Coronavirus – TrevEchoes Online

Admissions pushes through pandemic to bring in new students

25Feb

By Grace BecknerNo Comments

Admissions pushes through pandemic to bring in new students

Next year's freshman class is on track to surpass the numbers of the freshman who came to Trevecca in 2020. “Based on what I am seeing, it looks like the pandemic may have affected us more in the fall of 2020, than it is going to affect us in the fall of 2021,” said Melinda Miller, executive director of traditional admissions. Trevecca admissions officials say they have admitted 985 freshmen as of Monday, Feb. 22, while at the same time last year they had admitted 765 freshmen. They attribute this increase of admitted students to their test optional policy adopted for the fall of 2021. This fall, 350 freshmen and 66 transfers enrolled at Trevecca. That's about 61 fewer than the 392 freshmen and 85 transfer students in the fall of 2019, the year before Covid-19. For the coming f...

Student retention holds steady despite pandemic

16Feb

By Grace BecknerNo Comments

Campus News, Coronavirus

Student retention holds steady despite pandemic

When COVID-19 sent Trevecca students and faculty scrambling to figure out online learning last spring, Megan McGhee, the director of new student programs, said student development went into crisis mode. “In the spring, I think it was all so new that, to a certain extent, we were all just trying to survive,” she said. The crisis in question? Convincing students to return to Trevecca in the fall. Jeff Swink, the coordinator of retention and assessment, defines this problem as “trying to make sure that every student is retained at the university each semester.” Across the United States, the average student retention rate at four-year institutions is 81 percent. Trevecca’s average retention rate in the past has been 87 percent. This year, largely because of the pandemic, the ...

Freshmen face unique challenges during pandemic

16Feb

By trevechoesonlineNo Comments

Coronavirus, Features

Freshmen face unique challenges during pandemic

By Isabel Landers Gathered around tables in the cafeteria and sand volleyball courts, jumping in the car with nowhere to go: This is how Trevecca freshmen have found community amidst a global pandemic. Freshmen students have learned to make traditions of their own. Ending their high school career with canceled proms and high school graduations prepared them for the things they would miss out on coming into college. “It's not really difficult to adapt to the situation we are in because it's not like we have known anything different,” said Adam Newman, a freshman. Trevveca’s 336 freshmen are among the 3.2 million high school graduates to start college during a global pandemic, according to educationdata.org. College administrators nationwide have struggled...

Counseling Center still operating virtually

9Feb

By trevechoesonlineNo Comments

Coronavirus, Mental Health

Counseling Center still operating virtually

By Diana Leyva Jacob Caitlin Lassiter, a Trevecca senior, sits in her bedroom, careful not to disrupt her roommates, and prepares for her online counseling session. Lassiter is one of many students to access counseling remotely on campus since August. To lower the risk of contagion and abide by COVID-19 regulations, counseling services have moved completely online. Students can request a session and meet with a counselor via Telehealth. Sarah Hopkins, director of counseling services, said since COVID began she has seen an increase in loneliness and people struggling with how to access good resources and support during this time. “Anxiety and depression are typically the number one causes of counseling referrals on any college camp...

Students learn to navigate music while socially distant

22Oct

By Grace BecknerNo Comments

Coronavirus, Features, Music

Students learn to navigate music while socially distant

Choir rehearsal takes place socially distant. Photo provided by Trevecca Marketing. For Selah Torralba, a sophomore instrumental music performance major, her current experience as a member of the Concert Choir is miles away from what she remembers it being last year. “There used to be rehearsals with anywhere from 10 to 30 people in one rehearsal,” Torralba said. “And now, any sort of larger ensemble is broken up into smaller sections.” Trevecca’s music department has placed its focus on trying to be as prepared as possible for the complications of in-person learning this semester, said David Diehl, the dean of the school of music and worship arts. “We took a very research-based approach to figuring out the best way to offer a quality face-to-face experience that is safe,” D...