Editor's Note: The following is the third story in a five-day series about the advances and difficulties of women in Athens' academic, professional and cultural scenes.
OU Provost Kathy Krendl is teaching a class next quarter on women and leadership, but she's expecting to learn something, too.
An October 2006 study conducted by OU's Office of Institutional Research showed that in the 2005-06 year ' the most recent data collected ' female students with a GPA higher than 2.0 were more likely to withdraw than males with a GPA of 2.0 or higher. Of the 800-plus leavers surveyed, 58 percent of exiting males had a GPA of 2.0 or above, compared to 73 percent of females.
Krendl said universities typically don't break down statistics on leavers by gender and GPA, but the higher female percentage stood out, and pinpointing what is making them leave has been a priority ever since.
It's not huge
but it is something we do need to pay attention to and to try to remedy she said. It's serious enough that I do want to talk about it.
While the study indicates females are more likely to leave than males, first-year enrollment figures released last week also show a slow-down in the rate of females entering OU. For the first time in a decade, more first-year male students are enrolled than are first-year female students, composing 52 percent of the freshman population. Since 2002, first-year male enrollment has increased by about 23 percent, while female enrollment has dropped by 3 percent.
OU conducts surveys of students who withdraw from the university to learn why they are leaving, and in the 2005-06 year, when overall retention was at 80 percent, the most-cited reason was that students did not feel like they fit in. High numbers of exiting students also reported they had trouble adjusting personally to OU and that Athens was too far from home.
But these statements do not tell why students didn't adjust personally at the university, something Krendl said she hopes to learn in the class.
We're not quite sure how to interpret this she said. I'd like to know a little bit more about what those (reasons for leaving) mean to students.
Members of the as-yet-unnamed class will listen to speakers and read related articles, but Krendl said it is possible they also will discuss why higher numbers of females not on academic probation leave OU.
What is it we need to do to change the environment? Krendl asked.
Some members of OU Student Senate are involved in determining the content of the course, which will be offered through the School of Telecommunications.
It's absolutely imperative to address all women's issues
especially in the academic arena
said Lee Robbins, senate's women's affairs commissioner.
Patrick Heery, senate's academic affairs commissioner, said part of the problem could be that female students in good academic standing might feel more isolated than they are, and the class could open up communication among them.
The university and Student Senate need to provide a network for them that will help them realize there are other high-achieving females out there
Heery said.
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Bethany Furkin
