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McMASTER UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER
THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2013 VOL. 83 NO. 28
Evaluating
McMaster Policy mandating publication of course reviews not being followed
Julia Redmond Assistant News Editor Any student trying to select their courses knows that it’s no easy task. People often seek out resources or reviews of potential classes, using advice from older students or online reviews to help them make their choices. But as it turns out, students should have had access to an even larger amount of course information all along. A McMaster University policy put in place in May 1997 stipulated that the course evaluations from each faculty should be made public—both for students and for faculty members, with the intention of “providing students with information that may help them choose their courses.” And yet, 16 years after the policy was put in place, students don’t seem to have access to these evaluations. Martin Dooley, a professor of Economics and Chair of the Joint Committee of the McMaster University Faculty Association and the University Administration explained that the policy hasn’t been followed for years. “We have a whole policy that’s been broken down in many, many ways,” he said. Dooley, as Chair of the committee, brought the years-old policy to the attention
of university administrators and faculty after discovering of his own accord that it wasn’t being followed. “I called the library to see about [the availability of a paper copy] on my own initiative,” he explained. “They told me they hadn’t kept this for at least five years, so clearly something was wrong.” The original version of the policy required that results of from each course evaluation, as well as the course statistics, be available to students in print through the University Library and the MSU, as well as online. Though the goal would be to have results of evaluations public, the system currently operates through an opt-in policy, in which each professor must give their approval before details are released. The responsibility for this is put on each Department Chair. Dooley explained that although he had filled out the form indicating his consent, the evaluations of his classes were not available. He was inspired to take a revised version of the policy to the attention of the Joint Committee, and then to the Senate, where it will be discussed in the coming weeks. POLICY, A4
Province caps tuition Fixating on phobias hike at 3 per cent Student groups not satisfied with increases above inflation Anqi Shen Online News Editor The provincial government announced a new tuition framework last Thursday that allows Ontario universities to increase tuition fees by an average of three per cent starting this year. Though the increase is down from the previous framework’s five per cent hike, groups including OUSA, CFS-Ontario and the MSU aren’t satisfied with any increases above inflation. “It is disappointing that the provincial government has not tied tuition to a more fundamentally fair rate of inflation,” said Huzaifa Saeed, VP (education) of the MSU in a release. “However, I respect the fact that the old framework was not continued, despite pressure from academic institutions to do just that.” The new tuition framework will be in place for four years, and the three per cent limit on tuition increases applies to most fulltime arts and science and college programs. The increase is above
Ontario’s average rate of inflation, which is two per cent over 10 years. Tuition for professional and graduate programs and highdemand college programs may to increase by up to five per cent, down from eight per cent. According to Saeed, the MSU will now divert its efforts to lobbying for more government investment in the financial aid system. Specifically, the MSU will advocate for eligibility expansion for the 30 off tuition grant and a lower debt cap on the Ontario Student Opportunity Grant. In a statement responding to the Province’s announcement, OUSA says the new framework “makes progress” toward a more affordable system but has not adopted key recommendations made by students. OUSA recommended last fall that the government freeze tuition for at least a year and increase per-student funding at the rate of inflation. CFS-Ontario recommended this past February that tuition fees be reduced by 30 per cent over the next three years.
INDEX Kathleen Wynne The media needs to stop dwelling on the Ontario premier’s personal life. More than sexuality, A8.
C/O WILL VAN ENGEN
Aissa Boodhoo-Leegsma Senior News Editor A movement called “Bringing an End to Facultyphobia,” initially spawned by reactions to a Silhouette Opinions article condemning Kipling Pranks as discriminatory, quickly picked up momentum in preparation for an inter-faculty event on April 3. But the event was not to be. Zachary Strong, Engineering student and Facebook event creator, explained how health and safety problems prevented the actual event from occurring. He hopes for a physical, planned event during the week of April 8. “It looks like the event is going to remain nebulous. It may not happen the way we envisioned it, but the level of discussion is there, so it’s something I’m looking forward to.”
Issue has been taken with the description of faculty stereotyping as a type of phobia. David Campbell, MSU VP (Administration), felt that “phobia is a bit overstated, simply because I think it compares it with homophobia and racial issues which go a lot deeper and have a lot of context to them.” Strong admits that this may not be the ideal word to describe the actions and behavior he has experienced or heard about second-hand. The initial Facebook event referenced ending “Engphobia,” but it was later renamed “Facultyphobia” in order to include the wide body of students who may feel discriminated against or mistreated on the basis of their faculty. ENGINEERING, A4
Best of student life Read our reviews of the top foods, drinks and entertainment from the past year. Best of, B1.
A charmed encounter A story from a Vampire Weekend fanboy That time I met, C8.