Dear Editor,

Thank you for the opportunity to correct the
mischaracterization of my position regarding the mission and program priorities
of the Office of Academic Support and Instructional Services that appeared in
your Oct. 22 article, “O.A.S.I.S. Survives Funding Drought.”

Contrary to the article, I never “lost interest in serving a
broad degree of new freshmen who would benefit from services that facilitate
their transition to UCSD.” In fact, I strongly advocated that O.A.S.I.S. should
focus its academic support services on three target populations and have
objective criteria for evaluating how effectively it was serving each
population:

1. All new undergraduates — both freshmen and junior-level
transfer students.

2. All new students with “predicted low first year grade
point averages” who have a higher relative probability of not making
Satisfactory Academic Progress during their first quarters at UCSD.

3. First-year students on academic probation or subject to
dismissal status.

The above set of priorities serves all undergraduates and,
most importantly, directs extra attention and services on a priority basis to
those students with the greatest academic support needs. The effectiveness of
such an approach is in part demonstrated by the initial success of the Student
Affairs interdepartmental Goals In Action Program in assisting students with
academic difficulty to improve their academic performance and return to
satisfactory academic status.

— Joseph W. Watson

Former Vice Chancellor of

Student Affairs