By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
On the same weekend that the latest class of Falcon graduates celebrated commencement, Bowling Green State University welcomed its newest students.
President Rodney Rogers said in an interview following Saturday’s ceremony that this is likely the first time that move-in for new students and commencement have occurred at the same time.
Seeing students who arrived just a few years ago cross the stage headed into the next chapter of their lives at the same time new students are arriving is meaningful, the president said.
“It’s a momentous occasion.”
This alignment of academic milestones comes as the university takes major steps in overcoming the pandemic.
In his remarks to graduates, Rogers recalled the time 530 days before when classes were switched to online, residence halls were emptied, and students abroad were brought home. In his usual tally of how many pizzas were purchased from food service and how many hours were logged at the recreation center, he added the number of COVID tests and vaccinations administered.
And he asked for a moment of silence “to recognize the loss and sorrow many of us may have experienced during this time.”
He congratulated graduates for finding a way to continue to move forward despite all the obstacles.
Some of those obstacles remain. With the resurgence of the virus driven by the Delta variant, facial covering indoors will be required.
The university is consulting with the city, county health department, and Wood County Hospital “to find a way forward,” Rogers said.
“We’re constantly thinking about each student’s safety and the safety of our community,” Rogers said afterward. “But we also know education is essential. Education is essential to move our society forward and to provide these student opportunities, and we’re committed to that.”
Michael Bratton, a brand strategist at BGSU, said that as a state institution BGSU cannot require students to be vaccinated. It is asking them to voluntarily reveal their vaccination status.
On Friday, 1,200 first-year students started moving into their residence halls. After a year when most students lived in singles, room policies are back to normal, said Josh Lawrie, director of residence life.
Move in is occurring over five days. Families were able to schedule their move-in time, instead of having them assigned. Check in was centralized at the Stroh Center. He said the university is considering how to implement that in future years for a larger number of students.
Occupancy in the residence halls will be just under 5,000, he said. The precise number won’t be known until the official 15-day headcount is released in September.
The number of students living in the residence halls is down because last year the university waived the requirement for first-year students and sophomores to live on campus. They even paid them to do so. Officials decided that having let first-year students live off-campus, they could not come back and reinstitute the requirement.
‘We won’t be as full as we’ve been several years ago,” Lawrie said, “but we will be fuller than we were last year.”
Some sophomores did opt to return to the residence halls, he said. “We had a good number return to us by option because they enjoy living on campus. They enjoy that experience. … Students come back to living on campus because we create an environment that supports the student.”
That includes residence hall assistants who are on hand to help as well as academic programming.
If a student starts to struggle, Lawrie said, faculty can reach out to staff in the residence hall who can help them get back on track.
“It’s about that experience we provide that doesn’t happen in an apartment, in a house. You’re really on your own out there. Here it’s really a supportive environment. We really try to take care of people.”
Numbers have shown that students who live a second year in residence halls are more likely to continue at BGSU, he said.
And two of the first-year students, Lelia Adkins of Lima, who plans to study to be an intervention specialist, and Bella Recker of Perrysburg, who plans to major psychology, both said they were attracted by the campus itself.
“I fell in love with campus,” Adkins said.
Rogers said the first year class, though smaller than last year’s record size, will still be one of the largest in the past five years. And “we’re having very good numbers on retaining our students and, obviously, graduating our students,” he said.
On Saturday, 1,049 students graduated with 44 associate degrees, 490 bachelor’s degrees, 403 master’s degrees and 35 doctoral degrees granted.
Challenges remain. The pandemic set many high school seniors back, especially in large urban districts.
Staffing will increase in the Learning Commons, the university’s academic coaching area, Rogers said. Also, the efforts of the counseling center programs are also being enhanced.
The university continues to foster the notion of being a community of learning. “That’s why we talk about belonging,” Rogers said. “We want each and every student to find that community and feel supported to be successful.”
State schools are also noticing that many high school seniors are opting not to continue their education right after high school. That has impacted the number of new students.
“While the class might be a little bit smaller,” Rogers said. “It is by far the most academically prepared class in terms of ACT and GPA we’ve ever had. Our commitment is to make sure we’re working with each one of those students and retain them right here at Bowling Green.”
