Welcome Parents!
kTHE HILLTOP
le 62, Issue 2
Mars Hill, North Carolina
Friday, September 16, 1988
ulturefest” serie:
September 22 v
in and his music|
uccessful Broadt,
1 semester’s sched
nrollment At Eight Year High
th a repertoire sp'
jlS HILL - To get a face-splitting
rom a Mars Hill College admini-
i member these days, just ask
enrollment. Over 450 new
ents.
uled and include
n March 16, and „ . ,. „
>bats return due’' ^his
jest freshmen class since 1981.
concerts on MonF the fall was 400 new
lollege community Jim Black, director of
Dr the fall inclucf®”^ at the school, “but the ap-
actors lmprovisal’"%‘'^P^‘'timing in and we ended
, Warren Grahan'he smiles,
his lecture “Do “Sures represent a whopping 26
h anniversary last fall’s freshmen
1 la rnrfp” fcatiifh® highest number of newcomers
nd Steve Chicure|l ^otal enrollment at the
-related college is up also, but at
orium and begin i "moderate five Percent increase.
Theatre as befits""^”’ ^hh a freshman class of
nces. They will be®’/*'® enrollment would be
equired. Tickets'®^®'’’ graduated an un-
from 10a.m. tone
IS Dr. Donald Schmeltekopf, Pro-
; the college. Still, the total en-
it of 1,020 is the highest in four
smile-producing figures come as a
Df a renewed effort at the school
and a revamping of policies. “We’ve
tried to adhere to the findings of an
enrollment management task force,’’
says Schmeltekopf, “and it is working
well for us.’’
The task force’s findings stated that
Mars Hill needs over 1,000 students for
the college to remain viable financially
as well as to support the programs the
college offers. The optimum number is
pegged at 1,200, and that’s the number
the school hopes to have in two to three
years.
The recommendations from the task
force also mandated changes ranging
from residence hall refurbishing and
campus beautification activities to
efforts aimed at helping new students
overcome the difficulties of adapting to
college life.
Among the changes affecting admis
sion policies has been a closer matching
of prospective students’ abilities and
needs to college offerings. “We’re tak
ing a closer look at the students we ad
mit to Mars Hill,’’ says Black. This has
also resulted in a student body whose
average Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)
scores are substantially higher than the
average scores of ten years ago.
Another new program is the involve
ment of current and retired faculty and
staff members with alumni to canvass
certain portions of the state. The person
al contacts this group maintains eases
the progress of students’ admission pro
cedures. Black also compliments his
staff with hard work in following up on
prospective students, which has been
made easier this year with new com
puter technology that keeps up with each
applicant’s progress and notifies the
admission counselors of possible
problems.
Also new for this year is a toll-free
telephone number and a financial aid
program that guarantees a N.C. student
that he or she will receive 90 to 100 per
cent of eligible financial aid awards if
application is made within the current
school year. This guarantee is good even
if the college has to make up some of the
finances out of its own pocket.
Securing enough students is far from
Ip Has Arrived!.. . Student Support Services
ce and
5 the team
Diggest trouble
liam Hemphill,
sd Davis will be
freshmen will
ickup.
loss of All Ant; f^jij CQ][ggg
" p H Student Support Services, that
as Rodney B«,p
^ graduate. This is a federally-
project that offers free services
e linebacker pos ^
counting heavi
1 weak in some
vide leadership ifc area; b) You are handicapped
r r disabled; c) Your parents did
esp.te the loss of i^duate from a four-year college;
ference center ^ family’s income is modest. The
ms feels the off, available from the program are
o ISO ‘^°“'^seling (academic,
^ personal), tutoring in difficult
e us with the nece, special contact with college
lip up front, he, access to special workshops,
to selected cultural events, and
locating financial aid.
^^HMMu^ara McKinney, Director of Stu-
upport Services, said that the
for this program will hopefully
1 and completely staffed for full-
usiness by September 19, 1988;
.r, if students need help, tutoring
available on a limited basis.
t^9Z82 ON ll!hg provided by this program will
Z ON t one-to-one basis and should be
eBeis^
oitezmeBJO 1!)0'
in full swing by the 19th, also. Tutors
will be MHC students who have volun
teered for a position or have been
recommended by the college faculty.
These people will be paid an hourly wage
of $3.35. McKinney requests that any
prospective tutor contact her for a posi
tion. The program calls for approxi
mately 40 tutors and will serve an
estimated 175 students.
The Student Support Services offices
are on the ground floor of Marshbanks
Hall. The general office phone number
is (689) 1380. McKinney’s office phone
is 1464.
Ms. McKinney is originally from
Yancey County and lives in Newdale,
outside of Burnsville. She taught high
school English for 11 years, then spent
several years in the NC community col
lege system both as an English instructor
and an administrator. Before coming to
MHC, she taught at McDowell High in
Marion. She received her B.S. and M.A.
in English from Appalachian State, and
she did a year of post-graduate work in
English.
McKinney’s basic responsibility at
MHC is to oversee the operation of the
Student Support Services Program. Pre
sently, she is screening and hiring new
staff: a staff counselor and tutor coor
dinator. She will be working with faculty
and qualifying students; however, if a
student does not qualify, she will refer
him to the right place to get help. All
qualifying students are invited and en
couraged to utilize this program.
When asked how she feels about her
job at MHC, McKinney responded,
“This opportunity is exciting for me. 1
like the college setting, the family sense
of Mars Hill, and the opportunity for
service that the Student Support Services
Program is going to make available for
Mars Hill students and I want to be a
part of that.”
INSIDE
Editorial
. . 2
Entertainment . .
. . 3
Second Opinion .
. . 4
On Campus . . . .
. . 5
Sports
6,7
an easy task, and Black notes that it will
not become any easier in the future.
Demographics predict that the number
of high school seniors in N.C. will con
tinue to drop at a rate of two percent per
year until 1995. Other surrounding
states will show an increase, however,
and the admission staff has closely ex
amined the areas where the school
recruits. The result has been the
strengthening of efforts in some areas
while other, non-productive areas have
been dropped.
“The setting of realistic goals that
everyone can help in achieving has
stimulated the entire campus,” says
Schmeltekopf. “It has taken a serious
commitment of financial and staff re
sources, but the success of this year’s
enrollment has encouraged the entire
community. I am confident that we will
reach our goals ahead of schedule.”
Information about admission proce
dures at Mars Hill is available by calling
1-800-543-1514.
MHC Joins the
Club
Kevin Byrd
Contributor
Yes, that’s right. Mars Hill College
has joined the club — Club Coca-Cola,
that is. Saturday night after the first
football game of the season, the Club
Coca-Cola dance-party’s national tour
came to Mars Hill. The tour is a non
profit venture for the support of Special
Olympics. Jay Hurst, Director of Stu
dent Activities, and Moira McConnell
were the chief coordinators of the event,
along with the Student Activities Board.
The tour was brought to Mars Hill
thanks to a $2,500 donation. Included in
the donation are the costs of admission
and all refreshments. Students were in
vited from many area high schools,
churches, and colleges. The dance offers
such attractive features as 20-foot high
video screens, lights and special effects.
The tour has been successful so far and
should prove to be an effective fund
raising effort for the Special Olympics
organization. Special thanks are also to
be given to all of the fraternities and
sororities of Mars Hill College, who
assisted with the event.