By Chris Robbins

Every fall, thousands of UK students flock into classrooms to progress their academic careers. However, a much smaller number remain engaged in student activities and university affairs.

The UK Student Affairs Committee discussed efforts to increase student involvement and retention by offering opportunities and incentives for students to get engaged early on Tuesday morning.

“We’re trying to create a sense of community where students are attending events and supporting their fellow students,” said Ryan Smith, Student Government president.

Smith offered the TallyCats program as an example of SG’s attempts to foster student involvement. The program creates incentives for student involvement by awarding points for attending UK events, Smith said. It kicked off on Sept. 9.

“The goal is to partner this with Provost (Kumble) Subbaswamy’s ‘War on Attrition’ to increase student retention rates,” Smith said.

Smith and Student Affairs Committee chairwoman Ann Haney agreed that the program was unique.

“We’re leading the country in this kind of program,” Haney said.

The iPod Incentive program is another SG initiative encouraging student involvement, Smith said. The program provides student organizations an opportunity for an Apple iPod to encourage attendance at their events.

“This notion of student engagement really reaches out to a lot of different areas and encourages students to participate in things beyond the athletic realm,” said Victor Hazard, assistant vice president for Student Affairs.

Smith described a $250,000 scholarship through the SG drive to provide need-based assistance to UK students, and a child-care grant program for full-time students.

“These programs increase opportunities for students,” Smith said. “With the economy bad, a lot of students are struggling to pay for college.”

The committee discussed the Common Reading Experience, a summer reading program for incoming freshmen. Rebecca Jordan, associate dean of students, linked the program to the effort driving student engagement.

“It provides a shared experience for incoming students,” Jordan said. “It sets the expectation for students to get involved.”

A committee of students, faculty and staff chose this year’s book, “The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother,” by James McBride.  TallyCat events throughout the semester will tie into the book, such as a visit by the author on Oct. 1.

Jordan said the Common Reading Experience is incorporated into the UK 101 course, which many UK freshmen take.

As part of the program, incoming students met in discussion groups led by a faculty or staff member paired with a returning student during K Week, Jordan said.

“We were disappointed in the number of students in the meetings, but we were happy with the number of student facilitators,” Hazard said. “The dynamic of students working along with us was amazing.”

The board could not take any action on items on its agenda for the  meeting because a quorum was not met.