraduates (43 percent of undergraduates), 663 master's candidates, 19 MBA candidates, 389 doctoral candidates, 9 post-doctoral students and 1,020 alumni/ae.

Due to the robust economy and competition among employers to secure MIT graduates for their organizations, many employers made job offers during the fall semester. Many students found they were either deciding among a number of offers or had accepted an offer earlier than in previous years. (A number of employers hired more MIT graduates than in past years). In addition, since students were already engaged with employers, they had little interest in spring interviews, and many employers cancelled campus visits in the spring due to a lack of student interest. Together these influences resulted in fewer spring visits and a decline in the number of employers visiting campus for the year.

Employer Recruiting is scheduled to almost full capacity for the fall of 1999, which indicates that there will be a high volume of activity in the fall and again a taper in the spring. The most sought after students were those with skills, knowledge and experience in information technology. Electrical engineers and computer science majors were the number one choice of employers. Starting salaries also increased for these students due to the increased demand.

The new School-based team organizational structure is composed of an Assistant Director, Career Development Counselor and Graduate Assistants. Three new Career Development Counselors and an Assistant Director were hired. All have master's degrees in counseling and experience in career development. Five new Graduate Assistants who are attending masters degree programs at local graduate schools are also employed. Six to eight new Peer Advisors are also being sought. Two women, an African American Career Development Counselor, and an African American support staff member were hired.

OCSPA continues to seek to integrate a career development focus for learning, through the Comprehensive Student Plan for Career Development that has been constituted with input from faculty, students, employers, alumni, and other administrators. An essential part of the plan is the concept of integrating career management education into students' academic experience. We are introducing students to the concept of competency development and the importance this has in future outcomes of their career choices.

OCSPA will continue to teach students to become self-managed learners, to develop their competencies; participate in hands on learning in the real world; develop an understanding of careers as life, not a job. We will do this by increased staff and student/faculty interaction; our expanded website; participation with the faculty in programs that they offer and continue to out reach to faculty to engage in more career related programs; and seek to integrate career/life learning with the curriculum.

Continuous data collection is required to support decision-making and to provide a basis for analysis and outcomes assessment to measure the quality of our services, and from which to provide statistical reports, including feedback to the Institute on where students go and what great things they do.

OCSPA continues to evolve as a student-friendly and learner-centered service to our students and the MIT community. As visitors to OCSPA note, they never knew how much of a valuable resource was available until recently.

More information about this department can be found on the OCSPA web site at http://web.mit.edu/career/www/.

Christopher Pratt

OFFICE OF MINORITY EDUCATION

The mission of the Office of Minority Education is to provide effective academic enrichment programs to enhance matriculation, promote higher retention and greater excellence in underrepresented minority (African American, Mexican American, Native American and Puerto Rican/Hispanic) students' academic and general educational achievements, and to encourage their pursuits of higher degrees and professional careers. OME's mission embraces a strategy to address academic and graduation gaps between underrepresented minority and non-minority students on MIT campus.

The Office of Minority Education has defined the following goals:

• To offer an introduction and orientation to MIT which will aid in the adjustment of minority students to the academic environment at MIT.
• To strengthen ties and relationships with academic and other support offices in order to increase the visibility and use of OME resources.
• To re-establish an effective freshman advising program for underrepresented minority students that will focus on academic and social transitions to the rigors of MIT.
• To design and implement an infrastructure to support academic advising in the Schools of Engineering, Science and Humanities and Social Sciences to encourage and actualize higher academic performance from underrepresented minority students.
• To determine what variables or conditions influence underrepresented minority students' achievement and retention.
• To develop and implement a Minority Student Leadership Institute with particular focus on leadership development for underrepresented minority students in engineering.

The Office of Minority Education continued to provide underrepresented minority students with a cadre of academic enrichment programs designed to enhance opportunities to succeed at MIT. Through the extraordinary effort of all members of the staff, the Office demonstrated perseverance in its ability to deliver effective programs and support services to a broad range of minority and non-minority communities within and without the Institute. These communities include students of color, majority students and private as well as public industry.

MIT has experienced a growth of underrepresented minority students over the last ten years due to an effective recruitment strategy by the Admissions Office. Approximately 700 or 15 percent of the 4,500 undergraduate students attending MIT are underrepresented minorities. The faculty, staff and students continue to heighten their visibility, accessibility and increase the quality of services offered to the underrepresented student population. Although OME staff has remained constant, the office continues to provide effective academic, professional and support programs to enhance minority student opportunities to succeed at MIT and beyond. In addition, as ex-officio members of several Institute committees, the staff of the OME continues to focus its efforts to work in an advocacy role on behalf of underrepresented minority students.

During the last year, the OME pursued major discussion on retention and academic performance of underrepresented minority students. As a result of this, the OME has recommended academic programs for the sophomore year for students of color to assist them in their transition into the various departments. One such program could be the OME XL Program.

Project Interphase is one of MIT's major commitments to ensure the academic success of its underrepresented minority students. This program enrolled one-third of the admitted underrepresented minority students, who decided to attend MIT. Students must submit an application to be selected for the program. The program is an eight-week rigorous academic experience with a curriculum that covers Physics, Calculus, Chemistry, Writing, Physical Education and a myriad of co-curricular activities prior to their first year at MIT. In addition, students are involved in a design project that provides opportunities to develop team-building skills and to shape students' commitment to Project Interphase as a community.

An academic staff of tenured faculty and instructors, with the assistance of graduate and undergraduate tutors, make up the teaching core of Project Interphase. Faculty and tutors are major contributors in preparing underrepresented minority students to face the rigors of MIT. Through teaching, advising and serving as mentors, they fulfill an invaluable role in the intellectual development of the program participants.

Sixty students were accepted into the program in for the academic year 1998-99. Of the sixty who were accepted, fifty-eight students participated in the program. The ethnic and gender profiles were consistent with previous years, and also closely reflected the minority freshmen class of 2002. Twenty-seven (46 percent) of the participants were African Americans (students of African descent). Mexican Americans represented 38 percent while Puerto Ricans represented 17. This is a slight drop in overall participation of Latino students in the program. This year, we accepted two Native American students to the program and both students declined the invitations. This year's program realized a drop in the number of women participants. Women represented 18 or 31 percent of the 58. One student of Indian descent was admitted to the program.

The 58 participants received credit for Project Interphase. Many also received Advanced Placement credits for 18.01 during orientation, and several students passed Phase I of the writing requirement.

This year, XL (Excel) continued to be an effective academic enrichment program for first-year underrepresented minority and non-minority students. Participants who enrolled in the program worked in small interactive study groups organized around the freshman core courses. XL Facilitators, who are upper class and graduate students represented many ethnic groups, coordinated the sections.

Ninety-two members of the Class of 2002 participated in the XL Program in over twenty-three study groups.

	Enrolled	Completed	Ethnicity
Fall 1998	54	45 (80 percent)	African American, Asian American, Hispanic, Native American, Caucasian and others (African and Caribbean)
Spring 1999	57	47 (82 percent)	African American, Asian American, Hispanic, Native American, Mexican American, Caucasian and others (African and Cape Verdean)

In 1998—1999, the Tutorial Service Room (TSR) provided effective academic support to 849 underrepresented minority and non-minority students. This year, the TSR experienced a growth in the number of student users (see TSR Report) as the result of better marketing and outreach efforts. The OME employed over ninety tutors from many backgrounds and disciplines who tutored in over sixty courses. The Associate Dean/Director and Assistant Dean/Assistant Director of the OME interviewed, hired and trained all tutors for the program.

Freshmen and sophomores continue to represent the majority of TSR users. The number of women utilizing the TSR has increased over the last three years and accounted for 56.9 percent of the TSR users last year. The "Unspecified" category under ethnicity continues to grow as students self-select not to identify their race.

Tutorials, independent study and Athena use service hours totaled 2,687.4 hours. The Tutorial Services Room's Annual Report for the 1998—99 academic year provides an analysis of the total number of service hours, service hours by class year, service hours by type of service, and student ethnicity and gender. It should be noted that the number of Athena usage declined in the spring term. This might be attributed to the move of the Athena Cluster on the Infinite Corridor to Building 12, which is located on the same hall as the TSR.

Total Student Clients	849	Fall + Spring Totals (includes some repeats)
Total Visits	1,805	Repetitive of students
Total Service Hours	2,687.4	Includes tutorials, independent study and Athena usage

Class	Hours	Percentage
1	1,434.5	53.4
2	456.3	17.0
3	169.0	6.3
4	91.3	3.4
5>	43.0	1.6
Unspecified	493.3	18.4
TOTAL	2,687.4	100.0

Ethnicity	Tutorial Hours	Percentage	Independant Study Hours	Percentage	Athena Use Hours*	Percentage
Asian	328.5	13.0	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Black	403.5	16.0	47.5	37.7	16.0	48.9
Hispanic/Latino	401.8	15.9	31.8	25.2	8.5	26.0
Native American	62.5	2.5	1.3	1.0	0.0	0.0
White	157.3	6.2	0.8	0.6	0.0	0.0
Other	645.8	25.5	32.8	26.0	7.0	21.4
Unspecified	529.3	20.9	12.0	9.5	1.3	3.8
TOTAL	2,528.5	100.0	126.0	100.0	32.8	100.0
Gender
Male	631.0	25.0	60.3	47.8	15.8	48.1
Female	1,438.3	56.9	60.3	47.8	17.0	51.9
Unspecified	459.3	18.2	5.5	4.4	0.0	0.0
TOTAL	2,528.5	100.0	126.0	100.0	32.8	100.0

Second Summer Program (SSP) enriches and supports intellectual growth while allowing students to develop a keen sense of professional possibilities. Program interns explore a variety of fields, while making real contributions in their assigned workplace. They return to their classrooms in the fall with a depth of knowledge and experience that greatly enhances their learning.

This year, 31 students qualified to participate in the Second Summer Program by attending three orientation sessions and passing the core curriculum for the freshmen class during the first semester. Students also participated in the Engineering Design Workshop during the IAP in which teams were required to design and build sport products. Through the support and direction of Professor Alex Slocum of the Mechanical Engineering Department, the program academic officer, the winning team's product has been circulated to various companies for further development. After completing the SSP Engineering Design Workshop, participants entered an intensive interviewing process with companies that are members of the OME's Industrial Advisory Council for Minority Education (IACME). This year, thirty students were placed with fourteen companies in engineering and science intern positions.

Over the last four years, no student who has participated in the SSP has been involved in any academic action. In addition, one group has been awarded a patent for the product design developed in the Engineering Design Workshop.

The purpose of the Industrial Advisory Council for Minority Education is to help ensure greater retention and higher academic achievement of MIT's underrepresented minority students through active support of, and participation in, the realization of the OME's mission and goals. During the academic year, members of IACME took a leadership role in discussing a variety of issues that impact the academic success of underrepresented minority students at MIT including UROP opportunities for underrepresented minority students and their experience in various departments during their sophomore year. Private industry continues to be one of the primary feedback processes to measure our students readiness to assume a professional career after MIT.

The primary aim of the Secrets and Strategies for Academic Success (SSAS) program is to expose underrepresented minority students to the Institute's survival network of academic and support services. This year, coordinators of the SSAS Program observed a significant increase in participation by underrepresented minority students in the sessions held both in the Fall and Spring terms. The following topics were offered during the academic year: Time Management; Ways to Develop Effective Study Skills; How to Choose a Major; Planning for Graduate School; How to Succeed at MIT.

The Robert Robinson Taylor Lecture Series is named for a distinguished alumnus, Robert Robinson Taylor, class of 1892, the first Black student to attend MIT. The lecture series brings prominent minority alumni and other professionals to MIT to provide insight to their success in their discipline. These speakers include professors, engineers, scientists, artists and politicians. The insight that they provide about their lives and careers assists minority students to plan and strive for excellence while in MIT and after graduation. The lecturers speak about their personal accomplishments and what obstacles they overcame to achieve these goals.

This year, over one hundred minority students attended the Robert R. Taylor Lecture Series as part of their XL experience. The OME secured an outstanding lecturer from Cornell University, Professor Eloy Rodriguez in the Division of Biological Sciences, during the first semester of 1998—99. His theme for the lecture was "The Amazon Rain Forest-Striving for Excellence: Research in a Non-Traditional Environment". In the second semester, Ms. Virginia John ‘91 and Portia Lewis ‘95 gave a lecture on "Learning from the Past: Building Success for the Future".

Office of Minority Education Student Advisory Council (OMESAC) provides a mechanism for minority students to bring their concerns and issues to the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education and Director of the OME. OMESAC's membership consists of a cross-section of underrepresented minority students' professional and social organizations.

The 1998—99 academic year found OMESAC increasing its presence in both the minority and non-minority communities. The Council forged new grounds in working with the Admissions Office on Campus Preview Weekend.

The OME continues to be a repository for information for internships and scholarships that target underrepresented minority students. This year OME identified several new scholarship sources and was able to facilitate partial and full scholarship support for over forty minority students, with amounts ranging from $1,000 to $26,000 to be applied to tuition, room and board, fees and books.

The Office of Minority Education sponsored the Twenty-Third Annual Minority Awards Banquet at the end of 1998—99 academic year. Over two hundred and fifty faculty, administrators, staff and students attended the event to recognize the achievements, accomplishments and contributions of our minority students. Graduate and undergraduate students received academic and community service awards for their contributions to improving the quality of life for minority students at MIT. This year, Professor Lawrence S. Bacow presented the Academic Awards to students, who had achieved a 4.0 or better in their sophomore, junior and senior years.

More information on this department can be found on the World Wide Web at http://web.mit.edu/ome/www/.

Leo Osgood, Jr.

OFFICE OF STUDENT CONFLICT RESOLUTION AND DISCIPLINE

The Office of Student Conflict Resolution and Discipline (SCR&D) received formal complaints of personal misconduct against seventeen students during the 1998—99 academic year. Sixteen of the charges were handled by Administrative Review, while one was heard before a five member Dean's Office Hearing Panel. One more case will be heard by a Hearing Panel during the summer. The SCR&D Office also began work on eight other cases. Charges in five of these cases were dropped while two cases were put on hold when the respondents left school, and one case was settled in mediation.

The Administrative Reviews, which are conducted by an administrator and a student, resulted in a wide array of sanctions. They ranged from written letters of apology, to monetary fines and informal probation. The charge heard before the Hearing Panel resulted in a sanction that included informal probation, revocation of Institute housing and a fine.

The SCR&D Office also received warning letters against fourteen students. Of these, eleven were for personal misconduct and three were for academic misconduct.

As in the past, the Office of the Dean of Students and Undergraduate Education (ODSUE) in conjunction with the Committee on Discipline will regularly report disciplinary actions at Faculty meetings. We hope that this will alert the community to the need for consistent reporting of incidents to ODSUE or to the Committee on Discipline so that students may become more aware of the risks they run when engaging in academic or personal misconduct.

Betty Sultan

RESIDENTIAL LIFE AND STUDENT LIFE PROGRAMS

The mission of the Office of Residential Life and Student Life Programs is to support the education of the whole student, including intellectual, personal and social growth. We facilitate both graduate and undergraduate student learning beyond the classroom in residences and student organizations. Through our office, a variety of opportunities are created which promote faculty and student interaction, encourage student responsibility and support a high standard of conduct in accordance with MIT policies and procedures. We strive to provide a safe environment for our students, developing and maintaining facilities of the highest quality in support of the Institute's broader educational mission. By providing programming support for student events and activities, community service initiatives, and student organizations, we foster the development of essential life skills that will allow students to establish meaningful relationships within the MIT community and beyond. We maintain the flexibility for students to pursue different housing options, both on and off-campus. Both residential and non-residential opportunities enrich students' educational experience by providing exposure to different cultures, ideas and perspectives.

As of July 1, 1998, two historically different organizations (Residence and Campus Activities and Housing) and cultures (programming and operations) merged into one organization: Residential Life and Student Life Programs implementing the recommendation of the Housing and Residential Life (HARL) and Residence System Integration Team (RSIT).

The second major theme this past year came from the issuance in September of the report of the Task Force on Student Life and Learning which identified eleven Principles that define MIT. Many of the principles and recommendations have direct relevance to the work of RLSLP and have guided our work this past year.

Specific efforts and new initiatives during this past year that highlight the work of RLSLP, particularly in light of these two major themes and the recommendations of the Task Force, include:

• Development and implementation with the Campus Police, Office of Campus Dining, Campus Activities Complex and others, of a Finals Pancake Breakfast bringing together faculty, students and staff in a new celebration to the end of the year.
• In cooperation with the Office of the President, development and implementation of a Conflict Resolution seminar for staff and faculty.
• Development of a pilot program for student activities and the Undergraduate Association to utilize SAP and internal MIT accounts.
• Sponsorship of GenderWorks workshops in several residence hall and FSILGs. This program, run by Dr. Holly Sweet and Dr. Lee Perelman, promotes awareness and understanding of female/male relationships and issues.
• Chancellor Lawrence Bacow created a Residence System Steering Committee charged with developing the implementation plan and program for the future of the MIT residential system. Membership includes RLSLP staff.
• Development of a program and building design for the new undergraduate residence scheduled to open in the fall of 2001.
• Implemented an increase in funding for Housemasters of approximately 50 percent and to the graduate residences without Housemasters of over 100 percent in support of these and related goals.
• Implementation of the program to have Resident Advisors in our fraternities, sororities, and independent living groups.
• The matching of an RLSLP staff member with each residence hall has helped to increase interaction and communication between the houses and RLSLP and resulted in better understanding of some issues faced by the residents of those houses.
• Development, with significant leadership from the office of the Executive Vice President, of a Fire Safety Program and Project to address issues of prevention, detection, suppression and containment.
• Use of the facilities audit data to set priorities and address major maintenance needs in the residential system.

Working closely with the Association of Student Activities (ASA), the Undergraduate Association and the Graduate Student Council, the staff of Student Activities advised and collaborated on large-scale, campus wide programming. Events offered include Fall Festival, Spring Weekend, the Grains of Rice culture show, International Fair, and the Mexican Student Association celebration. The ASA took initiative to reach out to the member organizations by holding Specific Body meetings with each student activity. Together with our graduate Intern for Multicultural Programs, the staff advised and supported the second annual Diversity of Thought symposium. In collaboration with the Campus Activities Complex, we solicited feedback and revised the Event Guidebook for student organizations.

This year was the first full year of the new alcohol policy. Graduate students were particularly frustrated with the wording and interpretation of the policy as it related to their funds. After clearing up the wording, we worked to iron out the event registration details. Cash bars are now the only option for large events with alcohol. Overall, fewer parties were registered. We believe that more happened "underground," and we received more reports of unregistered parties with alcohol. We are working with Jay Keyser to publish a complete booklet of the policies and procedures related to alcohol, and are planning training sessions designed to help students navigate the event registration process. In terms of large events, both the Fall Festival and Spring Weekend were very successful. The Spring Concert, Busta Rhymes, attracted over 2,500 students, and the weekend-long program was diverse in terms of programming and well attended by MIT students.

Event planning workshops and financial systems workshops were strengthened by the participation of the student governments. Training on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator was conducted with the Program Board, and we assisted the Graduate Student Council in organizing their new member retreat in the spring.

A project focusing on opportunities for faculty/student interaction was developed by several members of the Student Life Programs staff, and will continue into this year.

TIPS training was offered to both student activities and residence hall groups. TIPS, Training for Intervention and Prevention Strategies, is an alcohol server training program designed for event monitors and hosts.

The MESH program, a residential summer program for high school students, was canceled this year due to staffing, regulatory and supervision issues. We are working closely with the Educational Studies Program to begin a plan for the summer of 2000.

The Student Activities Finances office, under the direction of Edmund Jones, improved operations and expanded service to student groups over the past year. A pilot program using SAP was introduced, giving student activities access to individual SAP accounts. Outstanding debts were identified and reconciled. Over 95 percent of outside bank accounts were identified and registered with the MIT Treasurer's Office. A new arrangement with BankBoston was negotiated for MIT student groups, eliminating fees and improving service. Edmund worked closely with the UA Finboard to improve accountability and service to student groups. A Student Activities Funding Council was established to address financial issues facing student groups. The number of transactions processed through this office increased 45 percent over last year.

The staff of the Public Service Center and Student Activities collaborated on a number of projects this year. One major project, undertaken by Emily Sandberg and Elizabeth Young, focused on bringing together the programming areas on campus, both between ODSUE offices and beyond. This work will continue into the fall.

Student Life Programs revived and ran Charm School this year. Over 40 faculty and staff participated as instructors, with close to 800 MIT students participating. The SLP staff co-coordinated LeaderShape 1999. In addition to running the weeklong program, the staff assisted in developing a video and marketing campaign for future programs.

Support from a committed alumnus has enabled the Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, Transgender (Lbgt) Issues Group to do more for (lbgt) students to create new sources of support and achieve more visibility. It again published and distributed about 800 copies of The Lavender Guide, a valuable resource that was also posted on the web for the first time.

The group made grants to fund nine student-run events and organized and funded four more events of its own. It co-sponsored five other. These numerous events were clustered during Coming Out Week in the fall, Independent Activities Period in January and TBGLAD Week in the spring, to produce maximum visibility and attendance. In addition, a graduate intern has organized a Safe Space program, inviting all MIT faculty and administrators to post stickers welcoming lbgt people in their offices and labs.

The Public Service Center (PSC) contributes to the education of MIT students by providing opportunities for them to perform community service and by nurturing committed and sustained involvement within the larger community. Additionally, the PSC serves as an umbrella organization for various campus groups that engage in community service and acts as the liaison between area agencies and the MIT community, directing both undergraduate and graduate students to hundreds of local service agencies that need their specific talents or skills. Over one third of MIT undergraduates participated in at least one of the PSC sponsored programs this past year. In addition, this year the PSC was able to offer 15 leadership and employment opportunities to MIT students to coordinate our various programs.

The focus of CityDays shifted from students coordinating activities on campus to having them go into the community. Over 600 students participated in more than 18 community service projects across the Greater Boston area. In addition to CityDays, service played a greater role in the orientation of MIT students through the new pre-orientation offering, Freshmen Service Program, in which 47 incoming freshmen explored their new community and the value of service. Thirty LINKS volunteers provided extra attention to students throughout the Cambridge Public Schools. KEYs to Empowering Youth sponsored 3 workshops that brought sixty 11-13 year old girls to MIT for a day of career exploration in science and technology. ReachOut, an America Reads Program organized in cooperation with the Student Employment Office, enabled 60 MIT students to work one-on-one with public school students who needed extra help in developing literacy skills. Several Cambridge community partners, including the Cambridge Community Center and the Kennedy School, were involved in ReachOut. The Panhellenic Giving Tree solicited donations of over 1,300 gifts to benefit 10 local agencies and shelters.

Over 100 MIT students chose to forgo a spring break of relaxation to spend the week participating in a variety of community service projects across the nation, including Teach for America and Habitat for Humanity. Two hundred and thirty Cambridge Public School students were able to design and develop science-related projects and engage MIT students through the MIT/Cambridge Science Expo. Finally, working with the School of Engineering, 67 MIT students had the unique opportunity to interact with 8 faculty and staff through the MIT LeaderShape program.

Nine students were awarded PSC Fellowships over the summer to work at the Cambridge YWCA, Boston Ace, the MIT Museum and as coordinators of Educational Technology in area schools. Twenty-three students were awarded Fellowships during IAP to work with 7th and 8th grade science teachers in various Cambridge schools.

This year, the PSC continued to strive towards more effectively linking MIT students with volunteer opportunities through the utilization of the web and technology. One hundred-seven students are registered with Volunteer Solutions, an MIT student-initiated, non-profit organization that matches volunteers with available opportunities via the Internet. Over 575 students, including FSILG Community Service Chairs, receive weekly e-mail updates of current volunteer opportunities.

The PSC finished its final year of a two-year grant from The Germeshausen Foundation which was specifically donated for IAP and summer fellowships. The relationship between MIT's PSC and the Cambridge Public Schools is a national model for collaboration. This year the Lord Foundation recognized this relationship and provided funding not only to the PSC, but also to the Erie, Pennsylvania school system for development of similar partnerships in their region. Approximately $27,000 has been donated to the Priscilla King Gray Endowment over the past year, and the PSC is in the process of seeking additional funding through Foundations and individual donors. In addition to supporting our various programs, these funding sources have made it possible for the PSC to support several campus community service efforts, including the Community Youth Dance Workshop sponsored by Groove Phi Groove and the APO Auction that was held as part of MIT's Spring Weekend.

Nineteen faculty and alumni served as House Fellows in undergraduate and graduate residence halls and independent living groups interacting with approximately 400 graduate and 700 undergraduate students. The death this year of Professor Gian-Carlo Rota, a very active Fellow, was a severe loss for the floor where he served.

Athena clusters were established in McCormick Hall (7 machines) and Burton-Conner Houses (5 machines). Older, recycled machines were used, with IS paying for network installation and some furniture and RLSLP providing renovation and power upgrades. The purposes of these experiments were to see how the clusters would be used, to examine whether they would improve the quality of life of residents, and to determine the service impact these clusters would have on the IS Cluster Services team. These experiments have been deemed successful, with students appreciating the proximity of computing clusters and with minimal impact on IS staff. Discussions are continuing with IS and RLSLP about a model and business plan for extending residential computing.

In addition, Athena QuickStations were made available in a common area (generally one per residence) to all residences halls that requested such a workstation.

During the year, pilot programs were run with the Office of Campus Dining at East Campus (using Pritchett Lounge) two evenings per week and at McCormick Hall one evening per week to provide catered community meals at a set price. The attendance at these events varied and discussions are continuing about the appropriate models to use at houses that do not have functioning dining halls.

The renovation of Baker House dining hall seems to have increased the participation of students in this program. The Housemaster and student leaders of Baker House report high satisfaction with the progress that has been made in these areas.

The Residence Teams (Faculty and Graduate Residents working with House Managers and student officers) have been focusing on building strong, supportive communities. This year, for the first time in its history, the graduate residence Tang Hall acquired a Faculty Resident. Larry Anderson, assistant professor in Athletics, and his family moved into Tang in April and have already become involved in the life of the house. Tang also had three Graduate Residents for this year only, living with the undergraduates housed there temporarily. All three Graduate Residents have taken positions in regular undergraduate houses for next year, and fifteen new Graduate Residents have filled other vacancies.

This year, Residence Team Training included the Resident Advisors in the FSILG's, bringing the total number of people in the multi-day Training to 150. This training now brings together faculty Housemasters, Graduate Residents, House Managers, Graduate Coordinators and Resident The theme for the 1999 training was Building Community, in furtherance of the Task Force recommendations.

As a new initiative, Residence Teams were able to apply for $5,000 in support of goals they could select from the Task Force report, the report of the Student Advisory Committee to the Task Force, the Clay Committee report, or their house's long-range plans. Grant proposals funded included support for large community gatherings, new equipment for floor kitchens, house community centers and exercise rooms, improved play space for children in family housing, and an enormous and glorious aquarium. Of particular, Bexley and Green Halls were helped by significant additional funds from our office in creating spaces to accommodate gatherings for the entire house.

The number of students who were placed in one of their top three choices rose from 99.3 percent to 99.7 percent, with 98.7 percent in their first or second choice. We are in the process of creating a Java-based lottery algorithm to further optimize student selections for the Fall of 1999. Also, we are moving the student interface for the lottery from an Athena-based program to a web-based program.

Crowding of first-year students has been an increasingly difficult problem. In an effort to lessen crowding and anticipate the uncertainty in the choices students will make in residence selection, Tang Hall, normally a graduate residence, was used to house 138 upper class undergraduates on floors 2—9. Even so, for the first time in six years, we utilized lounges in MacGregor Hall for crowds. For the fall of 1999, we anticipate a crowding level of over 170, which would again utilize MacGregor lounges.

The publication The Guide to First Year Student Residences has been professionally produced this year with more and better information to aid new students in residence selection. In response to a request for more information regarding fraternities, we included thumbnail comparisons of the FSILG's listing information on 19 different categories, including a parental and alumnus contact for each of FSILG's. The Residence Life Handbook is being incorporated into the HOWTOGAMIT resource book being published by the Academic Resource Center. We have also developed for the first time this year a "Residential Handbook for Parents" which will be mailed in August in conjunction with the Alumni Office parent mailing. This publication is intended to provide information to parents about residence selection and campus resources before they visit campus over the Labor Day weekend.

This year marked the first year of availability of Worthington Place apartment units for the MIT community. Sixty-six units were designated for graduate student housing at a below-market rate. As Tang Hall was used to house undergraduate students this year in addition to graduate students, 36 Worthington Place units were used as replacements for Tang Hall assignments and subsidized to be comparable to the costs associated with Tang Hall.

The off-campus rental market continues to escalate in cost and is in low supply. The vacancy rate for the Greater Boston area is at an all time low, increasing demand for our limited campus facilities.

Graduate students are a vital part of our community. The high cost and low availability of housing in this geographic area places a high stress factor on both new and continuing students. We are noticing a larger percentage of older students coming to campus with their families, thus increasing the demand for our student family housing. We were able to accommodate approximately 28 percent of all graduate students in campus housing. This included 90 percent of new graduate students who requested on-campus housing and 10 percent of currently enrolled graduate students who desired space. New graduate housing is still in the planning stage.

In addition to rental listings, the off-campus housing office provides information on leases, landlord/tenant issues and rights, transportation and related housing issues. The On-line Data Base Program for access to off-campus rental listings has been completed, and we hope to put this service on-line this coming year.

In late June, MIT decided that all MIT- recognized Independent Living Groups (ILGs) would be required to have a live-in resident advisor by the beginning of fall term. All but one of the ILGs was successful at filling the position. ILGs received reimbursement from MIT for the cost of providing room and board to their resident advisor.

In September, Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity formally resigned its status as an MIT recognized living group and student organization. Several days later the fraternity chapter was indicted by the Suffolk County Grand Jury for charges stemming from the death of Scott Krueger in September 1997.

The 316 freshmen who pledged ILGs this fall were significantly fewer than what had pledged in previous. The financial impact of the poor rush on the Independent Living Groups was offset somewhat by the addition of a resident advisor for each of the ILGs and the financial support that came with the position.

In April, Sigma Nu fraternity received a Dormitory License from the Boston Licensing Board for 28 The Fenway, the former residence of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity. Sigma Nu is negotiating with Phi Gamma Delta to purchase or lease the property and plans to occupy the house beginning this fall term.

Dean Carol Orme-Johnson has assumed responsibility for non-academic student discipline and complaints. She reviews cases arising all over campus and either confers on sanctions to be imposed at a lower level, such as within a residence, imposes minor sanctions directly, or refers significant cases for formal Administrative Review or Dean's Office hearings. She handled 184 cases this year. She also confers with faculty and staff handling cases, assists with investigations serves as a central point of coordination for sharing information among various offices within ODSUE, the Campus Police, Information Services, the Ombudsmen Office and Faculty Residents in the residence halls.

Increasing demand for conflict resolution skills has put mediation@mit at the center of training activities, both for students and staff. In addition to the intense thirty-six-hour Basic Training in Mediation offered during IAP, for graduate and undergraduate students and staff, mediation@mit provided training in mediation-related skills for several student activities, Graduate Residents and Resident Advisors and teaching assistants. Mediation@mit staff collaborated with two new ombudsmen in a nine-week class in Conflict Resolution Skills for senior administrators in academic departments. While the number of formal mediations of student-student disputes declined, the number of informal consultations about disputes increased.

Following the resignation of longtime Dean on Call, Leo Osgood, RLSLP decided to divide the responsibility among four ODSUE deans. Collectively they have handled thirty-six serious matters and fielded dozens of inquiries and reports of incidents involving students at night and over weekends and holidays.

The Facilities Audit data are playing a valuable role in identifying priorities throughout the system as we continue work on the top-most critical needs. Concern about fire alarm systems, following an incident at East Campus House, led to the formation of a Fire Safety program and project coordinated by the Department of Facilities, Safety Office and RLSLP. This group developed a proposal for modernizing the residential fire safety systems which has been approved and given initial funding.

In addition, the RLSLP fire safety program examined current safety practices in the residences. Residence Teams have also helped establish priorities for budget and maintenance in their buildings

Geri-Lynn Bowen resigned from her position as House Manager of East Campus to assume the role of Assignments Coordinator in the graduate residence office replacing Maria Rivera, who resigned. Eric Schlemann was hired for the position of Office Manager for the Undergraduate Association, and Barbara Stuart was hired for the Administrative Assistant position vacated by Nancy Masley, who resigned. Additionally, Andrea Lathrop has filled a temporary position as Administrative Assistant to the Associate Dean and Director.

On the administrative staff, Jonathan Nolan resigned as House Manager for Next House and searches are currently underway for House Managers at both Next House and East Campus. John Tocio retired from his position as NightWatch Supervisor. Rick Gresh resigned his position as Program Coordinator for Student Activities and took a temporary position as Program Coordinator of the Public Service Center after Monica Huggins resigned. A search is being conducted to fill the Program Coordinator position for SLP, and a search is planned for the PSC position. In addition, RLSLP is currently searching for an Associate Director of Operations. Finally, Laura Capone joined the staff as Special Assistant and Project Manager to the Associate Dean and Director, and Kirk Kolenbrander was named Associate Dean in ODSUE for a two-year appointment with half-time responsibilities in RLSLP.

More information on this department can be found on the World Wide Web at http://web.mit.edu/residence/www/.

Andrew Eisenmann

ROTC PROGRAMS

The Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps (AFROTC) program at MIT provides challenging and comprehensive leadership and academic training for students attending MIT, Harvard, Tufts and Wellesley.

We continue to recruit and commission men and women as second lieutenants in the United States Air Force.

	Freshmen	Sophomores	Juniors	Seniors	Total
MIT	7	3	14	10	34
Harvard	4	4	2	4	14
Tufts	0	2	0	0	2
Wellesley	0	0	2	1	3
Total	11	9	18	15	53

Of the 53 students enrolled, 49 (92 percent) were on scholarship and 12 (24 percent) were minorities, including 5 women (10 percent).

An assortment of special cadet activities continued unchanged from previous years. These included a freshman orientation program emphasizing Air Force knowledge, physical fitness and drill; an Air Force Dining-In, a formal dinner with guest speaker; and the Tri-Service Military Ball, parade, awards ceremony and commissioning ceremony at the USS Constitution.

Some of the highlights of the year include the following. The cadets held a 24 hour POW/MIA Day Vigil kicked off by a keynote lecture by Major General (retired) William Nash. In the fall term, Professor Meyer lectured and Colonel Kuconis led the cadet recitations for 17.471 American National Security Policy. Also in the fall, ROTC cadets and cadre traveled on a historical field trip to Washington, D.C. During spring term, Detachment 365 sponsored a field day at MIT for Air Force ROTC cadets from two other detachments in the surrounding area. Also in the spring term, ROTC cadets and cadre traveled on a historical field trip to Gettysburg, PA. The three ROTC Programs (Army, Navy, Air Force) have been working with Deborah Ancona of the Sloan School of Management in developing a Tri-Service Leadership and Management Course that would be open to non-ROTC students as well. The new course debuts Fall 1999 and has been assigned the course #15.328, Special Seminar in Organization Studies: Leadership and Management. Three MIT cadets were commissioned this fall and seven MIT cadets received commissions as second lieutenants this spring. In addition, one Wellesley and four Harvard cadets were commissioned this spring.

The cadre for the 1998—99 academic year included Colonel Kuconis, Captain Brown, Captain Liechty, Captain Rickert, TSgt Marcaurelle, TSgt Briggs, SSgt Peterlin and Mrs. Cronin. TSgt Briggs retired in the Fall and SSgt Peterlin arrived to take his position for that term.

For more information about our program, please visit our detachment web page at http://web.mit.edu/afrotc/www/.

John E. Kuconis

The purpose of the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (AROTC) is to provide instruction and training in military science subjects, to include a focus on leadership development. When coupled with the completion of a bachelor's degree, this training qualifies selected students for commissions as officers in the Active Army, Army Reserves, or Army National Guard.

The 1998—99 Academic Year was successful in commissioning sixteen highly qualified graduates who promise to represent our program well in both the active army and the army reserves. In the spring, four-year scholarships were awarded on campus for the first time. The Professor of Military Science chaired the review board and ultimately selected ten scholarship winners who will receive $21,900 per year. This campus-based scholarship program allows cadets to compete locally, simplifying the process that traditionally was a national selection board. Academically, a new tri-service leadership and management course carrying a Sloan Course number was developed and will be offered in the fall to all undergraduates.

At the end of the academic year, 52 students were enrolled in our program. Of those 52 students 27 (52 percent) were minority, including 16 women (30 percent).

	Freshmen		Sophomores	Juniors		Seniors	Total
MIT	4	5			1	9	19
Harvard	4	6			4	1	15
Wellesley	1	0			0	1	2
Tufts	5	1			3	7	16
Total	14	12			8	18	52

Of the 19 enrolled MIT students, 17 are currently on scholarship.

This year the Army ROTC Department commissioned 16 new second lieutenants, seven from MIT. Of the 16, two are entering the Reserves, and fourteen will be reporting to Active Duty.

Highlights for this year included a formal Military Ball where cadre, cadets, and guests participated in dinner and dancing; the Ranger Challenge held at Camp Edwards where MIT competed against 20 schools across New England in basic military skills; the Tri-Service Awards Banquet with 90 cadets and midshipmen receiving awards from 38 organizations; and the Pass In Review on Briggs Field. Army ROTC supported the MIT Community Service Fund by participating in the four-mile Road Race around the Charles River Basin. Tri-service commissioning ceremonies at Tufts, Harvard, and for MIT, at the USS Constitution were memorable events marking the transition from cadet to officer.

Off-campus learning opportunities continued to attract cadets who voluntarily trained at Fort Benning, GA (Airborne School); Fort Knox, KY (Military Vehicle Maneuver Training); and Fort Bragg, NC (Troop Leadership). Participation continued strong in the MIT Pershing Rifles Company, a group of both ROTC and non-ROTC students dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in military leadership and tactics.

One faculty position changed this year. CPT Stor joined the battalion, replacing MAJ Long who departed last year. LTC Rooney was awarded an extension of one year to 2001.

More information about Army ROTC can be found on the World Wide Web at http://web.mit.edu/armyrotc/.

Robert R. Rooney

The Navy Reserve Officers' Training Corps (NROTC) program at MIT provides challenging and comprehensive leadership and academic training for students attending MIT, Harvard, and Tufts. The Program encourages academic achievement, while providing practical experience, to endow the Navy and Marine Corps with capable officers. In the 1998—99 Academic Year, a total of 11 graduating men and women were commissioned.

Program enrollment just prior to June commencement was as follows:

	Freshmen	Sophomores	Juniors	Seniors	Total
MIT	13	14	5	7	39
Harvard	2	6	8	6	22
Tufts	5	0	3	2	10
Total	20	20	16	15	71

The Navy's financial assistance for MIT students totaled $1,182,200 for the year. We are expecting approximately 26 new freshmen to enter the program this year.

The MIT midshipmen are involved in various activities throughout the year. Freshman Orientation is a week-long new student indoctrination held at the Naval Education and Training Center in Newport, Rhode Island. In the fall an annual formal ball was held to celebrate the birthdays of both the Navy and Marine Corps. The MIT NROTC Color Guard participated in the Boston Veteran's Day parade, as well as several MIT football games. The midshipman battalion was also active in community service, including judging the MIT/Cambridge Science Expo. The MIT NROTC sailing team competed successfully this year. The team sailed to victory at Cornell University and hosted the Fifth Annual Beaver Regatta on the Charles River where the team was again victorious. Midshipmen also participated in military excellence competitions at Cornell, Holy Cross and Villanova.

During the summer, all of the scholarship midshipmen participate in active duty training with deployed naval units. This summer, midshipmen are cruising aboard submarines, maritime patrol aircraft, aircraft carriers, and amphibious assault ships. This training provides invaluable experience for their future careers as naval officers.

The MIT NROTC unit hosted Admiral Skip Bowman, Chief of Naval Reactors, in the spring semester. Admiral Bowman visited the unit, spoke at the Tri-Service Pass in Review ceremony, and met with midshipmen to discuss the future of nuclear power in the Navy.

The culmination of four years of training was recognized on June 4, 1999 for five MIT students who were commissioned as Ensigns in the United States Navy in a service alongside the USS Constitution. The guest speaker was Rear Admiral John Padgett, Commander of Submarine Group 2.

More information about Navy ROTC can be found on the World Wide Web at http://navyrotc.mit.edu/.

Randall D. Preston

STUDENT FINANCIAL SERVICES

The mission of Student Financial Services is:

• To gather, bill, and collect tuition and related fees.
• To disburse, bill and collect student, parent and staff loans.
• To counsel students, parents, and alumni on payment options, indebtedness and financial management.
• To develop and maintain fair and equitable financial aid policies and practices that assure equal access by all students qualified for admission to MIT.
• To manage grant and loan funds from outside agencies.
• To steward undergraduate scholarship endowment funds.
• To manage on- and off-campus student employment opportunities.
• To advise faculty and administrators on all matters pertaining to student financial policies.

The integration of the Bursar's Office and the Office of Student Financial Aid was completed this year. Student Financial Services, the result of the integration, is team-based and located in the Student Services Center. During our first year of operation, we collaborated with other areas on the following:

• Collaborated with Counseling and Support Services and Disabilities Services to implement faculty committees' policy of withholding MIT services for nonpayment of student fees. Staff from both SFS and CSS is now engaged in ongoing efforts to assist students in crisis.
• Collaborated with the Controller's Accounting Office and ODSUE IT to implement substantial new tax reporting requirements without disrupting student service delivery. Of the thousands of 1098-T forms mailed to MIT families, four required reprinting.
• Collaborated with the Admissions Office to provide prospective students and their parents with scheduled appointments on Campus Preview Weekend. For the first time, members of Loan Services, Student Services and Financial Aid participated as a unit to answer a broad spectrum of financial questions and address parent and student concerns about attending MIT.

SFS also implemented the following changes in financial aid policy:

• Allowing 100 percent of the value of outside scholarships to replace the student portion (self-help) of the cost of education, and
• Easing the MIT requirement that the non-custodial parent provide financial support for educational expenses.
• Collaborated with the Admissions Office and CWIS to design and develop a web-based tool to deliver information about MIT to prospective students and their parents.
• Improved the matching of federal and institutional aid information assuring compliance with federal regulations.
• Collaborated with ODSUE IT to implement last minute changes in federal regulations, which resulted in lowering federal loans costs to students.
• Collaborated with Admissions Office to improve yield figures for the incoming class. The high yield figures attest to the effective work done in coordinating financial information with the admissions processes.
• Collaborated with ODSUE IT to implement the graduate summer tuition subsidy. A strong effort by the Student Account Representatives to assist graduate administrators and their students resulted in a positive outcome.
• Built links between the MIT Student Employment Office and community which provided greater participation by MIT students in community service programs, which are part of the federally-based College Work-Study Program.
• Established a financial aid training program for all areas of Student Financial Services.
• Established strong links and outreach to departments, especially to the Sloan School.
• Disbursed $17,298,000 of federal money to students in William D. Ford Direct Stafford Loans during fiscal year 1999.
• Managed a student loan receivable portfolio of $69,578,063 at year-end. MIT loan funds established by friends and alumni of the Institute funded $19,583,894 while federal funds in support of the Perkins Loan Program funded $29,341,745. $20,652,423 was borrowed from the BankBoston.
• Lowered MIT's cohort default rate on Perkins/National Direct Student Loans to 3.02 percent in 1999.
• Recorded student tuition, fees and other charges of $277,463,765, an increase of 4.2 percent. Servicing approximately 15,000 student accounts required 302,916 transactions to the student accounts receivable system. Income from late payment fees was $249,091, and income from finance charges was $201,850.
• Disbursed $1,932,234 to the parents of MIT students participating in the Parent Loan Plan. $1,353,634 in principal was collected. The PLP receivable at the end of the fiscal year was $2,604,665.

Source	1996—97	1997—98	1998—99
Pell Grants	$1,159,000	$1,153,000	$1,205,000
SEO Grants	$1,913,000	$1,847,000	$2,046,000
ROTC Scholarships	$715,000	$665,000	$512,000
Scholarship Endowment	$13,269,000	$14,063,000	$15,267,000
Current Gifts	$986,000	$894,000	$860,000
Direct Grants	$3,160,000	$2,995,000	$3,456,000
Unrestricted Funds	$12,908,000	$12,755,000	$12,654,000
Total Grants Awarded	$34,110,000	$34,372,000	$36,000,000

Fiscal year 1999 saw a continuation of the strong national economy and the moderating demand for grant support. The number of needy undergraduates decreased by 4 percent to 2,404 and the average need increased by 3 percent to $21,848. The total of endowment income and current gifts used to fund grants increased in FY99 by 8 percent.

Source	1996—97	1997—98	1998—99
Awarded to Undergraduates
Technology Loan Fund	$2,118,000	$1,922,000	$1,786,000
Perkins/Nat'l Direct Loans	4,315,000	4,009,000	2,643,000
Stafford Loans to Needy	8,818,000	8,358,000	7,815,000
Stafford Loans Beyond Need	517,000	662,000	683,000
Other Loans to Students	96,000	121,000	115,000
Sub-Total, Undergraduates	$15,864,000	$15,072,000	$13,042,000
Awarded to Graduates
Technology Loan Fund	$4,631,000	$4,986,000	$4,833,000
Perkins/Nat'l Direct Loans	21,000	4,000	859,000
Stafford Loans to Needy	5,325,000	4,976,000	4,908,000
Stafford Loans Beyond Need	3,963,000	3,763,000	4,014,000
Other Loans to Students	184,000	0	3,000
Sub-Total, Graduates	$14,124,000	$13,729,000	$14,617,000
Total Loans to Students	$29,988,000	$28,801,000	$27,659,000

The reduced demand on aid funds was also reflected in the lower use of loans among undergraduate and graduate students. Total student loans decreased by 4 percent.

Source	1996—97	1997—98	1998—99
Federal Parent Loan	$2,966,000	$1,039,000	$1,413,000
MIT Parent Loan Plan	1,550,000	1,766,000	1,924,000
Mass. Ed. Finance Authority (MEFA)	2,104,000	2,379,000	3,315,000
Other Parent Loans	51,000	0	0
Total Loans to Parents	$6,671,000	$5,184,000	$6,652,000

Job opportunities for students continued to increase in 1998—99, with employers seeking more technical and language skills. The MIT minimum wage remained $7.25/hour (not including UROP).

The federal America Reads Program remains strong at MIT. The goal of this program is to have children read at grade level by the end of third grade. MIT students worked as tutors with children in Boston, Brookline, and Cambridge–both in schools and community-based programs. This year, MIT students became mentors to local children.

The Federal Work Study Community Service Program placed 103 students in jobs such as: Alzheimer research, students with disabilities and web site development. This program is aimed at involving students in efforts to improve the communities of Boston and Cambridge.

In the upcoming year, MIT plans to participate in a new federal initiative, the America Counts Program, to provide tutoring in math skills.

During the academic year 1998—99, the continuing healthy economy and a reduction in the number of needy undergraduate students reduced the need for grant funds. At the same time, endowment income for scholarships increased by 8 percent. A total of 2,404 undergraduate students who demonstrated need for assistance (55 percent of enrollment) received $36,000,000 in grant aid and $13,042,000 in student loans from all sources. The total, $49,042,000 is slightly lower than last year.

Grant assistance to undergraduates was provided by $15,267,000 in income from scholarship endowment, $860,000 in current gifts, $3,762,000 in federal grants (including ROTC scholarships), and $3,456,000 in direct grants from non-federal outside sources to needy students. In addition, $13,386,000 in scholarships from MIT's unrestricted funds was provided to undergraduates, inclusive of $378,000 special program of scholarship aid to needy minority group students and $355,000 in MIT Opportunity. An additional 460 students received grants, irrespective of need from outside agencies, totaling $2,478,000. The undergraduate scholarship endowment was increased by the addition of $10,178,000 in new funds. These new contributions increased the book value of the endowment for scholarships to $153,773,000.

Undergraduates received loans totaling $13,042,000, a decrease of 13 percent from last year. Of the total loans made $1,786,000 came from the Technology Loan fund, $2,643,000 came from the Federal Perkins Loan Program and $8,498,000 came from the Federal Direct Loan Program. An additional $115,000 was provided to undergraduates from other outside sources.

Graduate students received loans totaling $4,833,000 from the Technology Loan fund, a decrease of 3 percent from last year's level. In addition, graduate students received loans of $8,922,000 from the Federal Stafford Program, $859,000 from the Federal Perkins Program and $3,000 from other outside sources. The total, $14,617,000, is an increase of 6 percent over the previous year.

The total of loans made to undergraduate and graduate students was $27,659,000, a decrease of 4 percent from last year.

The number of needy undergraduate students decreased by 4 percent to 2,404. The average need for this population increased by 4 percent to $21,848. Taken together, the financial aid program required $28,447,000 from needy students' family resources and provided $52,523,610 in aid dollars including work programs. As in past years, the aid program provided almost two-thirds of needy students' total costs.

More information about Student Financial Aid can be found on the World Wide Web at http://web.mit.edu/finaid/.

Carolyn Bunker

STUDENT SERVICES CENTER

The mission of the Student Services Center is to provide financial and academic services to all students, staff, faculty, parents, and alumni/ae in a friendly, accurate, and timely manner, and in a way that ideally will allow more time for pursuit of their educational and personal interests.

In August 1998, the Student Services Center (SSC) celebrated the first anniversary in its Building 11 location along the Infinite Corridor. At the same time, staff of the Registrar's Office, Bursar's Office, ODSUE-IT and Financial Aid Office was moving into the upper levels of the building, and the Student Employment Office moved into the first floor. This co-location of several offices increased the traffic in the SSC by making the SSC the main entrance for all these academic and financial services.

Within this environment of change, the SSC staff worked in collaboration with several MIT offices to create a focal point for student contact. Forms and applications for Student Financial Services are available from and returned to the SSC. Change of Major forms from the Academic Resource Center can now be returned to the SSC. Athena coupons for incoming students are available in the SSC. Refund checks for excess dining credits are processed through the SSC.

Last year, representatives from the Bursar's Office, Student Financial Aid Office, and the Registrar's Office were available to work with students to resolve problems. This coordinated approach saved time as representatives of more than one office could work together in one location. Students also appreciated the fact that they could go to one location to handle complicated problems that in the past would have required trips across campus. This year, account representatives and financial aid counselors worked in teams based on the last name of the student. This approach allows each MIT student to know whom to contact with questions or problems. It also facilitates the work of the SSC by allowing the partners to work effectively to resolve student problems.

Plans for the future include expansion of services available to students.

The Service Desk staff used the experience gained at the SSC to advance within MIT. Virginia Brissett moved to SDM. Dwayne Daughtery accepted a position in Materials Sciences & Engineering. Cheryl Baranauskas moved to the Technology Licensing Office. Carmen Velez was promoted to Outside Scholarship Coordinator in Student Financial Services. Also, Teddie Borey accepted a position at Wellesley College.

More information about the Student Services Center can be found on the World Wide Web at http://web.mit.edu/ssc/.

Carolyn Bunker

MIT Reports to the President 1998-99