VOLUME 102, ISSUE 64
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THURSDAY GO NE ONLI NOW
MARCH 7, 2013
Getting around campus Sociology professor Sally Caldwell discusses the difficulties of walking around campus with a disability. To see the interview with Caldwell, go to UniversityStar.com
Texas State, ACC program to aid transfer students By Taylor Tompkins Assistant News Editor
A new co-enrollment program designed to help students benefit from university life at both Texas State and Austin Community College was announced Tuesday. The Pathway Program will allow students take one Texas State course and four courses at ACC simultaneously beginning in fall 2014, said University President Denise Trauth at Wednesday’s Faculty Senate meeting. Students would live in residence halls at Texas State and have access to campus services and events. Students who maintain a 2.25 cumulative GPA will be guaranteed full admission to complete their bachelor’s degrees at Texas State, according to the press release from ACC. “Rather than have (students) just go down the road to community college and completely cut over after two years, we want them to have a more blended experience so they can get to feel a part of Texas State and get to know what our expectations are,” Trauth said. Provost Eugene Bourgeois said between 200 and 300 students will be admitted to the program in its first year after being selected by Undergraduate Admissions. “We are getting them a little bit more integrated,” Bourgeois said. Trauth said the pilot program is similar to a successful partnership between Texas A&M University and Blinn Community College. Debra Feakes, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, said her department has tracked the progress of students transferring to Texas State from community colleges. Feakes said the students have a hard time keeping up with the university’s courses after transferring. The quality of core classes at the community college will not differ from those at Texas State. Adjunct professors will teach at both the university and the ACC Hays Campus, which will open in spring 2014, Bourgeois said. “The ultimate benefit of this is you are ensuring that they will get the four-year degree, but there won’t be that divide,” Trauth said.
Investigation of alleged robbery at gunpoint ongoing San Marcos police are investigating the alleged armed robbery of a Texas State student at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday on the 1300 block of N. LBJ Drive. The victim described the suspect as a black male in his early 20s with a medium build, standing at approximately 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 150 lbs, according to a campus-wide email from University News Service. The suspect was described as wearing all black clothing. According to the University Police Department website, students are reminded to be cautious and aware of their surroundings, especially at night, and to avoid walking alone if possible. Anyone with information regarding the crime should call the San Marcos Police Department at 512-753-2108. -Report compiled by Amanda Ross, news reporter
BURDENSOME BENEFITS Fiscal ye
ar 2013
Fiscal year 2012
$9,748,2 82 $13,518 ,790
Fall 2012: 1,600 students attended school under the Hazlewood Act Spring 2013: 1,750 students attend school under the Hazlewood Act
Increase of students on Hazlewood, Legacy programs strain university budget By Xander Peters News Reporter Texas State is financially responsible for the education of a growing number of veterans and their dependents, leading the university to ask lawmakers for help with covering their climbing costs. Veterans and their dependents or spouses can receive tuition-free credit hours under the Hazlewood Act, which costs Texas State roughly $13 to $13.5 million in exemption expenses this year, said Provost Eugene Bourgeois. Veterans are eligible for 150 tuitionexempt credit hours if they are Texas residents who served at least 181 days of active military duty and were honorably discharged, according to the Ha-
By Xander Peters News Reporter
READ ACCeSSiBiLiTY, PAGE 3
Total Ha zlewood :
Veteran exempt ions: $3,246,2 40 Depend spouse ent or exempt io $6,416,7ns: 72 milli on Total H azlewo od $9,662,9: 61
Sociology professor seeks better campus accessibility It takes more effort for Sally Caldwell to navigate Texas State’s hills than it does for an average student. Caldwell scans her ID at the basement door of the Alkek Library to avoid taking the stairs or ramps on her way to the LBJ Student Center. She then rides an elevator up to the second floor of the library. Despite these shortcuts, she still has to make part of the hike to the Student Center. The sociology associate professor must take these alternative routes on a daily basis because she was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease seven years ago. The illness causes lung flare-ups, affecting her ability to breathe. The constant possibility of her disease flaring up is what brought Caldwell to the Feb. 18 Office of Disability Services meeting. There she requested that benches be placed in the doorways of buildings throughout campus. Caldwell is one of multiple members of the Texas State community who has
Veteran exempt ions: $3,770,5 Depend 08 exempt ent or spouse ions:
Carlos Valdez, Assistant Photo Editor
Sally Caldwell, associate professor in the College of Liberal Arts, uses services from ODS to take alternative routes across campus because of her chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
zlewood Act. Dependents and spouses of eligible veterans can receive the exempt hours if they are at least 25 years old and make satisfactory academic progress, under the Legacy amendment to the Hazlewood Act. Alex Stamatis, Veteran Affairs administrative assistant, said the cost of the exemptions has nearly tripled since the 2009 adoption of the Legacy amendment. The university had 1,750 students attending school under the Hazlewood Act last year, the highest number in the state. This cost Texas State a total of $9.7 million in exempt hours and fees, said Bill Nance, vice president for Finance and Support Services. “It has become quite a heavy burden on the schools because they don’t get any money from these students and
for the classes,” Stamatis said. “So, it is something that has been brought up to the state legislature, to find some funding for the Hazlewood students.” The spike in costs is causing Texas State administrators to approach state legislators for help with filling the tuition gap. Chancellor Brian McCall testified before a state senate finance committee Wednesday about the impact of the Hazlewood Act on the Texas State University System, particularly Texas State. “I think there is a lot of surprise in the state about Hazlewood,” said President Denise Trauth at a Faculty Senate meeting. “It’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, how did this happen?’ So, there seems to be a receptivity.”
READ HAZLeWOOD, PAGE 3
Budget limits counseling solutions By Taylor Tompkins Assistant News Editor Concerns about students being turned away from the Counseling Center were addressed by administration during Wednesday’s Faculty Senate meeting. University President Denise Trauth and Provost Eugene Bourgeois told senators the high turn-away rate and extensive number of students calling the Counseling Center for initial appointments need to be discussed. Faculty senators and administrators came to the conclusion new technology to handle incoming calls to the Counseling Center would solve problems without the need for more funding. “We realize the budget is very tight,” said Debra Feakes, Faculty Senate vice chair. “We realize that staff numbers aren’t going to increase.” Bourgeois said the Counseling Center is seeing a similar issue to what the Financial Aid office had in the past. The “flood” of calls received early in the morning for initial screenings could be delegated to an automated system, he said. So, people can discern whether they need one-on-one help. This way the phone lines wouldn’t be bogged down, he said. Trauth said the Counseling Center has in-
creased its full-time clinical staff since 2008 by approximately five employees. Trauth said in the scheme of things the Counseling Center is doing “pretty good.” Trauth said there is an increase in stressed students who think they require one-on-one counseling. The distinction between students with mental health issues and those who are distressed needs to be made early on in the counseling process, Trauth said. “There is a crisis point in these students’ lives no matter where we scale it,” Feakes said. “Those students come to our classes and are very distraught in most cases.” Trauth said distressed students should be sent to group counseling sessions more quickly, which technology could assist. “Are we using the most up-to-date, stateof-the-art protocols to get students quickly diagnosed?” Trauth said. Barbara Covington, School of Nursing senator, said students aren’t getting the same services at Round Rock as on the main campus. Covington said she is unsure when there will be a tipping point where the services will be equal at both campuses. Faculty senators said Texas State should look at schools across the nation to see if the scheduling process being used in the Counseling Center can be more decentralized.