Tuesday October 11, 2011
Volume CXXXII Issue 6
Embry-Riddle looking to stay on top Christopher Heale Guest Reporter
Every ten years the university is re-accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), who ensure that institutions under their jurisdiction meet standards established by the higher education community and address the needs of society and students. Within the last six years the accreditation process has required that universities create a plan to make a significant positive transformation to one aspect of undergraduate teaching. This plan is known as the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). The University has decided to meet this challenge head on and has announced its ambitious five year plan ‘Ignite’, the theme of which is research. The plan will span all three of ERAU’s campuses (Daytona, Prescott and Worldwide) and hopes to foster a spirit of discovery and learning in line with the President’s vision for the university. The plan is to be reviewed by visitors from the accrediting agency in April 2012, with the expectation that it will be launched by
the fall. The explicit goals of the Ignite program are to provide students with the ability to: -Rigorously define and articulate a research problem -Perform a multidisciplinary literature search and determine which information is reliable and relevant. -Describe an accepted research method and the rationale for using it. -Design an ethical course of action to solve the problem, with an emphasis on student integrity. -Reach conclusions based on the analysis and synthesis of empirical evidence. -Have the ability to communicate the results either written or orally. The underlying result will be that ERAU students leave the university with the ability to conduct first class research, either in teams or by themselves. This will provide them with an edge over other applicants when applying for industry jobs or preparing for Graduate school. “These skills will also extend beyond that of academics and apply to more general, everyday problems,” said Executive Vice President Dr. Heist. Ignite will
provide students with a more general ability to approach any problem they may face in life, and learn to tackle it in a logical, methodical and ethical way. One of the toughest questions that faced the university was how best to implement the program and achieve these goals without overloading students and staff. As well as how to measure the results and judge whether the program is a success. Aaron Clevenger has led the interdisciplinary group in coming up with a solution for the Daytona Beach campus. He expects there to be four main enhancements to the curriculum, the first of which will be for incoming students. Changes are going to be proposed to the general education classes including University 101, the freshman communication and the technical report writing classes. Six modules will be added including ethics, how to research through the library and how to identify reliable sources. Enhancements are also planned to the tutoring programs and the advising services available to students. Incoming students will also be introduced to an e-Portfolio
which will be used all the way from the University 101 class to their senior graduating year. As students go through their university careers any research projects, papers or extra-curricular work will be captured in this e-portfolio, and can ultimately be used as an official record of all projects and activities carried out at ERAU. This will provide a strong additional bolster to a resume for job applications and interviews after graduation. The 200 and 300 levels classes will be reviewed for areas which could utilize the e-portfolio. Whereas the concepts are introduced in the freshman level course, the sophomore and junior classes will put the concepts into practice and begin to build the e-portfolio. Professors will be able to advise, grade and sign off on all the projects which can be introduced to the portfolio. In senior year, every program on campus will have a way of demonstrating that they have mastery of the skills introduced by the Ignite program. This will be done through senior projects or Capstone courses in which all of the Ignite skills will be utilized. Involvement in Student orga-
nizations will also be rewarded and recognized by the Ignite program. Student organizations already conducting research were identified as an outstanding part of university life at ERAU and are already sponsored by a faculty member. There is a plan to capture any co-curricular work in a separate transcript which will be added to the e-portfolio. Staff and faculty members will also benefit from Ignite through opportunities for additional training and development and for increased opportunities for involvement in research and discovery. Workshops will be provided to expose staff to alternative ways of teaching other than traditional lecturing. Also the creation of forums will give teachers a place to share their best teaching methods and examples of what they feel has worked best in classes. Ignite will provide a platform to strengthen the all-round teaching quality. Another exciting development is the creation of the ‘Eagle Center for Innovation and Discovery’ (ECID). This is planned to be a dedicated undergraduate research center which will bring together fac-
ulty members and undergraduates in an attempt to foster and provide research opportunities for all undergraduates at ERAU. It will allow interdisciplinary work groups in which students can get involved in, or utilize expertise from areas other than their selected majors. It also allows faculty members to find interested undergraduates to help out and support their own research areas. ECID will also provide opportunities and support in grant writing with some funds being made available from the Ignite program to support student research. ECID also plans to aid in the publishing of student/faculty research projects with the possibility of creating its own undergraduate research journal. In addition ECID will provide a location to store all the information from any projects or research carried out at ERAU, thus allowing others to pick up and build upon previous year’s research. The aim of ECID can be summarized simply: to allow any interested student party a location to engage in world class research activities, in an attempt to create a culture of Innovation and Discovery at ERAU.
out across the map, the United States is their home. The month of October is used to remember and discover the diverse Hispanic community found coast to coast. Over the last three decades, the Hispanic population in the U.S. has experienced a tremendous growth spurt. According to Ohio State University and their Family and Consumer Sciences studies, 11% of the U.S. population, including the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico, identify themselves as Latino or Hispanic. The word Hispanic, once claimed as the title for the peoples of Spain and Portugal, is used by the federal government to entitle the diverse population of Spanish-speaking and ethnically Spanish peoples of our country. American culture is being incredibly influenced and changed by the Hispanic culture. Peoples from Spanishspeaking countries adapt to
Americanization while making America adapt to Hispanic characteristics. Hispanic influence can be found in food such as tacos, to Latin entertainers and everyday fashion. At Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the University Office of Diversity Initiatives and the Latin and Hispanic Organization combined their efforts to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. President Adriana Osequeda and vice-president James Kimmel of the organization
took the lead in creating ‘Hasta La Madrumgada’, the very first celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month at ERAU. The event included the attendance of an estimated 250 students, adults and performers. President Johnson and his wife both attended the event. Both Daytona Beach and Prescott introduced their campuses to various types of Spanish food and music. Adriana Osegueda, the President of the Latin and
Hispanic Organization, commented, “It was bigger than we expected, we really appreciated the support we received from the community for cultures in general.” Richard Stickney, the Director of the University Office of Diversity Initiatives, was impressed by the interest in Hispanic Heritage Month at ERAU. He reached out to those who attended, stating, “Thanks to the student body, they were the force behind the event.”
Campus celebrates Hispanic Heritage month
Karissa Hewitt
Staff Reporter In the United States, Hispanic Heritage Month recognizes and celebrates the culture and traditions of residents who trace their heritage to Mexico, Spain, Spanish-speaking Central and South American countries and the Caribbean. Though all Hispanic peoples in the United States are ethnically rooted from lands sprawled
Campus . . . . . . . . . . A2 Student Government . . . . . . .A3 Student Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Opinions . . . . . . . . . . . . . A6 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . C1 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C3 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C4
Will the world end in 2012? Ancient Maya revealed
No. 2 ranked Eagles bounce back to win
Rage: The video game - It’s all the rage!
Campus A2
Sports B2
Ent. Inside C2 PHOTO COURTESY ID SOFTWARE