Special travel insert- Inside
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friday,feb. 2.1, 1986
cabrini college, radnor,pa. 19087
Evaluating Chem dept.
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vol. xxxii,no. 16
Fun in the winter sun!
by Lisa Ann Rancatore Concern over the quality of the chemistry facilities, equipment and instruction was raised in the recent Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) evaluations, and additionally by students within the department. In the evaluation, presented to the PDE by Dr. Robert E. Ziegler, a PDE member and chairperson of the education department at Elizabethtown College, four major concerns were addressed. The first issue is laboratory facilities, the evaluation stating that they "are marginal and safety concerns need to be addressed." Dr. Joseph Feighan and Josephine Rondini, chairperson and assistant professor of the chemistry department respectively, see the problem of space as a contributing factor to the safety of students in the lab. Feighan said, "We need the space, and if we don't get more space, the safety factor comes into play." He then explained that the budget does not cover the cost of building facilities, only chemicals and supplies. Rondini said that the instruments which they must store in the lab due to lack of space elsewhere are being corroded by the chemicals that are in the lab due to the frequency with which the students use them. Feighan said, "Sometimes you carry chemicals back and forth many more times than you have to." Rondini continued, "It's a wasted effort, but it has to be done since we don't have the space." Ziegler's second point concerned ventilation in the laboratories. This point met with differing opinions. Agreeing with this statement, one anonymous chemistry student commented, "It (the lab) is lacking in a lot of space and the ventilation is terrible." Feighan, however, said that he measured the air flow in the chemistry lab and no problems were indicated. Addressing the third point of the review that deals with capital funding, one student said, "I think they should give the chemistry department more money. It needs new things all around." Another chemistry student praised the lab, saying, "For what facilities the department has, the teachers do a good job. It's harder for them to get the funds they need because there are so few chemistry majors." Feighan said, "There hasn't been any capital funding for anybody in three years." Ziegler's last point about more space being crucial to the lab for offices and storage also was a great concern to both the faculty and students. Feighan said, "Expansion is certainly stifled, both program-wise and facilitywise. The administration," he continued, "is aware of the space problem and looking into ways of improving it." Dr. Mary Ann Biller, academic dean, expressed her hopes that the department's Five Year Plan will help it obtain all the necessary things it needs. The first part of the three-part plan deals with the faculty and people involved in the department. (This part was recently submitted by all departments to Biller for evaluation.) The second part' of the plan deals with supplies and expenses the department will incur. The final part of the plan concerns capital funding, or funding set aside for the sole use of instruments needed. Biller said that the majority of the money a department receives comes from tuition and grants. "My only hope," she said, "is that the Pennsylvania legislators and senators might think of another year of equipment grants, especially since there is a surplus of funds in Pennsylvania this year." "Otherwise," Biller continued, "the solution is to go to a capital campaign, which is a movement to raise funds from outside sources for specific areas."
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Last week's snowfall gave students the opportunity to engage in the Cabrini tradition of traying, a popular activity at this time of year. Taking advantage of a day off from classes, Eric Power, sophomore, Paul Fallon, freshman, Tim Fitzgerald, sophomore and Bruce Kidwell, freshman, try their luck down the "slopes." (photo by Debbie Ferrar)
Givingstudentsa second chance All names in this story have been changed.
by Kimberly Stevens Jill was in her first semester of college, and she loved the freedom. She could cut classes, never do homework, and be part of a social circle that valued popularity over academics. After a continuous semester of little work and lots of play, Jill's grades came home, followed by a letter, notifying her thafshe had been placed on academic probation. Her grade point average was 0.8. Academic probation. It even sounds scary. It could happen to a freshman or a senior, a good student or a poor student. In each case, the student's GPA is below 2.0, and they must show remarkable improvement or else they will. be subject to dismissal. Jill was lucky. She is now a second semester sophomore, and her GPA is 2.8. She changed her major, has a new group of friends, and is enjoying school, both academically and socially. "I think the main reason for my low GPA was the group of people I was hanging around with," Jill said. "We always cut classes, and we didn't do much. We had a lot of fun, and that was basically it." According to Dr. Mary Ann Biller, academic dean, many freshmen find the first semester extremely difficult. "They don't understand what the free time is all about and how it's used," Biller said.
Jill describes herself as being very rebellious freshman year. "I don't think I'm the same person that I was last year," Jill said. "I put my parents through a lot. I was a totally different person. I lied to them all the time." After receiving t11eprobation letter, Jill's mother called Dr. Romano to see what could be done to help the situation. "We set up an appointment and I went in to talk with him about how I could pull myself out of this," Jill said. "It really made me feel better to sit down and talk with him, and realize I could get help." Jill had several sessions with Dr. Joseph Romano, vice president of academic affairs, and took a study skills course in the Center for Academic Reinforcement (CARe). "I think the CARe center is the best thing they have on campus," Jill said. "I still use it now ifl have any questions or problems with anything." "Cabrini College believes in the development of the person," Biller said. "Because of its size, it probably has an easier job of trying to deal with individual students than a large university." Helping each student personally is very important to Biller. "We look at each case individually," Biller said. "Sometimes there are family problems, and sometimes it's a roommate situation that has to work itself out. There are a whole host of problems that we are aware of."
According to Biller, the college does everything it can possibly do to keep each student in school. Some students may have to go part-time until they bring their grades up, some are allowed to continue full-time, but are given help, and some must be dismissed. "If there is evidence for dismissal, for example, not going to classes, never going to see the adviser, and just not seeming to care about anything," said Biller, "then that's a very different attitude from somebody that's really learning a lot of things in college."
In Jill's case, being on probation has been somewhat embarrassing, but she thinks that she has learned from the situation. '½.s bad as everyone thinks probation is, it's good for the student," Jill said. "It's bad in a sense that it's sort of a stigma, but you're going to come out better in the e~d for it." According to Jill, peers contribute to how well you handle college life. "If you hang around with people who are conscious of their grades, you are going to be more conscious of them, too," Jill said. "My friends now are very supportive of one another. It's really very nice to have people like that as friends." Jill is grateful for this experience. "It has really helped me plan for the future," Jill said. "I want to get my masters and my Ph.D in psychology, and I want to become a doctor." ¡