Editorial: Assessing the need for ACE Fellows

This February, the Academic and Community Engagement (ACE) Fellow Program announced plans to expand from eight to ten students after receiving a pool of applicants twice the size of last year's. As the program has grown, it has also begun shifting its focus to the academic year that is rapidly approaching. Among various plans, the program has announced goals of creating a more specific structure for the fellows' work with incoming freshmen as well as increasing overall focus on the first-year experience.

When the program began in 2012, it was comprised of four upperclassmen who provided first and second-year students with guidance in all areas of college life. Associate Dean for Orientation and Student Transition Laura Doane, who directed the program in its inaugural year, described the ACE Fellows as “role models” in the residence halls. The definition of the Fellows' role was loose, and this open-endedness (especially in terms of discipline) was one of the main qualities that allowed students to approach ACE Fellows for advice in all aspects. One of the current residential assistants (RAs) even described the role of ACE Fellows as “all of the best parts of being an RA without the disciplinary piece." The all-encompassing nature of the ACE Fellow program is one quality that will not be changing next year. One important characteristic of the ACE Fellows is that no wrong questions exist; ACE Fellows answer questions about various aspects of college life, and if they encounter a question they cannot answer, they can redirect students to the proper resources. With so many advisors available to first-years, the ACE Fellows serve as an excellent intermediate source to help students determine where to direct their questions.

With a broadly defined role on campus, however, setbacks are bound to occur. One potential issue, due to the vague definition of the role, is the confusion that incoming students may have regarding what they can actually ask the Fellows. This year, some ACE Fellows introduced themselves at hall meetings, but some first-year students never met their ACE Fellows. Additionally, because club tryouts and meetings begin almost immediately when students get to campus, knowledge of the ACE Fellow program prior to arrival on campus could be incredibly useful to incoming first-years. To solve this potential issue, the ACE Fellows, who already make themselves available on social media, could also publicize their availability in the summer before the school year.

Finally, since the start of the ACE Fellow program, the focus has shifted considerably, from first and second-years to primarily first-years. First-years have access to a wide array of resources to ease their transition, but sophomores lack a resource geared specifically towards them — especially when it comes to tackling the "sophomore slump." With the focus of ACE Fellows moving away from sophomores next year, it remains up in the air whether any new resources will be made available to second-year students. As a whole, new alterations made to the ACE program seem to be heading in the right direction for incoming students — the program will just have to be wary of the unforeseen consequences of these alterations.