UA11/1 on Campus, Vol. 9, No. 2 WKU University Relations

Western Kentucky University TopSCHOLAR® WKU Archives Records WKU Archives 3-1999 UA11/1 On Campus, Vol. 9, No. 2 WKU University Relations Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/dlsc_ua_records Part of the Higher Education Administration Commons, Journalism Studies Commons, Mass Communication Commons, Organizational Communication Commons, Public Relations and Advertising Commons, and the Social Influence and Political Communication Commons Recommended Citation WKU University Relations, "UA11/1 On Campus, Vol. 9, No. 2" (1999). WKU Archives Records. Paper 4410. http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/dlsc_ua_records/4410 This Other is brought to you for free and open access by TopSCHOLAR®. It has been accepted for inclusion in WKU Archives Records by an authorized administrator of TopSCHOLAR®. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ... VOL. 9, NO.2' MARCH 1999 iii WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY PUBLICATION FOR FACU LTY, STAFF AND FRIENDS OF WKU raking the Classroom Across the Commonwealth \ Associated Press LEXINGTON, Ky.-Kentucky plans to take a hig step into the world of online education this fall to take the classroom to more people. The stale's Commonwealt h Vir tual Un iversity, an $18 million under taking that involves half the state's public and pri vate colleges, is on a fasl track to opening for business. Online education is a largely un tested world that barely existed five years ago. Its main goal is delivering a college education to people whose .. work and lifestyles keep them from enrolling at a traditional campus. Stale officials are banking on the • • • virtual university as a big part of hav • , ing a more educated population. • H It is dear that too many Kentuck· ians have too little education beyond hig h school," said Gordon Davies, lot programs. ter fo r Higher Education Management president of the Kentucky Coundl on "I don't think we have ever seen Systems. Postsecondary Education. colleges working so well togeth er," Ed uca tion leaders say Kentucky is Todd sa id . entering the market at a good time. Most virtual or online universities "We ha ve spent a lot of ti me look are expansions of colleges' existi ng ing at what other organizations are Vir.tu.al re.al.i.ty n Computer Sci. distance-learning programs--in which doing," Todd sa id. "We have the A computer simulation of a real or imagi students may take classes via video chance to learn fro m their mista kes." tapes or sa tellite feeds, but occasion Davies said the deta ils will deter nary system that enables a user to perform ally go to campus to ta ke a class or two. mine the CVU's success. Most Kentucky public insti tutions He recalled a former g raduate operations on the simulated system and already offer some courses through student's paper on virtual universities. shows the effect in real time. interacti ve television or the Internet. The student had to navigate through UK already offers some grad uate de a dozen Web sites at one online uni Webster's New Collegiate Dictionanj grees entirely through interac ti ve tele versity to enro ll in a single class. vision. "It's critica l that Ke ntucky avoid But, by most accounts, virtual uni such pitfa lls," Da vies sa id . versities are an untested way of edu "This has the potentia l to do great This fa ll, the CVU will offer a lim associate degrees electronical ly. cating students. thi ngs fo r access to post-secondary ited number of classes from the state's And in December, the counciJ ap "Most of the virtual universities education," Daviessaid . "But if it's not public and pri vate colleges and uni proved the fi rst CVU budget- nearly are so new that it's hard to determi ne student-fri endly and easy to naviga te, versities, using the In ternet and inter· $18 million for the next two years. how successfu l they are," said Dennis no one will use it." active television. In some cases, stu· The budget includes money for Jones, president of the Na tional Ce n- dents will not even ha ve to go to a col· support sta ff to help students, for tech lege campus to obtain a degree. nology upgrades and for the training "The virtu al university begins to of professors who redesign classes to make education accessible to all who work with the technology. wa nt it," Da vies sa id . The fi rst CVU programs include a WKU President Gary Ransdell serves as a mem The CVU was part of Gov. PauJ firefighting-certi fica te p rogram, ber of the Distance Learning Advisory CommiHee of Patlan's 1997 higher·education·reform courses fo r fut ure li brarians, and the Council on Postsecondary Education. act, which restructu.red the state'ssys. master's programs in special educa A report to the WKU Board of Regents from Pro- tem of post-secondary education. Lost tion and speech pathology. vost and Vice President for Academic AHairs Barbara in the debate of removing the state's Ed ucation officials lout the CVU community college system fro m the as an example of how higher educa Burch said, "At the first system-wide Faculty Develop Uni versity of Kentucky, the idea of a tion should work in Kentucky. ment Conference in Lexington, Ky., in November, virtual university drew li llI e comment "There is a remarkable level of Western had more faculty invited to present than or criticism. collabora tion and cooperation among any other university in the state (nine out of 3S par For the last year and a half, the the state's colleges and universities, ticipants), and these faculty received many acco- council has been moving at breakneck both public and private," sa id Lexing lades. speed to get the CVU off the ground. ton businessman Lee Todd, a council Mary Beth Susma n recently was member who has guided the CVU's "It is obvious that the (VU and the potential of hired as the CVU chief executive. She early stages. distance learning has profound implications for was president of the Colorado Elec Nearl y half of Ihe state's more Western, U she said. tronic Community College in Denver, than 50 public and pri vate co lleges are which offers all the required classes for contributing to at least one of ni ne pi- ON CAMPUS WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY MARCH 1999 Board of Regents Meeting: Sprinklers a High Priority OnCampus The Western Kentucky University erate. Even with the increase, he said reate degree programs in interdis Board of Regents at its quarterly meet he expected Western to retain the sec ciplinary early childhood educa On Campus is a publication for ing Jan. 29 approved a plan to install ond-lowest residence hall fee rate tion. The programs will be sub sprinklers in several high-priority resi among Kentucky's public universities. mitted to the Council on the Western community, dence halls over the next seven years. In other business, the board: Postsecondary Education. Under the plan, the University produced by Ihe offices of * Administered the oath of office to * Approved the purchase of 30 acres would fund the installation of sprin adjacent to Barren County High klers in nine halls, along with bonds new faculty regent Mary Ellen Communications and Miller. School in Glasgow to become the to fund a $3.5 million renovation of site of the South Regional Publicalions . another hall, with an $85 per semester * Approved a $15 increase in man Postsecondary Education Center. increase in residence hall fees begin datory student fees for full-time The land, appraised at $300,000, .~ , ning in the fall 1999 semester. The five students, including a $10 increase will be purchased for $150,000. .. for student centers. halls that remain without sprinklers The project, approved by the 1998 Office of Communicatians will be replaced or renovated, WKU * Approved a post-tenure review Kentucky General Assembly, will President Gary Ransdell said. policy that calls for a comprehen house the WKU-Glasgow campus Sheila Conway Eison, Editor Dr. Ransdell said it was necessary sive review of tenured faculty ev and will be a joint venture be to increase the fees because the con ery five years. tween WKU and the Kentucky struction and operation of residence * Approved associate and baccalau- Community and Technical Col halls depends on the income they gen- lege System. Office of Publications Jennifer Asbury, Designer Tom Meacham, Director AMessage from Your Staff Regent 'i Send items to On Campus, The followi ng is the f irst of regular ship to request that the auditing of columns to appear in OnCa mpus, written classes be reinstated to the Faculty / Van Meter Hall, Room 204 or by the W KU faculty and staff represen ta Sta ff scholarship policy. I hope that e·mail [email protected] tives on the university Board of Regen ts. these two groups can work together in the fu ture on other issues. Some the I'd like to thank On Campus for giv Council has taken up are: raises for ing me this opportunity to touch base part-time employees, employee ser with the campus community on a regu vice awards and electing new mem la r basis. I want to be sure that every bers in the spring. I can tell you that one knows how to reach me if you are the Council members work hard to so inclined. I am no longer working for represent the staH well and that the been mentioned as a possible outcome.

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