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Professor gives reasons why students fail

"Why Students Fail" was the title of the seminar that the Department of English sponsored on Thursday, March 23. The event featured Dr. Ray Foster, a current GSU faculty member.

Dr. Foster has been teaching and researching at GSU for 21 years. He began the seminar by informing the audience of questions he has posed to past and present administrators about why students do not perform well. He said that the two most common answers were "They [students] are not serious" and "College isn’t for everybody."

Foster enlightened the audience with over 15 variables that help to determine success or failure. The list included: attendance, punctuality, poor writing, problem solving, notebook organization, and lack of persistence.

According to Foster, "Students may lack one or more of these variables. Knowledge becomes a part of you."

"Dr. Foster helped to understand the variables that he suggested for a better education. It seems as if Dr. Foster has been trying to get his point across for years and years, but it seems as if the different administration just doesn’t care," says Andrica McDade, a sophomore Nursing major.

Book ownership was one of the variables that Foster discussed. He revealed to students that he wrote a letter to the GSU president in 1991, which could have been Joseph Johnson or Harold Ludley about this program. Also, Foster said that he has addressed this issue to other administrations, however the most common response is "we have too many thieves."

According to this professor, there are eleven schools in Louisiana that have a book rental system in place.

"By 2010 we will be a selective admission institution. The students that I came to work with will not be here, " says Foster.

Natasha Cooper, a senior criminal justice major said, " The seminar was very educational for all students and teachers at this school. It was very beneficial to me because now I can improve my study habit and how I manage my time."

In an interview after the seminar, Foster talked about ideas that can help students improve. One of these ideas includes a senior mentoring program. This program will allow seniors to help underclassmen with their work and provide advice about what to expect in classes and other things related to their major.

Currently, Foster allows senior psychology majors to come and discuss time management, note-taking, and reading and highlighting in his advanced psychology and general psychology classes.