Students at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee who wish to voice their opinions about school policy will have a new venue through which to do so following the reinstatement of the university-level Black and Gold Committee.

The committee will be primarily responsible for overseeing Access to Success, a program intended to increase freshman retention rates by assisting incoming and current freshmen students with their college transitions.

Ruth Williams, associate vice chancellor of Academic Affairs, said the new committee’s general aims will be similar to those of the original.

“The purpose of the committee was to look into student success and satisfaction and explore ways that UWM could better satisfy students,” Williams said. “The purpose was to look into the overall student experience and propose any possible changes.”

Williams said the first Black and Gold Committee was established three years ago and worked for over a year to obtain information, statistics and opinions in order to publish a report that contained suggestions to improve the success of UWM students.

“The recommendation was that there should be a Black and Gold Committee set up at each school and college, as well as an overall (permanent) UWM Black and Gold Committee,” Williams said.

This recommendation was followed, and the school- and college-level committees operated for close to two years.

Williams said some of them, namely those of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning and the School of Business, are still active and the results of these committees can still be seen today.

One program Williams said stemmed from Black and Gold Committees is PantherProf. PantherProf is a way for students to communicate with one another about their experiences with UWM professors.

Williams said the original committee was temporarily put on hold while many of its members were involved in the Enrollment Management Steering Committee. This steering committee was responsible for the creation of the Access to Success program.

Williams said she and Rita Cheng, vice chancellor of Academic Affairs, suggested the Black and Gold Committee be reinstated to maintain and oversee Access to Success.

Kelly Grulke, a sophomore business major and academic affairs director of the Student Association, said she believes the Black and Gold Committee will allow students to bring about change in UWM policy.

“A problem we are facing is that students see problems but rarely will act in favor of supporting change,” she said. “Working together we can make UWM a better establishment, making your education worth more in the end.”

Williams said any student wishing to contribute is encouraged to contact her directly.

“Really the notion of what the Black and Gold committee is, is to have a substantial amount of students on them as well as other people that can help make things happen,” she said.

Grulke said she agreed, and though some student members have already been chosen for the committee, any others willing to take on the task should step forward.

“We are also looking for other responsible students ready and willing to make a change for all at the university,” she said.

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On the Net: PantherProf

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