Rasmussen says she monitors new physicians and nurse practitioners for the first 90 days to make sure they are doing their jobs correctly.

As for Yale's new students, Rasmussen says her staff gives first-years special attention because "Mom has always been there" to make appointments and to check that they are taking medicine. "And these patients can be difficult because they don't always understand the symptoms," she says.

Princeton's health service holds an orientation program that is attended by about 85 percent of the first-year class, says Dr. Pamela A. Bowen, director of the Princeton University Health Services.

In addition to routine immunization shots and measurements of height and weight, "We give them a tour of the building to show them where everything is located, which is an easy way to make them comfortable coming in for treatment," she says.

Harvard and Penn distribute handbooks at the beginning of the year, providing students with detailed information about the health services' resources--including everything from primary care to mental health treatment.

UHS also distributes a handbook that deals solely with peer counseling and health education groups at Harvard, including Room 13, Peer Contraceptive Counselors, the Eating Concerns Hotline and Outreach and other organizations.

The different health systems all have efforts in place to work with students in improving their services. For instance, Harvard has a Student Health Advisory Committee to keep lines of communication open between UHS and students.

"It's a good way for us to hear about student issues and perceptions so we can address them," Rosenthal says.

Princeton and Penn have similar committees.

One final area in which the four schools are on par is their apparent commitment to eliciting feedback from all of their patients.

While Harvard conducted a survey last fall asking students to evaluate their services--which Rosenthal says produced "lots of useful information"--Penn's health service polls its students twice each month for half a day at a time.

Collins says the Penn questionnaires ask students to "evaluate the efficiency and professionalism of everyone from the front desk to the doctor."

Princeton polls students in its clinical area four times per year, but Langan says the complaints at Princeton rarely concern more than dissatisfaction with the infirmary food or a long wait for an appointment.

"For some people, 10 minutes is a long wait to see a doctor. Basically, we try to respond to everyone's complaint with a call or a letter and talk about it," Langan said.

Students at the different universities are also encouraged to talk to a health service administrator whose primary responsibility is to consult on their complaints. At Harvard, Patient Advocate Kathleen Diaz fills this role.