According to Dr. Horacio Sosa, Dean of the College of Graduate and Continuing Education, enrollment in graduate courses has increased by almost 13 percent since the fall of 2009. Sosa also said that there has been an increase in the number of applications received. However, exact values are difficult to produce because the applications are submitted throughout the year.

Sosa believes the substantial increase in enrollment is a product of the economic recession and high rate of unemployment. As a result, universities in general tend to see a surge in student enrollment as people work to improve their skills and become more marketable for when the economy recovers and jobs return.

“Though the enrollment in graduate courses collectively has increased, the number of students enrolled in graduate courses on Rowan’s campus has decreased by 3 percent in the last two years,” Sosa said.

The graduate program attributes this decrease to the fact that many students are taking graduate courses either online or at other off-campus locations, rather than on-campus.

“Without new modes of delivery, the graduate program would actually be smaller than it was two years ago,” Sosa said. “However, with these new online and off-campus graduate opportunities, the CGCE is in very good shape.”

The CGCE is also preparing for another change in the fall. The Graduate Record Examination’s revised general test, with new questions and a new format, will replace the previous version in August 2011.

While the revised GRE general test will produce a new scoring scale, Sosa said the CGCE will not have to make many changes in its admissions department. Only about 20 percent of the graduate programs require applicants to take the GRE and even those programs that require it consider the score as a small component in a much larger application package, Sosa said.

Of course the admissions department will have to be careful to use the scores in the appropriate way depending on which version of the GRE applicants took, but the transition should not have a substantial impact on the way the CGCE operates, according to Sosa.

“I know that Glassboro might think we are annoying sometimes, but we do things like this to show that we are not,” said Brian Smith, a junior psychology major.

SGA’s Back to the Boro is an event that takes place in the Glassboro community. Rowan student organizations gather to celebrate the community and help local residents.

“Groups [did] some raking, window washing, painting, weeding and mulching. These are the more popular tasks that teams are going to do,” said Maria Cristina DePierro, SGA special events director.

Over 150 groups signed up this year – 60 more than last year – and were sent to different areas in the town.

“From two years ago, this event has come a long way,” said Elizabeth Kolakowski, SGA public relations director. “This event began with eight people working all day, and now it is such a success.”

Student teams are assigned jobs according to how many people are in the group and how many people are needed for the job.

“The houses sign themselves up. We check them, and if it is a safe environment for students … they are approved for the event,” DePierro said.

This year, the applied behavior analysis group worked on two houses on Harper Drive.

“We did jobs such as cleaning the first story windows and straightening up the yard,” Smith said. “We did things for the yard such as raking and picking up the leaves.”

Habitat for Humanity also joined the project by helping with the yard work, laying down mulch, cleaning the gutters and cleaning the sidewalk for two local neighbors.

“It’s important to help everyone. It’s also important that we care about the community because we live here and so do the residents of Glassboro,” said Dustin Andersen, a sophomore electric engineer major.

The event is important to many people in the Rowan community as well as the Glassboro community.

“I think that this is such an important event for the Glassboro community because it shows the residents that although we are college students, we care about where we live and who we live with,” DePierro said.

Smith believes that this event is a great event because it will build a better future relationship with the community. He said the applied behavior analysis group wanted to help the course of the community by volunteering their time to help someone.

“The event was such a great success,” DePierro said. “I hope that everyone goes back out for the event next year.”

Perez-Rivera was born in Caracas, Venezuela, came to the United States at the age of 8 with her parents and sister and grew up in Miami Beach. To survive, her father got into the flea market business, an experience that stayed with her for a long time.

She received her pre-doctoral in the Bronx and doctoral degree at the University of Alabama. Recruited by Rowan straight out of school, Perez-Rivera began teaching psychology and was on track to tenure. But something was missing.

It all changed in the spring of 2005 when she walked into My Fair Lady. She fell in love with the store, and in the blink of an eye, it was all hers.

The owner simply asked, “If you love it so much, why don’t you buy it?”

Feeling like she needed balance in her life and that she had little time to spend with family and do things she enjoyed, she considered doing just that.

“It was almost like a dare. It kind of went along with what I had learned growing up,” Perez-Rivera said. “It felt right. It’s my playground.”

About a month later she went ahead with taking over the shop, gave Rowan her year and a half notice, and started a new life.

Her ties with the community, however, have never stopped.

The over-100-year-old building also holds her private practice that Perez-Rivera established about three years ago, South Jersey Center for Psychological Services, LLC. She mainly works with children and adolescents as well as their families. Her office hours are unique, as she is available seven days a week. 

Perez-Rivera and her husband Orlando also own real estate in the area, renting to students.

“Their dreams of living off-campus in a really beautiful, comfortable home can come true,” Perez-Rivera said.

My Fair Lady isn’t your run of the mill consignment shop. They only sell items that are two years old or younger.

“We don’t take things in good condition, but excellent condition,” Perez-Rivera said.

They sell everything including dress shoes, formal wear, jeans, jackets, purses, scarves and much more, all in a variety of sizes. My Fair Lady has also recently obtained Louis Vuitton and Prada bags, along with a brand new black Coach bag that normally sells for $250, but is being sold for $55.

“What you pay here is phenomenal,” Perez-Rivera said.

She hopes to introduce new merchandise such as handbags and jewelry sets from NYC at My Fair Lady’s grand reopening on March 8, beginning at 10 a.m. She also plans to show off the redesigned shop with brand-new hardwood flooring and displays.

My Fair Lady is located at 20 South Broadway in Pitman, N.J., across the street from the Pitman Broadway Theatre.

The new assessment system used by the Early Childhood Demonstration Center is called “Creative Curriculum.” Its purpose is to provide parents with a quick and easy way to know what their child is learning and track their child’s progress.

Creative curriculum includes an online planning tool. This tool has a group planning feature that includes themes of study. These themes of study inform parents what their child is learning while at the center.

The innovation of these programs is why Gabby McNamara, a senior early childhood psychology major with a children with disabilities endorsement, decided to work as a student worker at the center.

“[I like working here for] the opportunity to work with kids,” McNamara said. “It’s really innovative here and it’s really cool. I love being here and I love the kids and the whole atmosphere and community.”

The job provides more than just the work experience for McNamara.

“My favorite part of coming into work is being greeted with hugs,” McNamara said. “That’s a plus of work. I don’t think many other jobs have people run up to you and give you hugs in the morning.”

The children spend their days exploring, experimenting and learning social skills. They learn the basic subjects taught in school, but also participate in a whole group discussion, small groups and a free choice period. Though every part of the day is a learning experience, the activities designed to look like play, such as them choosing which game to play during free choice.

“The teachers have to plan for children,” said Lorraine Ricchezza, coordinator of the demonstration center. “Freeplay and choice work if intentional.”

All staff members sit down each week to create lessons plans that are looked at by the coordinator. These lesson plans are also viewable for parents.

The teacher at the center, Jamie Lokaj, enjoys her work with the children in this environment in particular.

“I like working with the kids and seeing them make progress throughout the year,” Lokaj said.

Lokaj also felt that the experience of working with younger children is something education majors should get involved with when given a chance like this.

“For education majors, it would be the fact that they can put it on their resume and they get to work with younger kids when they usually don’t,” Lokaj said. “In the education program, there’s not a whole lot of opportunities for them to get into preschools. They get more hands on experience for elementary programs that often don’t get the contact with younger kids.”

The center is mainly based on what the Rowan community needs. The objective is to serve the needs of the student body.

“The center is meant to serve the needs of students,” Ricchezza said. “We fall under the SGA and are open to alumni.”

The center accepts 26 children at a time. Enrollment is all-year round and dependent on how many children are currently enrolled. Rowan students without children are also welcome to participate in the center. Volunteers are also encouraged to come and help out.

“One on one time means a lot to the kids,” Ricchezza said.

Volunteers of all majors are encouraged to help out at the center. While primarily education majors use the volunteer option to gain experience working with children, every major can get something out of helping out the kids.

“I think it’s a chance just to make most of them happy,” Lokaj said. “It’s totally different from being around college kids all of the time. They get to see younger kids and play more which can be more fun than working in an office or something like that.”