Next spring, students will have one fewer excuse not to take notes in class.
A program from All By Students Notebooks will give every student at Marshall a five-subject, 320-page spiral notebook for the spring semester.
These notebooks will feature eight
pages of information about Marshall University, dividers and advertisements on the inside covers.
Ken Harris, principal of ABS said he stands by All By Students because students came up with the idea.
Stephen Hensley, dean of student affairs, said the program contributes to everyone involved. He said advertisers get their space, ABS Notebooks sell advertising and students get a free notebook.
"I think it's a clever concept," Hensley said. "It's an opportunity for students to save a trip to Wal-Mart or the bookstore."
ABS Notebooks' free notebook program is active in student affairs departments on more than 70 campuses nationwide, including Harvard, Penn State and Northwestern University. It works as a tool for advertisers to reach the college student market as well as a way for schools to circulate information to students such as campus maps, school directories and
academic calendars.
The informational eight pages will be electronically designed by Marshall University and sent to ABS Notebooks for printing. Hensley said he is still planning what information to include within those eight pages but said it will be a balance between information and interest.
"Obviously, the information we would want to include would be information valuable to our students -especially
during orientation of their freshman
year," said Bill Bissett, senior vice president for communications of Marshall University. "Campus maps, important numbers, e-mails and relevant information to
make their first year at Marshall would make sense."
One question that is still on Hensley's mind is how to distribute the notebooks in January. He said he is still planning to allocate the notebooks so that each student will receive only one.
"We can't come up with a strategy
that's so complex that it takes away
from the other things that we do," Hensley said. "You can't stop doing something at a fear that someone's going to abuse
it. All you can do is come up with a system that pleases most of the people most
of the time."
Advertisements in the notebooks' dividers are targeting the college-age audience with items such as credit cards, student loans and cell phone plans.
Bissett said most of the planning has yet to be done, and he is looking for ideas from students.
Colin Thorn can be contacted at thorn12@marshall.edu.
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