Academic, Residential Life, and Extracurricular Resources
"Can I take that wonderful-sounding 200-level course on Asian-American literature?" ... "I'm running a fever and can't get to class; what do I do?"... "My roommate and I don't seem to have hit it off; can we switch roommates?" Questions of all kinds arise as we make our way in a new environment. Answers are readily available from a range of resources; the information offered below should help you determine where to turn with a particular question.
The Dean of Freshmen
The dean of freshmen counsels and advises all first-year students on academic matters. The dean of freshmen is a member of the faculty and serves on a number of faculty and administrative committees responsible for the welfare of Vassar students. The dean assigns faculty pre-major advisors, cochairs the New Student Orientation Committee, and is responsible for enforcing academic regulations as they affect freshmen.
Should you, as a first-year student, experience any personal, family, or medical difficulties that threaten to impact your academic performance, the dean of freshmen will work closely with you to help you make full use of the college's resources and support systems, and will advise you regarding the various options that may be available to you for some form of academic relief.
Any freshman who needs to be away from campus because of an illness or family emergency, or who is considering a leave of absence or withdrawal from Vassar, or who is applying to transfer to another school, should consult the dean of freshmen.
Joanne Long is the dean of freshmen. Her office is located in the Office of the Dean of Studies (Main, N-128), open weekdays from 8:30am5:00pm (until 3:00pm on Thursdays). Appointments may be made by calling extension 5258.
Faculty Advisors
The system of academic advising that aids your entry into college life exemplifies Vassar's traditional interest in fitting academic and social activities to the individual student. You will be assigned a faculty pre-major advisor taking into consideration the interests that you list on the Statement of Academic Interest form, included in this packet. The first meeting for freshmen with their pre-major advisors is from 10:30am11:30am on Thursday, August 28. This meeting provides an opportunity for you to become acquainted with your pre-major advisor, along with his or her other pre-major advisees, and to discuss any questions that you might have. On Friday morning, August 29, you will have an individual half-hour appointment with your advisor for final approval of your course selections before registration. Throughout the year you will need to meet in person with your advisor to obtain approval to add or drop a course, to elect a course under the non-recorded option (NRO), to pre-register for the following semester, or to request any kind of special permission.
At Vassar, you will discover overlapping layers of academic advice, and you will need to take the initiative in seeking particular kinds of information. While pre-major advisors and major advisors can assist you in coordinating your program, no one faculty member can be expected to know the catalogue and all the considerations implicit in its text. If you need specific information about a course or a department, you should speak to the appropriate instructor or department chair. Individual teachers and departmental or program representatives are available in their offices both during the initial days of the semester and as the term progresses.
After Orientation, it is your responsibility to schedule all appointments with your advisor. Learn your advisor's office hours and arrange to meet with him or her in advance of all pertinent deadlines. If you are unable to reach your advisor, your instructor, or a department chair, please contact the department secretary to leave a message that you wish to make an appointment. A note in the unstamped mail or a message either left on the person's voicemail or sent via email will usually elicit a quick response.
More general questions about college policies and procedures and about your overall curricular planning throughout your years of study may be asked of the dean of freshmen in the Office of the Dean of Studies.
The Dean of Students
The dean of students has the responsibility for coordinating several aspects of the nonacademic lives of Vassar students. Specifically, the dean of students oversees the following student service areas: counseling, health, disability, health education, and residential life. The dean regularly meets with the directors of the student services that report to him; together they establish the goals and priorities of each office. The dean of students oversees the Student Conduct system and, along with the dean of freshmen, cochairs the New Student Orientation Committee.
The dean of students serves as an advocate for students and their needs. D.B. Brown is the dean of students. His office is located in Main, N-121 (extension 5315). You should not hesitate to call or stop by with concerns you might have throughout the year.
The Office of Residential Life
The professionals and staff working for Residential Life coordinate all aspects of the residential experience at Vassar. They perform functions regarding community development, student leadership, room assignments, residence hall furnishings and equipment, health and safety in the halls, and the development and implementation of college policies. The director and assistant can be contacted at the central office in Main, N-120 (extension 5860).
House Fellows are faculty members who live in the residence halls. They function as academic advisors and as members of the residential community who offer perspective and counsel. They also serve to broaden and extend the contacts between faculty and students in informal and nonacademic areas.
Student Fellows. In each residence hall, as a part of the overall advising system of the college, student fellows serve as peer counselors to new students. These student advisors, selected from the upper three classes, are assigned 1015 freshmen who live near them in the residence hall. There are also student fellows for new transfer, visiting, and exchange students. Student fellows can assist you with registration procedures, academic regulations, and the various campus resources. They are trained to assist you with any personal problems you may encounter during your first year at college. Student fellows are carefully selected for their ability to relate to others, their sense of responsibility, judgment, discretion, and maturity. They are an invaluable campus resource.
You will first meet your student fellow on Wednesday afternoon, August 27, for a brief orientation to the campus and information about the opening days. Student fellows are expected to be in regular contact with you throughout the year.
House Student Advisors. In each residence hall, an upper-class student serves as the house student advisor. With the house advisors, the student advisors are involved in the selection, training, and supervision of the student fellows in their building. They work closely with the house officers to provide student leadership in the residence halls.
House Officers. Each residence hall is governed by four elected student officers and one elected freshman representative who together enforce the policies and regulations of the college. They work closely with the Residential Life staff to ensure the general welfare of the individual student and to promote a sense of community.
House Advisors are full-time student affairs professionals who work and live in the residence halls. They serve several functions in the support of residential life within the residence clusters. Acting as liaisons between the Office of Residential Life and the residence halls, house advisors also serve as an ongoing resource to house fellows, house student advisors, student fellows, and house officers. They provide valuable personal support for all residential students and have particular responsibility for enhancing the programming activities in the residence halls.
House advisors also handle a range of administrative duties in the residence halls. They monitor house improvement needs and serve as "administrator on call" to respond to emergency situations.
Counseling Service
The Counseling Service provides a variety of services to help students and the campus community handle the problems associated with academics, college life, and personal development. Services include: individual, couple, and group counseling and psychotherapy; crisis intervention; educational programs; consultation; assessment; and referral to off-campus services.
Counseling and psychotherapy are terms that have different origins, but essentially refer to the same thing: a dialogue with a trained practitioner intended to address problems in living and to facilitate development.
The Counseling Service offers predominantly short-term therapy free of charge to Vassar College students. Counselors, trained in the disciplines of clinical and counseling psychology and clinical social work, work with students to explore personal problems and concerns in a secure and private setting. People come to the Counseling Service for a variety of reasons, such as relationship problems with parents, peers, or partners; depression; anxiety; alcohol and other drug use and abuse; coming out issues; stress; concerns about academic progress or direction; or assistance in planning for the future. The student and counselor work out the details and the course of counseling jointly.
Counselors often refer students to resources outside of the Vassar community depending on the needs of the student and the limitations of the Counseling Service. Students referred for treatment off campus may use their health insurance to defray the cost. Off-campus services are the responsibility of the student and/or the student's family.
The Counseling Service offers a variety of support groups, some with a specific focus such as eating disorders or the concerns of children of alcoholics. Groups are formed at the beginning of each semester and typically meet once a week. A list of groups is advertised at the start of each semester.
Confidentiality, a highest priority at the Counseling Service, is often a concern for students. Strict ethical principles and codes of conduct govern the Counseling Service, ensuring confidentiality within specific legal limits. Counseling records are separate from academic and medical records at the college and are not available to college offices outside of the Counseling Service.
Appointments. To schedule an appointment, call 437-5700 or stop by Metcalf House during our hours of operation. During an initial consultation, you will have a chance to talk about the difficulties facing you. The counselor will help clarify the best therapeutic options and may recommend individual or group counseling, further evaluation, or other services. Some students find that the initial consultation meets their needs and require no further services. You may also contact the Counseling Service expressly to obtain a referral to private practitioners off campus.
Urgent Visits. If you need to see one of our psychological counselors immediately, do not hesitate to call 437-5700. You can also stop by the office and tell the receptionist the nature of your urgent request. After hours, call the Campus Response Center at 437-7333. During the academic year while residence halls are open, a counselor is on call 24 hours a day. We are interested in your well-beingdon't wait for your situation to escalate to the point where your health is threatened. Call and schedule an appointment to see a counselor.
Psychiatric Services. A consulting psychiatrist is affiliated with the Counseling Service. Limited psychiatric services are available at Metcalf by referral from a counselor. If continuing psychiatric services are required, a referral is made to a private psychiatrist.
Resources. Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to make use of the resources at the Counseling Service. We have a number of books, pamphlets, videos, and other printed materials available for borrowing. Handouts on specific topics are also available. Please stop by Metcalf House and browse.
Staff. The Vassar College Counseling Service is staffed by mental health professionals who, as part of the college community, are committed to the personal and academic development of all Vassar students. We welcome all students and embrace a philosophy of diversity.
Finding Us. We are open during the academic year and closed during breaks and the summer.
Location: Metcalf House
Hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 5:00pm
Telephone: 845-437-5700
Crisis On-Call: extension 7333
Website: counselingservice.vassar.edu
Email: Please note that email is not a secure medium, and confidentiality of email cannot be guaranteed. The Counseling Service recommends that you consider this when communicating about matters that are of a personal or confidential nature.
Office of Health Education
The Office of Health Education plans and conducts activities to help Vassar College students make better choices for healthier living. Primary objectives for this office include providing support and training to student peer helper groups; developing educational programs related to aspects of student health, specifically in the areas of substance abuse prevention, nutrition education, and sexual health awareness; and facilitating connections between student health needs and services provided by the college and the local community.
The office is responsible for many campus health and wellness programs, including the New Student Orientation programs, Just Get the Facts, Sex and Sensibility, the Harvest Health Fair, the Great American Smokeout, Sexpo (Vassar's very own sexual health fair), Safe Spring Break Fair, Eating Disorder Awareness Week, DeStress Daze, Nutrition Week, and the Wellness Tent at Founder's Day. The office also provides Housecalls, a program by which any student can ask for a health or wellness workshop for the dorm. We also provide the campus with health education materials by maintaining Wellness Learning Locations (WELLS) at several key locations on campus. The director of health education serves on the Drug and Alcohol Education Committee and the New Student Orientation Committee, and advises the Health and Counseling Advisory Committee and the Eating Disorder Task Force as well as the following student groups: AIDS Education, CARES (sexual assault/abuse), CHOICE (sexual health information), EDRS (Eating Disorder Reachout Service), SAMS (Student Athlete Mentors), TLC (The Listening Center), and the Wellness Peer Educators.
The Office of Health Education is open during the academic year and can be reached at extension 7769. It is located in the Metcalf Solarium and is open for students who request one-on-one consultations, or who want information about opportunities for self-improvement for health and self-enhancement. The office is staffed by a director of health education and 10 student interns.
The Sexual Assault Violence Prevention Program
The Sexual Assault Violence Prevention Program (SAVP) is housed within the Office of Health Education and is under the direction of the director of health education. SAVP provides campus programming and education about sexual assault, including relationship abuse and stalking, by working closely with community partners to increase campus awareness and to generate dialogue. SAVP also includes the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART). SART are members of the faculty and administration who provide individual support and information to students who have been or think they have been the victim of sexual assault or abuse at any time in their lives.
All interactions with the SAVP program will be conducted with a victim-centered approach, which means the student will be given options and choices, and the decisions are left up to the student.
Health Service
The student Health Service at Baldwin is open 24 hours a day during the academic year. Medical and nursing care are provided by nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and physicians. Daily clinics are maintained on weekdays for nursing, medical, and gynecological care. Appointments can be scheduled during office hours by calling extension 5800 or extension 5818 for women's health. Since there is continuous on-site nursing coverage, emergencies can be seen immediately on a 24-hour, seven-day basis when college is in session. Similarly, a member of the medical staff is on-call night and day and may be reached by phone or beeper during an emergency.
In the medical clinics, routine primary care is offered with referral to local specialists or hospitals as needed. Health promotion and disease prevention are emphasized through a variety of programs. A five-bed infirmary is available for those students unable to be cared for adequately in their residences and to isolate students with contagious illness. Gynecological services, including birth control counseling, are available for an additional fee. Similarly, medical lab testing is provided as are therapeutic medications. Some of these services and prescriptions may be charged to students at a minimal cost.
After clinic hours and on weekends, certified EMTs are on call to respond to on-campus emergencies and may be dispatched by calling the Campus Response Center (CRC) at extension 7333. An ambulance may be dispatched through CRC at extension 7333. Alternately, students may be brought to the infirmary where the nursing staff will handle acute problems with the on-call medical backup.
Disability and Support Services
The Office of Disability and Support Services (DSS) seeks to promote equal opportunity within the context of Vassar's diverse campus community and educational mission, and through its core values as a residential liberal arts college. In compliance with Federal legislation, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), DSS has facilitated and coordinated access to reasonable accommodations, auxiliary aids, and services for self-identified students since 1996. Disabilities may include, but are not necessarily limited to, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, psychological disorders, chronic health impairments, visual impairments, mobility and orthopedic impairments, hearing impairments, and substance abuse and recovery as well as temporary impairments.
Students with disabilities in need of academic or residential accommodations are encouraged to register with DSS during the summer prior to their arrival at Vassar (preferably by June 1). Students must also provide comprehensive documentation of their disability or disabilities, which describes the nature of their disorder and how their disability substantially limits one or more major life activities. Guidelines for documentation of a disability can be found on the office's website.
DSS professional staff will then work with the student and necessary faculty or campus departments to identify accommodations and services that are appropriate to the student's needs, academic program, and campus life experience. All accommodation and service decisions are based on the nature of the student's disability, supporting documentation and current needs as they relate to the specific requirements of the course, program, or activity. For the accommodation process to be effective and timely, students are strongly advised to be actively involved in the process and to work closely with DSS staff throughout their four years.
Commonly offered accommodations and services include:
- exam accommodations (e.g. extended time, private
- room, or use of a computer or other assistive
- technology)
- alternative print format (e.g., audio files, e-text, reader
- software)
- notetaker service
- pre-registration course assistance
- modified course load
- housing and meal plan accommodations
- academic coaching
- reader, scribe, and transcription services
- sign language interpreters/remote closed captioning
Please contact the Office of Disability and Support Services to inform us about your accommodation needs, or to learn more about available services. The office is open Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. during the academic year and by appointment during the summer. For more information call (845) 437-7584 or visit our website.
International Services
The Office of International Services offers a full range of resources for our community of international students and scholars, including advice and assistance in visa, immigration, tax, employment, cultural, and general matters.
Intercultural competence – the ability to communicate and relate effectively and appropriately with members of another cultural background on their termsis rapidly becoming a necessary skill among graduates ready to join a global marketplace. Toward this end, we look both to assist international students in adjusting to and embracing a new culture and also to involve and engage all members of the campus community in events, workshops, and other opportunities to share the wealth of global perspectives and enjoy the full experience of our campus.
This office collaborates with the International Studies Program, Office of International Programs, Vassar International Student Association, Office of Career Development, and a wide variety of other offices and organizations in efforts to provide programming that speaks to the college's mission to promote a global perspective among all our students. Support is provided to the college's several fine international summer programs.
Also housed here is the Vassar Haiti Project, an endeavor founded in 2002 to support education and the arts in Haiti, as well as to educate our campus and local community about that country's rich culture, turbulent history, and deeply spiritual people.
Andrew Meade is the director of international services. His office is located in the dean of students suite in Main, N-120, phone extension 5315. Please contact anmeade@vassar.edu or call 437-5831 for more information.
Campus Life
The Campus Life Office coordinates programs and services for improving the quality of student and campus life. The office coordinates the Vassar First Year program in collaboration with the dean of freshmen, dean of students, and others. We are committed to working with first-year students as they explore avenues for contributing to the intellectual and community life of the college.
Campus-wide programs such as the Campus Life Resource Group (CLRG); Intergroup Dialogues; Conversation Dinners; and resource centers for African-American/Black, Latino/Latina, Asian, and Native American students (ALANA), for Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, Transgender, and Queer students (LBGTQ), and for women students contribute to building affirming campus environments and encouraging student engagement across groups. In addition, we work with other offices in responding to student crises.
We encourage visiting the office and our resource centers (described below) to learn more about specific programs and how to become involved.
The ALANA Center provides a myriad of resources and programs to enhance the campus life and academic experiences of African-American/Black, Latino/Latina, Asian, and Native American students. The center offers opportunities for leadership development, intracultural and cross-cultural dialogues, lectures, and big sister/big brother and alumnae/i mentoring programs. A comfortable and affirming gathering space is provided for student organizations with similar goals in supporting students of color. As an extension of cultural, social, and academic initiatives, resources for interacting with various communities in Poughkeepsie and surrounding areas are provided. Other resources include cultural journals, newsletters, educational videos, career development, scholarship and fellowship information, and a computer lab. The ALANA Center staff includes a full-time administrator, an administrative assistant, and student interns who assist in all aspects of the center's services. The director works with all students to promote cultural pluralism and positive intergroup experiences.
Blegen House is a resource center staffed by a full-time administrator and student interns who foster a spirit of inquiry as they offer a Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, Transgender, and Queer (LBGTQ) viewpoint to the academic discourse. The center hosts discussions and social events and provides space for CARES, a student-run group dedicated to raising awareness of relationship violence and sexual abuse. The house also serves as a bridge to the Poughkeepsie community by hosting local LBGTQ high school students and a chapter of Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere.
The Women's Center is a resource center staffed by student interns who plan film screenings, lectures, and discussions on a range of topics; they collaborate with other student interns and student organizations to promote gender equity. Faculty members from the Women's Studies Program provide support through curricular and cocurricular advising.
The Learning and Teaching Center
The Learning and Teaching Center (LTC), located in the library, supports the intellectual life of students and faculty at Vassar. One of the center's primary missions is to help all students realize their academic potential and achieve their educational goals. Another of its missions is to support faculty in their pedagogy and to enable them to innovate in their classrooms.
Learning specialists work with students to strengthen their writing and quantitative skills, both in general and in the context of specific courses or assignments. They also offer guidance in developing study skills such as reading, note taking, and time management. Students may make individual appointments with a learning specialist by calling extension 5215, or by email (ltc@vassar.edu). Walk-in appointments are also available.
Faculty interested in discussing their courses, the planning of a syllabus, the improvement of their in-class teaching, assessment, or any other topic related to teaching can meet individually with the director of the Learning and Teaching Center. Group workshops are held throughout the year on various topics of teaching development.
Library instruction services offer a variety of programs to promote awareness of the breadth and depth of the library's collections and to foster students' ability to use research materials effectively. Students may arrange research consultations with a reference librarian or peer research intern. To schedule a research consultation, contact the director of library instruction, extension 5789.
The LTC also houses the Writing Center, which is staffed by peer consultants who are trained to work with students. Whether you are working on a critical paper, a lab report, or a creative piece, writing consultants can assist you at any stage of the process, from rough outline to final draft. The center offers drop-in hours in the library every day of the week; check the website and posted signs for hours.
The center also administers Vassar's Supplemental Instruction (SI) program, which provides weekly peer-facilitated study sessions for specific courses. For 2008/09, SI will be offered for Math 121/122 and 125, as well as for Chemistry 108/109. Students enrolled in those courses will be given more information about the program in the first week of classes.
The LTC works closely with the Office of Disability and Support Services to address the needs of students with learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, psychiatric disabilities, and chronic health impairments. DSS offers academic coaching through weekly in-office appointments. To discuss working with an academic coach, contact the Director of Disability and Support Services, extension 7584.
Career Development and Student Employment Offices
The Offices of Career Development and Student Employment merged in 2006 to help students make connections between their college experience and the world of work.
The Career Development Office (CDO), located in Main S-170, provides a variety of resources for locating internships, summer employment, and full-time post-graduate opportunities. First-year students are encouraged to engage with the Career Development Office early in their time at Vassar. Whether you are thinking about a summer internship, deciding on a major, or just making enough money so you don't have to live at home for the summer, you can use the CDO's career library, our many internship databases, and our extensive database of 2,600 alumnae/i career advisors to assist with your plans. Stop by for an appointment or to explore the career resources available. For more information, visit careers.vassar.edu.
The Student Employment Office (SEO), located in Main S-182, helps all students secure part-time on-campus employment in over 100 departments. Although students on financial aid receive priority consideration, campus jobs are generally available for any student who wishes to work. In general, first-year students work about 8 hours per week, sophomores about 9 hours, and junior and seniors, 10 hours. Students may choose to work A term, B term, or both. Sign-ups for campus jobs take place several times throughout the year. Prior to beginning work at Vassar, students must complete an I-9 form. This paperwork requires precise documentation. For more information, visit studentemployment.vassar.edu.
Field Work
Sponsored by departments for ungraded credit, field work is an academic program that places students in a variety of internships in Poughkeepsie, the mid-Hudson region, New York City, and elsewhere. It provides opportunities for observation and for participation that are not ordinarily available in class work. Every student electing field work is supervised by a faculty member who helps the student to integrate experience with theory. Students must take a pre- or co-requisite course in the sponsoring department. Internships during the summer may also be eligible for academic credit. For information about the range of field work placements and procedures for seeking credit, drop by the Office of Field Work, Main N-165 (extension 5280).
Religious and Spiritual Life
The Office of Religious and Spiritual Life (RSL) works to help students integrate what they care about most into their learning. RSL programs ensure that opportunities for spiritual engagement are part of a Vassar educationfor religiously observant students, or spiritually seeking ones, and everything in between.
RSL oversees, advises, and supports a wide range of religious and civic communities and initiatives on campus, and plays an important role as a community liaison for the college in the mid-Hudson Valley. Our current programs are described below.
Spirituality and Service programs offer the Vassar community opportunities for service learning. Participants receive training, support, and tools for reflection, drawing on the resources of spiritual and religious traditions to sustain and enrich their work. In collaboration with the Office of Student Employment, RSL directs the college's participation in the Federal Work Study Program in community service.
Peace and Justice programs explore traditions and tools for nonviolence in religious and political communities past and present, and bring resources to campus to help students work for peace.
Arts and Celebration programs give students skills and materials for creating public art, such as giant puppets, murals, luminarias, sculptures, performances, and practice in shaping community rites of passage to help open up opportunities for transformation and reflection.
Religious practice, ritual, and interpretation are recognized components of learning at Vassar and beyond, and offer shared experiences and opportunities for dialogue that engage questions of the sacred in secular culture.
As part of the support RSL staff provide to these program areas, staff members are available for pastoral counseling and spiritual guidance for any concern or question students may have. A diversity of advisors and consultants serve the campus community and the twelve different student religious groups at Vassar. RSL's full-time staff are the director, the assistant director and Rose and Irving Rachlin advisor to Jewish students, the Tanenbaum inter-religious fellow (in partnership with Harvard Divinity School), the religious and spiritual life fellow, and the administrative assistant. Part-time affiliate advisors serve the Episcopal, Roman Catholic, and InterVarsity communities on campus. RSL has office and program space in the Chapel Tower and basement, as well as at the Bayit, Vassar's Home of Jewish Campus Life at 51 Collegeview Avenue.
For more information about any of these programs, please come by the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life in the Chapel Tower (phone extension 5550) or visit our website at religiousandspirituallife.vassar.edu.
Athletics and Physical Education
Facilities
Walker Field House encloses a six-lane swimming pool with a separate diving area, five indoor tennis courts, basketball and volleyball courts, locker rooms, and a new sports medicine facility. The adjacent Athletics and Fitness Center contains a 5,000-square-foot weight-training/cardiovascular fitness room, a multipurpose room, a basketball gymnasium, an elevated jogging track, and locker rooms.
Kenyon Hall includes a gymnasium for volleyball, six international squash courts, dance studios, and a dance theater.
Outdoor facilities include 14 tennis courts; Joss softball field; a rugby field at Vassar Farm; and Prentiss Field, comprising a track, a baseball diamond, and soccer, lacrosse, and field hockey fields. Adjacent to Prentiss Field is the Weinberg Field Sports Pavilion locker room and athletic training facility. A cross-country running course surrounds a nine-hole golf course, which has a special rate per round for students, faculty, and staff.
Competition
Varsity. The college supports 23 varsity teams. There are sports programs for both men and women in basketball, cross-country, fencing, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, squash, swimming and diving, tennis, and volleyball. The women's program also includes varsity field hockey and golf, and the men's program includes varsity baseball. Men's and women's rugby are club sports under the auspices of the Department of Athletics and Physical Education. Students who expect to compete in intercollegiate sports need an on-campus medical examination arranged through the athletic trainers (extension 7843). Contact the Department of Athletics and Physical Education (extension 7450) with any questions concerning participation in varsity sports. Tryouts for some fall sports may begin prior to classes. Please call the office for further information.
Intramural programs are offered in badminton, basketball, floor hockey, golf, inner tube water polo, soccer, softball, squash, tennis, touch football, racquetball, and volleyball. More may be added, depending on student interest. If you are interested in intramurals, please contact the intramural director (extension 5347).
Intercollegiate and informal clubs are active and thriving at Vassar under the direction of the Vassar Student Association (VSA). They encompass cycling, badminton, equestrian, ultimate frisbee, sailing, and skiing. Many of these clubs play competitive intercollegiate schedules. If you are interested in club activities, please contact the VSA offices (extension 5383).