the review washburn university
The Lady Blues advance to the playoffs. Find out how you can win $20 picking tournament games. Sideliner, Page 12 Serving Washburn University since 1897
WWW.WASHBURNREVIEW.ORG • (785) 670-2506 • 1700 S.W. College • topeka, kan. 66621
volume 136, Issue 12 • wednesday, November 18, 2009
Faculty senate votes, A transfer made success week advances in cyber heaven Angel platform receives praise
Josh King WASHBURN REVIEW Online courses are a big at Washburn University. Of the 6,652 students announced by Washburn University as the total enrollment in the fall 2009 semester, 3,610 of those are enrolled in at least one online course. Type those numbers into a calculator and the results are a bit mind boggling, 54 percent of Washburn students have taken at least some portion of their learning to the Internet. Perhaps even more incredible is the fact that many of those students signed into Washburn’s new online course management system, the Angel Learning Management Suite, for the first time this semester. That’s because last Spring Washburn made a decision to go shopping. Perhaps it would be better said that the University had to go shopping. The outdated WebCT, not updated at Washburn in several years, was being phased out by its new owner Blackboard Inc. Though Washburn’s contract with WebCT didn’t end until this September it was time to move on, which is where the shopping came in. “Through several committees, sub-committees, references and vendor demonstrations we whittled our choices down to four products: Blackboard, Angel, eCollege, and Moodle,” said Stuart Murphy, online deal
Josh Rouse WASHBURN REVIEW
Washburn University is one step closer to having a Success Week. Amidst heavy debate Monday afternoon, the proposal to make Success Week a university policy passed under secret vote by the faculty senate by a vote of 17-5, with one vote abstained. The proposal must be presented before general faculty early next semester, however, before it can be passed as policy. The proposal was met with some trepidation by faculty from the fine arts areas of study, and concerns about the Success Week affecting end of year concerts, exhibits and performances were addressed. At one point, music department chair Ann Marie Snook said the new policy would be “crippling” to the music department. Section C of the proposal, however, states that such fears are unsubstantiated. “Section C. If major course assignments must be given during Suc-
cess Week, they should be due no later than the Wednesday of Success Week. Exceptions include class presentations by students and semester-long projects such as a project assignment in lieu of a final. Participation and attendance grades are acceptable.” As part of the policy, which WSGA president Garrett Love said was inspired by the University of South Florida’s dead week policy, professors may also petition to the department chair if they feel the policy infringes on their ability to effectively teach. There were also some amendments made to the proposal during the meeting. The first was a proposed removal of two paragraphs from the policy, which Love accepted as a friendly amendment, meaning it did not have to go before a vote. The following is the removed excerpt. “Instructors are to be reminded that the majority of students are enrolled in multiple courses in the semester, and widespread violation of this faculty handbook policy can
cause the workload of students to be excessive as the students begin preparing for their finals examinations.” Students should be reminded that their primary reason for attending college should be their curriculum and students have the responsibility of studying throughout the entire semester. The second amendment was made to a paragraph concerning student organizations scheduling meetings during Success Week. In the proposal, it states no student organization registered with the Student Activities and Greek Life Office may hold meetings or sponsor events without the expressed permission of designated staff of SAGL. The amendment also gives the department chair or dean of the organization’s department the power to allow meetings or events to that organization.
Josh Rouse is a junior mass media major. Reach him at joshua.rouse@washburn. edu
education coordinator at Washburn. The eventual winner was Angel and in the January 2009 meeting of the Board of Regents, it was approved to license the product from Angel Learning, Inc. Murphy said that the contract goes through February 2012. Unfortunately the purchase wasn’t cheap. The minutes from that 2009 meeting showed a motion passed to spend $117,700 on “the purchase and implementation of the Angel Learning Management System to include year one offsite hosting.” Thankfully it would appear that money was well spent. With each online hour bringing with it an extra $57, the university should be able to recoup its expenditures fairly quickly. In fact, if even half of those 3,610 student accounts are filled by students taking a three hour class, the university’s coffers are more than $300,000 richer than if those same students had enrolled in traditional courses. However outside of the somewhat unexplained surcharge students grin and bear for online courses, response toward the new online system has been fairly positive. “I think it works well,” said Jessica Polk, a Spanish major at Washburn. “I think it’s easier to get around in Angel than it is on some of Washburn’s other sites. It’s more
54% of Washburn students have taken an online class.
Please see ANGEL page A3
Seniors visit Washburn Lauren Eckert WASHBURN REVIEW
how it allowed her to get more information on the Social Work program, the department that she and eight other students were interested in for their major. “I think it was really good for us to learn about the program and speak with an actual professor in the department to see if that’s actually what we want to do,” Lemmon said. “Everything that we have done today has been very informative and necessary.” Attendees finished off the day with an information fair, with representatives from 12 different programs and services, lunch, and a tour of campus. Overall, feedback from those in attendance was positive, claiming that Senior Day was both interesting and informative.
Lauren Eckert is a junior mass media major. Reach her at lauren.eckert@ washburn.edu.
Photo by Matt Wilper, Washburn Review
Senior Day: Potential Washburn students take a tour around campus. Senior Day, held on Nov. 13, was a chance for local seniors to learn more about Washburn.
Patrick Dowgherty develops a sculpture on campus to preview his upcoming show entitled “Stickworks.”
A8
A3
Get free tickets for Friday’s game in the WSGA office.
sideliner
WU-OMEP teamed with Toys for Tots to help local children in need.
a&e
news & opinion
More than 125 high school seniors filtered through the Memorial Union with their parents and guests Friday, Nov. 13 to check in for the second Senior Day held this semester. Kasey Strube, a senior at Jackson Heights High School said that overall, he was very impressed with how the day was set up. “It has been a really positive experience so far, and I am really impressed with the University and all the people who have been involved today,” Strube said. Strube, like many of the other seniors in attendance, is considering attending Washburn University next fall, but has not yet made a firm decision. “I’m still checking things out,” said Strube. “But getting to know
some of the faculty and different programs that are offered here definitely makes me consider Washburn.” After registration at 8 a.m. and a short welcome 30 minutes later, the students were walked through the general admissions process, followed by a presentation on scholarship information. The students were then broken into small groups to attend concurrent sessions, where they could attend a real class, get information on financial aid, learn about getting involved on campus, or receive information about living on campus. Students and their parents and guests then went their separate ways, as parents explored some of the academic expectations, and students headed off to various departments that they were potentially interested in. Destiny Lemmon, a high school senior from Marais des Cygnes Valley High School in Osage County appreciated how the day was organized and
Sideliner 12
Congratulations Graduates! Fall 2009 graduation is just three weeks away! Stop by the Washburn Bookstore for all of your graduation needs.