Harvard a leader in ed, perhaps, but not sex ed

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Reaching out to alumni: UMass Amherst has drawn a lot of heat for failing to draw more graduates into the fold. Just 3 percent of graduates of the state's flagship university belong to the alumni association, far less than other rival state schools.

But the association is considering several ways to restructure its membership model to be more "inclusive of all alumni," said a UMass alumni association representative.

One way to boost membership would be to simply make all graduates automatic members and do away with the $40 annual dues -- which may or may not happen at UMass. A number of alumni associations at public universities have recently adopted a non-dues model, including Rutgers University, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and the University of Illinois, according to the UMass alumni association.

A robust alumni association could help the university raise more money, gain political clout, recruit students, and enhance its image. Some schools that included optional donations to their alumni associations instead of charging standard membership dues have found their alumni to be more generous. Any change to the UMass association wouldn't occur for about a year.

UMass has more than 215,000 living alumni around the world and 35 alumni clubs around the country. But only about 6,000 graduates belong to the alumni association. Members receive discounts to career workshops, receptions, and athletic events. Although membership is low, nearly 25,000 alumni attended association events this year and nearly 90,000 receive its monthly e-newsletter.
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Drinking policies debated: Tufts University has drawn national attention for a new policy barring students from having sex in dorm rooms while their roommates are present. But on campus, students seem to be more more concerned about the college's new alcohol policy that many have deemed a crackdown.

Student leaders are spearheading a campaign for Tufts administators to grant students "medical amnesty," a practice that such colleges as Harvard, MIT, and Northeastern have adopted to encourage students who abuse alcohol to seek medical attention without worrying about disciplinary repercussions.

Tufts Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman told the student newspaper, The Tufts Daily, that alcohol abuse on campus was "out of control." As a result, underage drinkers no longer get a warning that used to be issued to first-time violators; they now receive disciplinary probation, the paper said.

Students on an alcohol task force, who are evaluating the new regulations, will make recommendations by the end of the semester.

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It's not too late: Freshmen who realized mid-semester that they enrolled in the wrong school or who decided late in the game that they wanted to go to college after all have a second chance at Dean College, a 1,000-student private school in Franklin known for its one-on-one academic coaching.

On Monday, the school debuted an accelerated program that would allow late-comers to earn a semester's worth of academic credit at a fraction of the cost. The program drew 21 students, many of whom chose to start at Dean, rather than lose an entire semester, after their financial aid packages came through too late to enroll elsewhere, said Patricia Samson, a Dean spokeswoman.

The students have the option of taking three to five classes, including general education courses designed just for the program, and receive intensive tutoring -- all for a reduced tuition of $3,600 to $5,400, depending on the number of courses, for the semester. (Dean charges $28,000 for a full-year's tuition for students who started just after Labor Day.)

The semester wraps up in mid-December, the same time as the rest of the school. In January, the small group matriculates into the college's regular courses on schedule with the rest of their classmates.

But the bargain price does not carry forward.