April 2014 by The Special

The Special JULY 2014

Looking Toward the Future

The Special is an online magazine produced by journalism students at Texas A&M University-Commerce. Content and production are the responsibilities of the students. The Special is produced during the fall, spring and summer terms. Contact: The Special, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Box 4104, Commerce, Texas 75429. Staff: Andrew Burnes, Joseph Alderman, Bree Winfrey, Ryan Scott, JiYun Chung Faculty Adviser: Fred Stewart (Fred.Stewart@tamuc.edu)

The Special JULY 2014

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Road to the Future

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Man with a Plan

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Mine

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Residential Life

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Sports

The Special By JiYun Chung

What is New Degree Plan? “We have two online degree programs,” Lampe said. “We have the BBA general business and we have the bachelor of science, business administration. They are both available online. We have four departments. We also have an accounting degree, finance degree, MIS, general business, and marketing and management.” “The largest program we have is the MBA program,” Hoskison said. “It is available online and face-to-face. We have three popular MS accounting programs that started two or three years ago and are very popular. We have an MS in finance, MS in management and MS in marketing.”

Why it changes? “Anytime there are curriculum changes within the departments,” Hoskison said, “as the market changes, the degree plan is changed. For instance, we used to have a master’s degree in economics. Market didn’t drive that anymore so it is now gone, but we have the MS in finance program [MS finance degree plan]. It will change in the fall, driven by the market and based upon the needs of employers. They need finance people that are experts or have the knowledge of certain aspects of the finance world. So, the degree plans evolve and change based on the market and based on the students that we supply to the employers. They let us know what they are looking for and we change based on them.”

Purpose “The purpose of a degree plan is to give students a roadmap,” Lampe said, “so they know what to take to qualify to join the working world.” “Typcially, it is a roadmap, where they are beginning and where they are going to finish,” Hoskison said. “It lets them know the sequence that they need to take those courses. We give them copies of their degree plan so they can fill in the semester they took it and the grade they got. So they [kind of] know where they are at any given time.”

How to apply? “There is a link called ApplyTexas. The student prospect fills out the application, submits the required documentation to the graduate school,” Hoskison said. “The graduate school has a coordinator for each of the colleges. Our coordinator contacts everyone that has filled out an application for one of our programs and then they let them know what else they need to complete the application. The packet requires the application through ApplyTexas, an application fee and an essay, which outlines their career goals, what they want to do with the degree and how they hope that enhances their career. With a current resume from the student, we can see what kind of students are applying to our programs and how that program, once completed , can enhance their resume. If they are undergraduates and their GPA is at least 3.0, they don’t have to take entrance exams. If their GPA is less than that, it’s up to the students as to the entrance exam they want to take,” Hoskison said. “Undergraduates should go online and fill out the ApplyTexas form,” Lampe said. “Part of the application process is submitting transcripts. Transcripts are evaluated so that students can see how any courses they are transferring in would apply toward their degree. At that point, they are assigned a success coach to help them register or they are assigned an adviser in their college. We then help them with registration and orientation.”

Effect to students “The market drives any need for updated new degree plans, hopefully that makes the university as a whole, more competitive with other colleges and universities,” Hoskison said. “Students want a particular major or want a particular program. A&M-Commerce is very competitive in how much it costs, so if we’ve got the less expensive tuition and provide a high quality degree, hopefully they would come here. That our college is ACSP accredited is always a selling point for many students because it’s an international accreditation as well.”

shanna hoskison / director, graduate mentoring & advising center

susan Lampe / director, undergraduate advising & internships

The Special

The Digital Age By 2016, A&M-Commerce will offer more online classes than face-to-face

this new trend in A&M-Commerce’s course offerings. “On one hand, the university is right in that I would be attending school somewhere else for my master’s degree since it’s convenient for someone like me who only attends classes in the summers. However, I wouldn’t think I’m the kind of person the college would want to attract. It seems like A&M-Commerce would prefer young, undergraduate students who will make the most of everything the

campus has to offer. “I have a son that attends the university, as well. He’s taken an online class before, and it was a disaster. In my opinion, [online classes] just don’t cultivate the right learning environment for younger students.” While adding more online classes, A&M-Commerce also continues to mandate that undergraduate students continue to reside on campus during the first two years of their education.

By Andrew Burnes By the beginning of the Fall Semester of 2016, Texas A&M University-Commerce plans to offer more online classes than face-to-face classes. Before the beginning of the Fall 2013 semester, all of the faculty members were invited to a meeting overviewing plans for A&M-Commerce going forward. One of the subjects touched on at the meeting was the university’s plans for more online class offerings, eventually leading to a point that it offers more online-based courses than face-to-face traditional classroom courses. According to a faculty member that wished to remain anonymous in order to avoid angering his superiors, this information is due to the campus’s attempt to cater to individuals who would “take their business elsewhere” if few online classes were offered. “It’s ridiculous,” the faculty member said. “The university wants to cater to those who only go to school online. But it’s forgetting what got it to this point in the first place. Unfortunately, the students who want to attend college in the normal sense may pay the price.” Jennifer Scoggins, a graduate student who is working toward a master’s in education administration by taking online classes during the summers between her job working as a sixth grade math teacher at Terrell ISD, had conflicting views about

Jennifer Scoggins is a middle schoool teacher that takes online classes at A&M-Commerce during the summers. “I wouldn’t think I’m the kind of person the college would want to attract,” she said.

A Man

with aPlan

ust up the stairs from the entrance to the McDowell Administration Building, a sudden change occurs. The bleak atmosphere of the DMV-like lobby fades away into wood paneled walls, framed paintings of the campus, and ornate furnishings. Through the glass doors, department heads discuss logo designs and joke about each other’s idiosyncrasies while the phone barely rests between its shrill outbursts. This bustling area leads to the offices of a few of the university’s most prolific persons, not the least of which is Texas A&M University – Commerce President Dr. Dan Jones. Jones began his career at A&M – Commerce in July of 2008, following a time spent as provost at Texas A&M International University in Laredo and a deanship at University of Houston-Downtown. It was during his time as provost that he learned of the stepping down of then-A&M – Commerce President Dr. Keith McFarland, who had served in the role for a decade prior. “I was kind of introduced to the A&M system when I moved to Laredo and took that position… so that’s kind of when I learned about Commerce and what was going on here,” Jones said. “When Dr. McFarland announced his retirement, they announced there would be a national search... I wasn’t in an active job search or anything, things were going well in Laredo and I loved being a provost, but this just seemed like a great institution.” In the time since his arrival, Jones has made a name for himself as a vocal proponent of innovation, opportunity and access. Speaking about the future of the university, Jones emphasized the importance of drawing students who otherwise may not be able to access higher education, primarily due to financial constraints. “We are a regional public comprehensive university,” Jones said. “This next year, we will celebrate our 125th anniversary of our founding and, over that century and a quarter, obviously the institution has changed in many, many ways. Our program, our curricula changed, but we’ve always been founded on the notion of opportunity. All of our existence, we’ve had a large percentage of students who are the first of their family to attend college. Now, we have a sizable number of traditional college-bound students, as well, but we want to remain true to that mission and extend it into the future.” 7

One of the primary topics of discussion was the Campus Master Plan, a proposed three-decade long construction project which would permanently alter the landscape of A&M – Commerce. The most recent incarnation of the master plan was completed and presented for approval last August, an includes several new buildings, as well as a complete restructuring of the campus’ parking lots and roadways. “Our first priority is to continue to refine the campus environment in such a way that focuses 8

on the campus as a community of learners; a pleasant place to be,” Jones said. “A lot of green space. We want to bring back the idea of the great mall, like you might find at Harvard or that sort of thing, and that’s envisioned to be this area right here outside my window, stretching from here to what is now the Journalism Building. And sort of the central feature of the new master plan is that it will open up and turn into this large central green space, and that will be sort of the heart of campus.”

The proposed site of the mall would be from the current Art Building (which would be demolished and replaced) east towards what is now the Wathena Temple Fine Arts Building. Aside from this, another major aspect of the master plan would be the construction of new buildings either to house newer programs or replace some pre-existing out-dated structures. “In terms of buildings, in the near term we hope to get a new library and a nursing and health sciences building,” Jones said. “Our nursing program

was at capacity the day we opened, and in fact, it has a long waiting list of people trying to get in. The space we have now is functional, but inadequate in terms of capacity; we just need more space. So the nursing building is high on our wish list, and the new library is high on the wish list.” Regarding the plan for a new library, Jones explained the new structure would not only be designed in a way more fitting of its purpose, but also in such a way that emphasizes the technological advances that are

expected to be brought in. “Our library, James Gee Library, has been built in phases over 60 years, and it has a lot of square footage, but it’s not the way libraries are designed,” Jones said. “It’s really built as a big book storage building. We want to go with the concept of a library as a learning center and technology center, so we’ll still obviously have a lot of books, but we’ll have a lot more technology than we currently have, and it’ll be designed in such a way that it will encourage interaction with technology.” The proposed site of the new library would be in roughly the same location as the current Journalism Building. Jones remarked that a new location would have to be worked out to hold the classes and offices that currently reside in the Journalism Building before any work could be done. As for the existing library, it would be repurposed and redesigned in order to convert its usage into a classroom building. In the nearer term, Jones hopes to extend the academic side of the nursing program by offering more degrees in the field. “In terms of nursing, right now we offer the BSN, bachelor of science in nursing, and we would like to go into the MSN, master of science, with one track in nursing education and the other would be nurse practitioner,” Jones said. “With the physician shortage, there’s already a demand for nurse practitioners, so we would like to go in that direction as well.” One project Jones expressed a great deal of excitement over is the proposal for a new special events center to replace the current Field House. Expected by Jones to be “a gem, not only for the university, but for this part of the state,” the current master plan proposes the new events center to begin construction in the 2018

to 2022 timeframe, although that is likely a pipe dream. “At some point within the next 25 years… we would like to replace our Field House with a new special events center. The proposed design is such that it would go just east of the existing football stadium, and on the west side of the events center would be the stadium seating for the east side of the football field… and you would have certain suites up at the top that could seat either direction, like the coaches boxes, and we would probably build in some ‘luxury boxes’ for donors, etc. So that’s a little more distant, but very much part of the plan.” Funding remains the principal factor in preventing the master plan from beginning. Despite two separate bills having been approved by the house and senate, respectively, in the previous legislative session for funding university construction, both failed to reach final approval by the legislature. When [the legislature] convenes in January, it will have been nine years since the state put any dedicated funding... into capital projects. So there’s a lot of deferred demand out there. Even if the upcoming legislature approves funding for capital improvements, the battle will not be entirely over. The university must provide additional funds in order to complete its construction projects.

The future location of the Performance Lawn

n, as proposed in the universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Master Plan

Image provided by: GFF Planning

The Special

Photo credit/Bree Winfrey

Residential Life The future of residential life and the benefits of livng on campus. By Bree Winfrey College is a self-driven experience that is optional for anyone who is dedicated to furthering their education after high school. University life can been considered the most important foundation in seeking careers, joining organizations, and developing relationships. Something that most stu-

dents can certainly look forward to while attending college is the benefits of living on campus. Residential Life is an option for accessing the campus easier. “Advantages to staying on campus include safety, security, being around peers, and when you have a problem there are staff members to assist you,” Dennis Koch, director of residential life at Texas A&M University – Commerce, said. There are a total of 14 residence halls at A&M- Commerce. All are on accessible routes when it comes to walking to class, the cafeteria, the library, or the gym. The farthest residence halls are across Highway 50, but students are able to press a but-

ton to signal a warning to drivers before crossing. A flashing cross walk alerts drivers when pedestrians are crossing the road. Smith and Berry may be the farthest sites; however they are some of the less expensive. Non-private rooms located in Smith and Berry halls are priced at $1,944 per semester. Whereas facilities such Phase II and freshman residence, Pride Rock are priced at $3,131 per semester. Family housing is also available for students who have families to care for while attending college. The family housing rates per semester is $2,550. Renovations are increasing. Some of those renovations may not be visible, but the upkeep of older halls is still being made. “A lot of the upgrades may not be visual. For instance; last year Whitley saw a new roof, boiler, and each of the three elevators had all of its mechanical systems replaced,” Koch said.

Photo credit/Bree Winfrey

Prices vary due to the upscale living space in selected halls. There are the traditional halls that have residents sharing a bath with their suite mates (the people living next door), halls with community restrooms that every resident can use, and then there are apartment styles. “I like living on campus, its closer to get to class and it saves gas,” Ieshia McDondald, A&MCommerce freshman, said. According to www.tamuc.edu, the master plan of A&M- Commerce is planning to complete a third housing complex during 2018-2022. Koch said that the sizes of residence halls are determined by the university growth. “If you are looking at financial advantages, all your bills are in one lump sum and can be paid off by financial aid. When you live off campus there are a lot of individual bills that a lot of students do not think about as it may their first time living on their own,” Koch said. Living on campus enables students to get more involved with

the activities around campus. Walking from the halls through campus, students can expect to see event fliers posted on sidewalks and bulletin boards. Freshman and sophomore students are actually required to stay on campus for the first two years in college. Koch said that the requirement has been around for several years and students are notified on the university website, housing contract, and during orientation. Koch said that after taking a survey, most of the North Texas universities and colleges went up 2, 3 and 4 % in their pricing while A&M-Commerce has only gone up 1%. While living off campus, bills will be expected to be paid monthly, whereas if a student chooses to live on campus, the residency dues that are paid per semester would be added to the overall dues during each semester. One large sum can be paid off rather than scrambling for money every month. Therefore, living on campus can be cheaper than living off campus.

(Above) A student proceedes to cross the road safely while using the cross walk. (Right) A photo of the family housing complex, Leberman Hall. (Left) Phase II is the model for future residence halls.

Photo credit/Bree Winfrey

The Special

The hardwood floors in the A&M-Commerce Field House are being replaced for the first time

Athletics Expected to Turn Heads in the Future Arrival of New Softball Team and More By Ryan Scott This year in sports was a large positive step forward in the eyes of many at Texas A&M University – Commerce. The football team ended with a winning record and made it to a bowl game. The men’s basketball team played well in the Lone Star Conference championship. Women’s volleyball made it to the conference semifinals and it was announced that A&M – Commerce would be getting its first softball team in school history. As the school enters its celebration of 125 years in operation, many on campus turn their eyes to the sports program. The

Photo Credit/Ryan Scott

question of how will athletics top such a successful year looms over the entire athletic department. As athletics gears up for the next season, athletic director Ryan Ivey has a lot on his plate to make this next year even better than the last. Ivey, who has a BA and a master’s degree in sports management from the University of Memphis, became the athletic director last January after holding positions in the athletic departments at McNeese State University, the University of Memphis, University of South Dakota, and also as a stadium operator for the Memphis Redbirds minor league baseball team. “I found the opening for this position on the NCAA website,” Ivey said. “I had no knowledge of A&M – Commerce before, but I did research and saw the history that came from this university and wanted the job as soon as I could get it.” Concerning the football team, Ivey said the team was “structured for success.” Ivey was very pleased with the team’s accomplishments last season, but knows the team is capable of improving.

Ivey says that he wants changes to be made not primarily on the field, but off of it as well. “We are creating a new ticket system which will help make the ticketing process easier,” Ivey said. “We are also modernizing the program through the use of social media.” There is also the thought of a new weight room and locker room that intrigues Ivey. The need for academic enhancement for the entire athletic program will also be a welcome addition. Regarding this next season, as well as future seasons, Ivey believes the previous season has set a precedent for success. “There’s definitely a changed attitude around here. There’s a lot more pride in the program,” Ivey stated. “We’ve noticed a huge rise in support, especially from the social media traffic about us. Also, there’s been a huge increase in season ticket sales.” As Ivey puts it, “football is the deciding factor.” What he means is that usually the fate of its athletic department relies heavily on the success of the football team. Now that the team has experienced recent success, the department will be able to have a smoother transition into the future due to the large increase in support. In addition to football, other sports are undergoing changes for the future. The women’s basketball team hired a new coach – Jason Burton – to take the reins for this season. Burton is an alumnus and the former men’s basketball head coach at A&M – Commerce. His recruiting skills and his familiarity with A&M–Commerce should be a good sign for the women’s team moving forward, who are looking to recover from a less than stellar season. For men’s basketball, not many changes will be made. The only change wanted from Ivey is the change of the outcome at season’s end. “I believe we got a bit snubbed in the ratings last season,” Ivey said. “The goal is to win conference championships, and then national championships. I believe we can achieve this in the near future with this team.” In women’s volleyball, there are also no planned changes after a good season of play. Ivey believes that the addition of Coach Sarah Carthel last season as an assistant coach will allow the team to improve dramatically. “Carthel is an award-winning coach, one of the best at what she does,” Ivey said. “With her on board it could only get better from here.” Along with the improvements made to the teams themselves, the venue is also undergoing a change. In April, the hardwood court in the Field House was replaced. The surface that was used this past year was the

An artist’s rendition of the new softball field

original surface from when the Field House was built. This marks the first time that the court was resurfaced. The new hardwood may cause differences in the amount of grip and stability on the f loor, which will certainly cause adjustments to be made when the time comes for the season to start. Throughout all of the changes currently being made, Ivey wants changes to be made for women’s soccer as well. “What I would like to happen is to install a new scoreboard,” Ivey said. “Also improvements should be made to the seating situation as well.” The women’s softball team will begin NCA A play in the spring of 2015. Since the announcement last spring, Richie Bruister has been hired as head coach, and a roster of close to 20 players has been assembled. Ground has been broken on a softball field between the Cain Sports Complex and the soccer field. The field is expected to seat 450-600 spectators and will feature batting cages, lights, concession stands, a turf playing surface, and possibly a small field house, which would also be beneficial to soccer, as they currently do not have any on-site locker rooms. “The team will be playing exhibition games in the fall before they play for real in the spring,” Ivey said. “I have a feeling that we have a special team and that this will only better the university.” Ivey sees the future of A&M – Commerce athletics looking quite poised to grow in the next few years and believes “you should expect us to win championships, there’s no reason for us not to be successful.”