by Christopher Braunstein
Managing Editor
Statistics taken by Associate Dean of Student Services, Loretta Rahmani, show that the average grade point average (GPA) of all participants in the Leadership, Education and Development program (LEAD) is 3.21.
Rahmani believes that the average is significant in proving the value of the program.
LEAD was the brain-child of President Stephen Morgan and Dr. Len Hightower, dean of Student Affairs.
According to Rahmani, the manual handed out to all participants stated that LEAD was initially conceived to be “a comprehensive training, educating and development program designed to assist ULV student leaders with the information and skills necessary to be effective leaders while in their leadership positions on campus and after college.”
The “leaders” mentioned in the manual are students who hold specific positions in different organizations on campus. These positions range from club presidents to Orientation Week Leaders to Resident Assistants. In order to be eligible for most of these positions, students must go through an interview process.
Initially, LEAD was a class that all participants were required to attend. Then, the classes became Wednesday in-services. At this time, there were about 30 students involved in the program.
However, the LEAD committee at that time began to look more closely at the program to determine whether it was effective as it stood. The committee determined that retreats would be beneficial to foster the developmental and educational aspects that the program emphasizes. The LEAD retreats are still being held.
“The program has evolved throughout the years,” said Rahmani, who has overseen the program for the last five years. “And the reason for that has been to really improve upon the training, education and development of the students.”
Part of that learning is apparent in the average grades over the years. In fact, during the last five years, the average GPA of all LEAD participants has not fallen below 3.0. Although the average has fluctuated since 1990, the year that the statistics begin, the number of participants has more than doubled from 30 to 70. In 1990, with only 30 students, the average GPA was 3.09. As more and more students became involved, there has been a greater effect on the average results.
This raises the question of the importance of activities in relation to academics. According to Rahmani, there has been a national survey taken with the results showing that students who are more involved have a higher rate of graduation. A similar study was taken by Susan DeRyke, director of Institutional Research, showing that the same holds true for ULV students.
“Our leaders are people who tend to go on to graduate,” said Rahmani.
One aspect of the LEAD program that some have looked at more closely is the limits placed on participation. Currently, to be considered a part of LEAD, students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5. Also, the number of LEAD positions a student may hold is dependent on the amount of scholarship money attached to the position.
“The reason we have that minimum requirement is because a student is here first to get an education through academics and to graduate,” said Rahmani. “And Student Affairs and Student Life’s whole goal is to be a partner with academics to have the students succeed in their academic achievements.”
The GPA stipulation was incorporated by Richard Landis, who donated money to be applied to the scholarships of the program.
A student is not allowed to exceed more than $2,000 in any given year. However, this opens the door for students to hold numerous positions with smaller scholarship amounts as opposed to few positions with large scholarships. The problem of overextension within the program and even outside the program has led to some students being dropped from the program altogether due to the effects of excessive activities on studies.
“The student leader has to balance their activities, their involvements, their social lives, their personal lives and still must continue to do well in school, “said Rahmani. “There’s so much learning that takes place out of the classroom that we promote and encourage, but you cant do it if you don’t have the GPA.”
Rahmani believes that LEAD is a success.
“I think that LEAD is achieving its goals. It’s a wonderful program. I am excited because it continually evolves and changes to meet the times and the needs of the students. It’s not a stagnant program. It’s ever-changing.”
