Professors also express concern about students’ writing skills. English professor Meoghan Cronin, referring to e-mails with no punctuation or upper case letters, says, "Students are more open about communicating, but I’m alarmed about the forms of their communication. There’s more colloquialism, informality, and swampiness in their sentences. We’ve always taught that you write differently for different audiences, and that there’s a difference between written and spoken language. It’s always been a struggle, but it’s getting more complicated. People are losing their sense of audience."

Joseph Catanese, who directs the Academic Resource Center (ARC), says today’s students often lack experience in the customary ways of learning in the liberal arts. Students can take in lots of information but have trouble prioritizing it.

"Reflection is a challenge, as is working independently," he says. "They are unable to read for sustained periods of time, and rarely highlight their texts or make notes in the margins." Because students are used to getting information on demand, time management skills may be lagging. It’s Catanese’s job to create academic habits that will help them succeed. The ARC now offers more writing assistance and more space for collaborative work.

Distractions in the form of electronic socialization are a potential danger to the GPA. But for some, there’s more attraction in online activities like video games and shopping.

Last September, the Chronicle of Higher Education ran an article called "Logging On, Tuning Out," featuring a Saint Anselm student. While Matthew Small ’07 feels the reporter exaggerated in order to make a case about the dangers of computer addiction, he admits that his grades and social life suffered due to his daily 5-6-hour sessions with a role-playing video game. A high achieving student and a resident assistant, he says he sometimes put off reading an assignment or sacrificed sleep.

Fittingly, the reporter found Small through his Web log (blog). "Quitting the game had been difficult, so I used the blog to express my thoughts about the game and the genre it was part of," Small says. "While the game did not affect my life in any persistent, long-term way, it can do this to people."

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