Students code to succeed
VOLUME 90 | ISSUE 7
By STORMIE SANCHEZ Staff Reporter
Amarillo College’s new Code Academy offers a hands-on learning experience for students interested in a career in coding or those looking to update their current skill set. The Academy began Jan. 21. The students were selected from applicants who were current AC students that were already proficient in computer programming and were interested in expanding their skills. “We really needed a way to increase the amount of people that know how to program or code in Amarillo,” Carol Buse, the dean of STEM, said. The Code Academy gives students a way to keep up with the quick-moving pace of the tech industry, Buse said.
February 6, 2020
“As tech firms constantly evolve and change, so should our curriculum and our curriculum requirements,” Dewayne Higgs, the coordinator of the AC Code Academy, said. “The Code Academy is just the next
evolution of that, in order to try to keep up with employment trends.” The Academy teaches full
stack development, which is both the front and back ends of programming an information system. “It is important nowa-
Illustration by BRITTNEE TALLEY
days for programmers to be not so focused on just one aspect of developing an information system. They improve their own employability and marketability if they can say
that they can do it all,” Higgs said. Upon completing the Code Academy, students earn a certificate, as well as 24 credit hours toward a computer information systems degree, according to the amarillo.codes website. The eight-week program meets for five hours two evenings each week. Ariana Rangel, a Code Academy student, said the classes go by quickly. “The method that we’re using is a flipped classroom effect, and it’s where the professor only has about an hour to lecture or just go over things and then the rest of the class period we’re doing out assignments,” Rangel said. Continue reading on page 4
LAUREN EBBEN | The Ranger
The transmission of some flu-like diseases can be prevented by using hand sanitizers.
Common sense combats illness
By KADEN BRYANT Staff Reporter
The World Health Organization recently declared the coronavirus a global health emergency. The illness has spread quickly and has infected more than 8,000 people worldwide. The death toll has surpassed 200 and continues to rise. While the virus has not reached Amarillo College, health practitioners advise students and staff to take precautions to avoid illness. Cindy Anderson, a nurse practitioner at Amarillo Diagnostic Clinic, said staying well is just a matter of common sense. “The best way to prevent any kind of illness is proper hand-washing,” Anderson said. As long as people take care of their well-being by having proper hygiene, illnesses such as the coronavirus could be easily avoidable, she said. Some students say that even when they are ill, they push themselves to attend classes Dr. Kati Alley, an assistant
professor of nursing, said that sick students should make sure they see their primary health care provider and get well. “I speak for myself on this one. If a student is sick and contagious, I would like for them to stay home. I do not want them to come and get the rest of the class sick as well,” Alley said. Former AC student Cayley Reeves, who is now majoring in biochemistry at Texas Tech, agreed that if students become ill, they should stay home. “Students should also drink plenty of fluids and rest. This will boost the immune system enough to fight off the disease; however, if the symptoms persist, the student should see a doctor as soon as possible,” she said. Some people are more susceptible to contracting viruses than others, Alexis Cato, a West Texas A&M University nursing major, said She added that students should be more worried the flu than coronavirus. “You are way more likely to get the flu. The flu is extremely contagious,” Cato said.
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LAUREN EBBEN | The Ranger
At the board meeting Jan. 28, regents approved several items including tuition for prison classes and compensation for employees after adjusting the employee evaluation season.
Regents OK tuition rates for prison classes, staff compensation plan By LAUREN EBBEN Editor-in-Chief
The Amarillo College board of regents approved reduced tuition and fees for inmates attending AC classes for a diesel technician program in the Clements Unit. The negotiated tuition cost for this program is about $88.20 per contact hour. Linda Muñoz, the dean of technical education, said these education classes are offered to inmates who are eligible for parole in two years or less, and will lead to AAS programs once these inmates are released. “Eventually we would all love to see that there are full AAS program there. Right now, we’re just starting with this one program and building other programs,” she said. Additionally, the board voted to approve a compensation payment to AC employees. This comes with the decision to move the start of performance evaluation season from February 2020 to October 2020. www.acranger.com
According Paul Proffer, chair of the board, officials believe this shift was the best “financially responsible way” to ensure the college could budget for merit pay for employees in the fiscal year, which begins in September. AC Russell Lowery-Hart said this allows the college to give raises based on actual budget numbers, instead of projected student enrollment numbers. “If we had known the actual numbers in August the college might have given employees a 3 percent raise, rather than a two percent raise because we didn’t know what enrollment would actually look like. On the flip side, when we had projected enrollment being up and it was down, we put the college financially at risk because we over projected,” he said. During this transition year, employees who would normally receive a merit based raise in September 2020 will instead receive that raise on Jan. 1, 2021. To compensate for pushing back the date for
the annual merit increase, the college is providing employees with a one-time payment on or around March 1. Full-time employees will receive a $1,250 payment. Parttime employees will receive a $500 payment. A total of $1,063,000 will be taken from budget reserves to pay this amount. The board also discussed included the approval of tenure recommendations for two faculty members, a nondiscrimination statement, records managment annual report, approval of a contract with the marketing agency SWIM Digital, approval of investment report, approval of finacal reports, a request of qualification statements for a master plan program manager and requests for qualification statements for the Innovation Hub. The next meeting will be held at 6:45 p.m. Feb. 25 in the Palo Duro Room, located on the second floor of the College Union Building on the Washington Street Campus.
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