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Ann Arbor, Michigan


Friday, January 11, 2013

michigandaily.com

ADMISSIONS
Increased
number
of early
applicants

Nearly 25,000
students apply for
early action
By SAM GRINGLAS
Daily StaffReporter
By Christmas, thousands of
Wolverine hopefuls across the
nation had feverishly checked.
their inboxes, waiting for the
block-'M'-headed e-mail that
would relieve weeks of sweaty
palms, restless nights and an
obsession with hitting "refresh"
on their browsers.
As of Dec. 24, the University's
Office of Undergraduate Admis-
sions finished releasing about
22,000 decisions on early action
applications, a number up 3,000
from last year. With an increase
in applicants, an acceptance let-
ter was tougher to obtain.
While some students opened
e-mails congratulating them on
their acceptance to the Universi-
ty's class of 2017, others scanned
theirpages to find the less-than-
hoped-for response.
The deferral letter reads:
"Given our surging application
volume and very strong creden-
tials of our applicants, admission
to the University is becoming
increasingly competitive. As a
result, your application has been
deferred for a final decision until
a later date."
Some applicants also received
letters of denial, though deferrals
are more common.

Although the University has
not yet released precise data on
the number of deferred students
or the demographics of those
accepted, Erica Sanders, Office
of Undergraduate Admissions
managing director, wrote in an
e-mail interview that, "... any
increase we may see in Early
Action deferred decisions would
be due to stronger qualifications
among this year's early applicant
pool."
Even with an increase in appli-
cations, Sanders wrote that each
application received the stan-
dard "holistic" evaluation and
was reviewed multiple times.
"The quality of the applicant
pool remains strong even with
the increase in applications,
making our decisions even more
difficult," Sanders wrote.
And while the University
granted hundreds of extensions
to prospective students affected
by Hurricane Sandy in late Octo-
ber, Sanderssaidherstaffworked
tirelessly to meet the decision
deadlines for all applicants. No
geographic or high school order
is used, and it takes several days
to send out all the decisions.
She added that decisions are
only released once all applica-
tions have been processed.
"Our only concern in the
release of decisions is to ensure
accurate decisions are released
without causing the system to
crash due to the size of the file,"
Sanders wrote.
Despite the added pressure
See EARLY, Page S

PAUL SHERMAN/Daily
The Varsity, which aims to compete with apartment complexes such as Zaragon and Landmark, is expected to complete construction ahead of schedule.
N .
New high-rise apt. on track
Building on E. The Varsity, a new 13-story, on the third floor, where ceil- building's roof on January 15.
181-unit high-rise at 425 East ings have been primed and are Exterior bricks are also being
Washington adds Washington Street, is ahead- being painted with a final coat- placed.
of their construction schedule ing. Rob Rankin, project man- Potomac Holdings partner
181 units to A2 and projected to be completed ager for Skanska, the building's Scott Shinskie, an owner and
by the end of June 2013, after 14 construction company, said the developer of The Varsity, said
By DANI STOPPELMAN months of construction. next step is to install cabinets in an interview that residents
Daily Staff Reporter The building, located next to and flooring, after which work- are expected to move in Aug.
411 Lofts, is being developed by ers will begin the same process 23.
Students looking for hous- Potomac Holdings, LLC, a com- on higher floors. Shinskie said the plan to
ing next year might have a new pany based in Bethesda, Md. In addition, Rankin said complete the, project two
option: the high life. Work is currently under way cement will be poured onto the See HIGH-RISE, Page 5


IN REMEMBRANCE
Students and
faculty mourn,
Engineering
lecturer

Jason Daida
passes at 53 after
0 battle with cancer
By JENNIFER CALFAS
Daily StaffReporter
Jason Daida, an associate
research scientist and lec-
turer at the University, died
Wednesday night after a battle
with cancer. He was 53.
Daida was an instructor
for Engineering 100 and 101
courses, and was also a fre-
quent visiting faculty member
at the University's Shanghai
Jiao Tong University joint
institute. in China, where he
also taught first-year engi-
neering courses.
He is survived by his wife,
Sandy, and his three children.
Engineering Prof. James
Holloway sent an e-mail on
Thursday morning to Engi-
neering undergraduates
announcing Daida's death and

expressing sympathy to stu-
dents and faculty.
"He will be'sorely missed by
colleagues, students and staff
in the College, across the Uni-
versity and at SJTU," he wrote.
"Jason's loss is tragic, but he
had such a positive impact on
so many, that truly his life was
blessed."
In a joint statement, Jim
Slavin, chair of the Depart-
ment of Atmospheric, Oceanic
and Space Sciences, and Engi-
neering Prof. Mark Daskin,
expressed grief for students
who will never be able to ben-
efit from his instruction.
"We are especially grieved
to think of the students who
will now never be able to learn
from this extraordinary teach-
er and mentor," the statement
said. "Jason's ENG 100 stu-
dents were always inspired by
their first taste of working on
engineering design teams and
they became part of a much
larger mentorship network
See LECTURER, Page5

HOSPITAL
UMHS
malpractice
approach
wins praise
'Michigan Model'
focuses on honesty
and transparancy
with patients
By MOLLY BLOCK
Daily StaffReporter
The Michigan Claims Man-
agement Model, or "disclosure,
apology and offer," is a shock-
ingly honest approach in an
environment better known for
high-priced lawyers and expen-
sive legal battles.
The system, to combat medi-
cal malpractice claims, has been
a beneficial tool for both patients
and medical staff since its incep-
tion in 2001. The University of
Michigan Health System's new
response to medical errors and
unintended, unanticipated out-
comes was commended in the
December issue of the Milbank
Quarterly, a prestigious health
care journal, for its emphasis on
honesty and disclosure.
"The Michigan Model" was
developed in a decade-long
effort by Boothman and UMHS
See MALPRACTICE, Page5

HEALTH CARE
UMHSrecognizes Changes
in physician organization
Greater efficiency age costs more efficiently, the; patient care and share cost sv
nist o mnr nanu_.o _ __ T-L ... .. ing s witn :,yse -ic re . .rm-


expected as part of
Affordable Care Act
By MATTHEW JACKONEN
Daily StaffReporter
in an effort to increase col-
laboration with other heath
systems in the state and man-

University of Michigan Health
System joined eight other orga-
nizations in officially recogniz-
ing the Physician Organization
of Michigan as an Accountable
Care Organization on Thursday.
ACOs were authorized by the
Patient Protection and Afford-
able Care Act, President Barack
Obama's signature health
care law, to better coordinate

ings with ledicare. Primar-
-ily composed of University of
Michigan Health Systems phy-
sicians, POM's new status as an
Accountable Care Organization
allows it to work with other
ACOs across the country in pro-
viding better access and higher-
quality care for patients.
The Michigan group was
See UMHS, Page 5


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