The Optimist - Aug. 29, 2008 by ACU Optimist

Optimist the

a product of the JMC

network

Pg. 6 Slapstick Hit: ‘Moonlight and Magnolias’ worth seeing soon

Friday, August 29, 2008 :: Vol. 97, No. 3 :: 1 section, 10 pages :: www.acuoptimist.com

Inside This Issue:

Pg 3

Pg 5

Thirty new international students arrive at ACU

Pg 10

University launches plans for ACU Student Wellness and Recreation Center

Tuition continues rise

Ranked and Ready: ACU football team begins 2008 hunt

Hunter Center plans on schedule for year By Laura Acuff Opinion Page Editor

$600

Continuing to reshape the ACU skyline, the Hunter Welcome Center construction remains on schedule. Plans include faculty and staff moving into the building by early January, and official dedication should take place Sing Song weekend in February. Bob Nevill, director of Physical Resources, said interior walls are standing, internal rockwork is 80 to 90 percent complete and conference rooms are being outfitted with technology in this phase of the project. Flooring and parking lot pavement should come later in the year, and a coffee venue, similar to the Starbucks in the Library Commons, also marks the Welcome Center’s to-do list. Outside, between the Welcome Center and the pond,

$596 $557

$521

$500

$487

$400 $0

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08 2008-09 2009-10

a labyrinth, based on one at a Parisian church, will grace the landscape, Nevill said. The feature, made of stone and inset into the ground 7 Nevill to 8 feet, boasts 11 concentric, asymmetrical rings leading to the center and will be visible from the university’s main entrance, Nevill said. “It has a lot of religious connotations about the twists and turns of life, so it’s really meant to be a place to kind of stroll and think about where you are, what the possibilities are, the challenges of life,” Nevill said. “It’s meant to be a contemplative area, not just See

Center page 7

*Dollar amount indicates the amount each student paid per semester hour

Range of factors increase students’ bills Drop in federal aid By Daniel Johnson-Kim Editor in Chief

Students returning to ACU may have been surprised by several changes to their bill this semester. A 7 percent tuition increase approved by the Board of Trustees during the 2007-08 school year went into effect for 2008-09, and several other required fees were increased. The amount charged per semester hour increased from $557 to $596, the Technology and Academic Enrichment fee jumped from $215 to $300, the Health Services fee rose from $55 to $70, and a new $75 Public Safety fee was applied to the list of things students are required to pay each semester. Phil Schubert, executive vice president, said rising energy costs, faculty raises, increased costs to provide benefits to employees and other costs to run the university all factor into the Board’s decision to raise tuition. “All those things figure in

“

We want to make sure we have competitive salaries for our faculty and staff to promote the kind of environment [students] deserve.

:: Phil Schubert, executive vice president to cost increases and end up ultimately pushing a tuition increase,” Schubert said. Although a $39 tuition increase may not seem like much to some returning students, the rise in tuition is far greater for upperclassmen who have been at the university four or more years. The Board of Trustees has consistently raised tuition 7 percent the last four years, and students who paid $487 per semester hour as freshmen in 2005 are now paying $109 more in 2008. But when compared to other universities in the U.S. News & World Report’s yearly publication “America’s Best Colleges,” Schubert said ACU is still a great deal.

”

ACU recently tied with Chapman University (Calif.) as the No. 1 “Up-andComing School” in the USNWR’s western region and was ranked 12th in the Tier 1 Private Institutions Western Region’s “Great Schools, Great Prices” rankings. Although ACU is ranked in the top tier for its quality by the USNWR, it remains one of the least costly schools in its region. Schubert said the rankings recognize the university’s commitment to maintain the quality of an ACU education. And to continue that quality, Schubert said faculty and staff must receive raises and benefits. “We want to be sure we

have competitive salaries for our faculty and staff to promote the kind of environment [students] deserve,” Schubert said. Dr. Jean-Noel Thompson said the Health and Services fee increase was put in place to increase the level of service students receive at the clinic, so they do not have to wait in line to receive treatment. Thompson said with the new fee amount in place, the office of Student Life is able to bring in a full-time nursing practitioner and add to the services provided to students. “It will increase effectiveness of serving students faster and more comprehensively,” Thompson said. Jimmy Ellison, chief of ACU Police Department and director of Public Safety, said the Public Safety fee was part of a restructuring of the fee system. “In the past, only those students who purchased parking permits were actually paying See

Increase page 7

no reason for worry By Laura Acuff Opinion Page Editor

Reports of diminishing availability of loan money in conjunction with a recent increase in Stafford Federal Student Loans amounts seem to present conflicting information to money-conscious students. While Darrell Horn, associate director of Counselors for Student Financial Services, said acquiring loans may be more difficult nationally, ACU students have little reason to worry. “Nationally, we hear the news about that, and we know it’s happening,” Horn said, “But our students don’t appear to be seriously impacted by that.” Alternative private loans, “outside the federal realm,” that sell loans to loan servicing organizations make up the struggling lender branch. “There was a second-

ary market for loans where lenders used to be able to go out and auction these loans off, and investors would buy them, and they’d be gone, and they had capital. They could issue more loans,” Horn said. “[The investors] hold [the loans] and collect them. They were good investments. They were good investments until the mortgage crisis started ruining everything.” Recently, some lenders have raised required student credit scores for loan approvals, and some lenders exclude certain schools from their clientele because of high default rates, Horn said. The lenders’ increased precautions, however, affect ACU students less because of the university’s low default rate. “Our students pay their student loans back, and See

Drop page 7

Malagasy students return home for special commencement By Colter Hettich Features Editor

After spending the last four years separated by the Atlantic Ocean, family and friends of 24 Malagasy seniors watched the graduates receive their ACU diplomas in Antananarivo, Madagascar. Even after adding chairs, latecomers faced standing room only in the elegantly dressed Hotel Carlton Ballroom. Event planners had little idea how many people would show, but the 625 that

arrived, including Madagascar President Marc Ravalomanana, his entire cabinet and Prime Minister Gen. Charles Rabemananjara, more than exceeded expectation. Ron Hadfield, ACU Today editor and graphic designer, traveled to the country’s capital to help oversee details of the commencement ceremony and kept a daily blog throughout his journey. “The challenge was to create an ACU commencement ceremony for friends, family, government officials

ACU WEATHER

and media that was as much like the one in Moody Coliseum as possible,” Hadfield said. “Any time you’re dealing with a head of state, you have security concerns and protocol issues that we had to make accommodations for at the last minute, but that’s to be expected.” The event on July 12 spawned a flood of local and national media coverage. Television, radio and print reporters persistently interviewed the returning students. Solofoarisina Randriana-

solo was one of the 24 graduates and said the eyes of the country were on the day’s ceremony, and for good reason; never in the country’s history had someone graduated from an outside university inside Malagasy borders. “You are like a rock star for a week,” Randrianasolo said. “People recognize you when you walk around; people are looking at you and expecting something. It was interesting.” See

Malagasy page 7