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ranger Serving San Antonio College and the Alamo Colleges
An independent forum of free voices
Volume 91 Issue 8 • Nov. 7, 2016
210-486-1773 • Single copies free
Final Exam Schedule Times and dates for final exams listed inside. Page 3
online now Palo Alto College requests to explore programs in healthcare ASL Glee Club brings performing arts to the deaf community
Degrees awarded limited Students can earn only one A.A. and one A.S. degree from each of the Alamo Colleges. By Wally Perez
gperez239@student.alamo.edu
Ouch Kinesiology sophomores Caris Cook and Elisabeth Crane and biology sophomore Katelyn Norris dodge balls thrown at them at the same time
during the dodgeball tournament sponsored by the K Club, the college’s kinesiology club, Oct. 27 in Candler. Read the story online. Deandra Gonzalez
SACSCOC recommends autonomy Special site visit team identifies district policy and college autonomy as concerns. By Kyle R. Cotton kcotton11@student.alamo.edu
All three colleges undergoing reaccreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges have received a review letter identifying seven recommendations to address in regard to their autonomy from the district. The special site visit committee composed of members of SACSCOC and this college’s peers in the southeastern U.S. made recommendations to address the branding of the colleges, grade-point average calculation in regard to transferring, and board policies dictating curriculum and employment contracts being with the district and not the individual colleges. Northwest Vista College received its let-
ter Oct. 27 and St. Philip’s and this college received their letters Oct. 31. Chancellor Bruce Leslie told The Ranger Wednesday in a phone interview he was not immediately concerned about the reaccreditation of the three colleges and the pending accrediting of Northeast Lakeview College. In the letters, the committee says it is unclear whether the institutions are autonomous. “For example, in all branded materials, Alamo Colleges is the predominant focus and the college name is secondary. In other examples, the college is omitted completely and the focus is on Alamo Colleges,” the letter says. The letter continues, noting that it is not clear who is conferring degrees. “It was unclear whether the entity conferring the degree was the institution or the district,” the letter says, referencing the commencement addresses of each of the
college presidents. This also extends to documentation such as memos, contracts, guidelines, manuals, agendas and consortia agreements. The committee also recommended that the institutions demonstrate that faculty is responsible for curriculum. “There are indications that the board, through board policy, has required certain content (‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’) to be included in the curriculum. This is stipulated in Board Policy B.9.1. It appears that this bypassed the faculty review process,” the report said. The board has spent millions on FranklinCovey materials and is requiring EDUC 1300, Learning Frameworks, which contains Covey materials, to be included in pathways being developed as advising guides at all colleges. The visiting committee also found the
See SACSCOC, Page 7
Getting a bus to NLC is not easy District says whether the college receives bus service is up to city. By James Dusek
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
The lack of public transportation going to Northeast Lakeview College has long been an inconvenience for students and potential students who do not have easy access to private transportation. “My biggest concern is that as Northeast Lakeview College becomes active, the lack of a bus stop will limit the amount of students,” said student trustee Emmanuel Nyong, biology sophomore at Palo Alto College. Nyong’s concern is shared by philosophy sophomore Richard Wells, president of NLC’s Student Government Association. Nyong and Wells worry that
as the college gets closer to accreditation, some students from within the city will be unable to access the college. Wells also said the campus access fee paid by all students includes VIA bus usage, which means NLC students aren’t getting the full use of the fee. Getting a VIA bus going to the college isn’t as easy as it sounds, however, according to John Strybos, associate vice chancellor of facilities. He said he’s been trying for years to get bus service out there. Strybos’ headache stems in part from the fact that the Alamo Colleges cannot afford to establish bus service to the college. VIA operates in cities that pay for the service with a sales tax. Live Oak and Universal City — the cities the college lies in — chose not to allocate their
Journalism freshman Robert Aguinaga gets ready to board VIA bus Route 21 after traveling 1.7 miles by bike from Northeast Lakeview to Converse. Aguinaga lives near Sea World and rides two hours to get to Northeast Lakeview. Josue Hernandez taxpayer money to VIA, spending that money instead on emergency risk and economic development demand, Strybos said.
“It’s up to the city of Converse and the city of Universal City.” Strybos said. Read the full story online.
Students will now be limited to one Associate of Arts and/or one Associate of Science degree from each of the Alamo Colleges, according to the summary of actions from a meeting Oct. 17 of presidents and vice chancellors. According to the summary, to earn both an A.A. and an A.S. from one of the Alamo Colleges, the student must earn an additional 15 hours of transfer coursework that was not part of the initial degree. For example, if a student earns an A.A. and wants to obtain an A.S. afterward, the student would need 15 additional hours of transfer courses not obtained in pursuit of the A.A. degree. This means students who receive both degrees at one institution can no longer receive another at the same institution. They could, however, opt to complete those 15 extra hours at their home college and take at least 30 hours at another college to earn a degree from a second college. This is something they may not want. Chancellor Bruce Leslie said the reason behind the action was a discussion that included the effort made to ensure students complete their degree goal. Leslie said there has been criticism over some private-for-profit institutions, some of which have been fly-by-night. Over the years they’ve been known as degree mills, where people send in a check and receive a degree in the mail, he said. Dr. Jo Carol Fabianke, vice chancellor of academic success, said this decision was made in relation to the end of defined majors, which was implemented this semester for first-time students. “We want to make sure every course you take here will go toward your degree,” Fabianke said. Fabianke said she wasn’t concerned about students who might want multiple degrees. “We’re not encouraging students to stick around here, it’s like what you would do for kids out of high school,” Fabianke said. “We want you to go on and do something else — get a four-year degree.” Fabianke said new students are now being asked what they plan to get a degree in, and if they plan to transfer to a fouryear institution, they will be advised to take hours that will count to that specific degree. “We want to make sure we’re managing this in a way that maintains the integrity of the Alamo Colleges degree and certificates so there isn’t a perception that a student can get four or five degrees without doing anything extra,” Leslie said. In an email, President Robert Vela said, “The decision will help our students stay on track to fulfill the requirements for their intended pathway.”