friday,march6, 1987
cabrinicollege,radnor,pa. 19087
vol. xxxiii,no. 17
Validityof coursefeesquestioned by Debbie Murphy
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Every year at the budget committee's annual review meeting, the subject of course feei; arises. And every year, the committee has a dilemma on their hands: "Should we keep the course fees as they stand, or should we eliminate them and raise the tuition for all students?" · · ''The committee and I wince when we hear the word 'fees,"' Dr. Joseph Romano, vice president for academic affairs, said. "We always end up discussing whether we should drop course fees and raise the tuition for all students, or keep the fees as they are," he said. . According to Romano, at the annual budget review meeting, Cabrini's fee structure is compared with the fee structures of other colleges. This is done not only to ensure that course fees at Cabrini are not too high, but also to see if all fees could possibly be absorbed into one line fee. Romano said that while the budget committee, the business office and all others involved, would like to merge course fees with tuition and have just one lump sum to deal with, the issue of fairness has always prevented the committee from making such a decision. "It wouldn't be fair for students in less expensive majors to have to pay for students in majors which require many additional fees," Romano said. "We're also never sure what amount to charge that would spread the added cost evenly over all students," he said. One of the biggest arguments against course fees arises from individual department members. Although they understand the need for course fees, many do not see an increase in their department budgets as the number of students paying course fees increases. ''When the language fee was established by the former dean of students, she made it clear that the extra money would not belong to the department," Helene Hennigan, chairperson, language department, said. "Our department doesn't get a thing out of language fees and they aren't reflected in the department's budget," she said. "Though we might establish that there's a need for a lab fee, we don't see the money students pay for taking labs," Gerald Satlow, assistant professor, computer science, said. "I don't know how much our department fees are because I never see them," Dr. Jerome Zurek, chairperson, English and communications, said. "Course enrollments are increasing, but the department budget stays the same," he said. "Wouldn't it be nice if departments could use the money the school gets from lab fees to buy things the department really needs?" Satlow asked. According to Romano, departments who charge fees do get the money, though indirectly, from the college's general operating budget. "Everyone draws from the general operating budget," Romano sall!. -th maintain consistency, "11fees go into the same general operating budget. Departments don't get a dollar for dol,ar payback, but they do get the fees back indirectly through individual department budgets," he said. In response to departments who think increased fees should be reflected in their department budgets, Romano said that because the budget committee doesn't say "we're going to cut you" to departments who aren't bringing in enough students, departments in turn, should not demand increased budgets for increased course fees. Another reason departments may not see an increase in their department budgets is because the money simply isn't there. According to Romano, regardless of the amount students pay each year in course fees, the coll~e makes no money from them. Tuition, fees and other sources ofrevenue cover only approximately 60 to 65 percent of the cost of educating Cabrini students. The rest must come from benefactors and other outside sources, he said.
Mathanxiety:
Nearly every department at Cabrini, from biology to education, charges fees for specified courses. While the reasons for these fees vary, most fees cover the cost of using, repairing and replacing departmental equipment and supplies. "Lab fees cover the cost of materials for the lab, like microscopes, animals and chemicals," Anna Kruse, chairperson, biology department, said. "Fees are also pu_ttoward repairing and replacing lab equipment and supplies," she said. • "The idea of language fees is to cover the cost of tapes that have to be purchased," Hennigan said. "Every time we change books, we change tapes. When we do that, additional copies of the tapes must be made," she said. Education majors must pay fees for specified courses as well. According to Judy Webber, secretary, education, these fees, which are charged during sophomore, junior and senior field experience courses, cover the cost of materials in the education resource center which may be needed in lesson planning or other projects. Webber also said that education majors are charged an additional testing fee• 'l take the National Teacher's Exam. This test is required to be taken by all education majors. Students are not charged for the test until it is administered. Student opinions toward course fees vary. Some aren't even aware that they are payin~ fees for courses such as language or computer science. Many see the need for course fees but only for certain courses. Others think course fees should be restricted to specific majors or included in overall tuition costs.
Cancunherewe come
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Tracey Miller, Pam Esposito, Kathy Hibbard and Michelle Dahl, juniors, are getting ready to celebrate Spring in Cancun, Mexico .. The group will be staying at the Sheraton, on the beach, in Cancun where they will spend four days in the beautiful and WARMsunlight, splashing in the _At!~ntk:and swimming up to a bar right in the pool! Happy Vacation! i(photoby Debbie Ferrar) .. ··- ---- ---•·
Relaxedatmosphereleadsto learning by Jim Steffler
"You're nailing me to the cross, you're nailing me to the cross," Sister Mary Angelo, St. Rose of Lima elementary school, cried repeatedly while flinging herself against the blackboard in front of a fourth-grade math class. "We were at the blackboard when I was caught cheating from this girl next to me," Kathy Hogan, sophomore, said. Following her outburst, Angelo proceeded to gather her coat and books and walked out the door, only to leave behind an upset classroom, not to mention a terrified little girl. For Hogan, Angelo's words of frustration have left her with a seemingly indelible anxiety-math anxiety. Like any malady, math anxiety aftects people in varying degrees. According to Barbara Rubin, assistant director of the Center for Academic Reinforcement, this is no different from any other anxiety that human beings may feel in different situations. "You're all too familiar with the outward signs," Rubin said, "increased heart rate, sweaty palms, pains, headaches, etc. Maybe you've felt this way before a final exam or a 'hot date'." Rubin noted that this is perfectly normal. In fact, she said, it is essential.
"It's good for the person to experience anxiety at this level. It gets the person aroused, psyched-up," Rubin said. This occurs when the brain dumps chemicals, like adrenaline, into the bloodstream. It is when the bloodstream is overflowing with these chemicals that anxiety can become harmful to the person. Such is the case with math anxiety and, according to Rubin, it is a significant prob1em everywhere, not exclusively at Cabrini. ,The causes of this anxiety are as varied as lthe victims themselves. Besides humiliation at an early age, over-emphasis on getting the "right" answer and being forced to .work in isolation, many students have a considerable amount of time pressure to deliberate under. Students learn soon enough that if they can't get the answer as quickly as everyone e~se,then they simply aren't good at math. According to Sheila Tobias, well-known expert on math anxiety, "Until teachers recognize that they're handicapping stu 1 dents by forcing them to think while racing the clock, mathematics learning will-contin ue to be a fearsome and negative :experience." "I was never told that it's all right to not understand, to ask questions and to be slow," Hogan said. "I can remember being slapped across the fingers with a pen and having chalk thrown at me for making a mistake or asking a question."
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"If I could go back, I would survey math courses in grammar school and correct those things that the teachers did to me!" Hogan said. "Those teachers who make the effort to eliminate or at least reduce the number of stressful situations in their math programs will not only be helping their students to become better math learners, they'll be helping future adults to be more confident, capable math performers," Tobias said. Last semester, a new course was offered at Cabrini. General College Math 112, in addition to General College Math 113 and 114, has been added to the curriculum. These are taken primarily by those students wishing to fulfill a general education requirement in math. According to Diane Szilier, lecturer of mathematics, the idea behind the 112 course is to prepare the student for the 113 course, and, at the same time, deal with the extremely anxious student who hasn't had a great deal of success. The course is developmental. A great portion is basic- skills-oriented with some algebra involved, whereas Math 113 contains nothing beyond the elementary algebra level, and emphasizes business applications. For Lou Monaco, sophomore, who contends that math is his worst subject, Math 112has given him some confidence that he never had before.
"Naturally, I'm not inclined toward math," onaco said. "I'm more inclined toward English and mass media. The teachers in grammar school and high school weren't willing to put forth that extra effort, unlike here at Cabrini." Monaco still admits that ifhe didn't have to take math as a general college requirement, he wouldn't. He is content with doing average work in his math courses. "But," Monaco said, "maybe ifI had have received that extra help earlier, I might have more initiative to go for a higher grade now." Like many developmental courses, the success of Math 112 is measured by the amount of student participation, both in class and out of class. "Until a student can ask for help, I don't feel that the math anxiety problem can be addressed," Szilier said. "The subject can be taught only if the student gives as much as he or she possibly can." "I've seen a significant amount of questioning outside of class," Szilier said. This is important"because it reflects the relaxed atmosphere that Math 112 attempts to generate, and, as Szilier pointed out, it shows that students are able to do it. This semester Szilier is teaching Math 113. Many of the students that had Math 112 last semester are in the class. Szilier said she has noted a marked improvement. more MATH ANXIETY on 6