CWU Board of Trustees Approves 14 Percent Tuition Increase

BY ANTHONY JAMES | Snr. News Reporter

The Central Washington University Board of Trustees voted seven-to-one Friday to raise in-state undergraduate tuition by 14 percent for one year, adding $685 to a full-time resident undergraduate student’s bill. Tuition for the 2010-11 school year will rise to roughly $5,600.

The board's vote was near unanimous, with student Trustee Brent Weisel as the only dissenter.

Under current projections of 9,700 full-time students during the 2010-11 school year, the increase will bring in more than $6.6 million in additional revenue. Bill Vertrees, interim vice president of business and financial affairs, said the number is low and is likely to be exceeded.

Weisel said he voted against the measure in the best interest of students.

“Bottom line, something needed to represent affordability for students and I did that, but it’s a very complex animal and I’m confident in our leadership team,” Weisel said.

More information to come.

Bill 6562 dead, CWU could face $5 - 6 million in cuts

BY ANTHONY JAMES | Sr. News Reporter

Students at Washington’s public universities scored two major victories last week as a tuition setting bill died in committee while another aimed at increasing financial aid received a second chance.

Senate Bill 6562, which passed the Senate in a late-night vote Feb. 15, failed to make its way out of the House Higher Education Committee. Before the Senate vote, Meagan Sharp, legislative assistant to committee chair Rep. Deb Wallace, D-Vancouver, said the chances of the bill making its way out of the House committee were slim.

The bill would have allowed the boards of trustees at the University of Washington, Washington State University and Western Washington University to set their own tuition increases up to 14 percent annually. Central Washington University would not have been affected if the bill passed.

Senate Bill 6409, which would redirect some lottery revenue to financial aid programs, received a second chance as the Senate Ways and Means Committee passed the bill on Feb. 24. The Senate Rules Committee must now hear the bill before it moves to the House.

Both houses released their budgets last week and will have deep cuts for Central. The Senate proposal would cut $5 million in state funding while the House version would cut $1.4 million plus another one-time cut of $4.93 million from the building fee revenue account.

According to John McKean, Associated Students of Central Washington University - Board of Directors legislative liaison, the House budget would cut some state need grant money while the Senate proposal would not. McKean said the Senate budget plan also relies on an increase in the state sales tax, which is running into opposition.

The student efforts in Olympia, McKean said, were instrumental in letting Senate Bill 6562 die in committee, but with the regular session ending March 11, there’s little left to be done.

“We’ve done what we can do,” McKean said. “Right now it’s just a waiting game.”

Wired classrooms: Professors, students benefit from the “clicker”

BY ALYSSA SCHULTZ | Staff Reporter

Central Washington University students in science classes are seeing an unusual requirement beyond textbooks. Commonly known as a “clicker,” this tool is making its way into more classrooms. The clicker, a small remote control, allows teachers to add topic-based questions to their lecture slides for students to answer for points.

“What I would do before, is I would ask a question of the class and somebody would raise their hand to answer, and when you do that you tend to get a few of the brighter or more outgoing students that always answer the questions, and most of the class just continues to sit there,” said Gabrielle Stryker, assistant biology professor. “So [using clickers] is a way to actually engage everyone.”

This technology not only allows teachers to make sure that their students are paying attention, it is also a way to improve and encourage daily attendance. Each clicker has its own number which is recorded each time a student uses it to answer questions. Because of this, students who are less motivated find it more difficult to go unnoticed in a class when absent.

“I do like [the] idea of engaging everyone in the class, not just the few students who want to sit up front and raise their hand and are very comfortable in that position,” Stryker said. “I think it’s good for those students who do feel intimidated, that are a little shyer about answering questions.”

The need for a clicker currently depends on whether or not a specific professor decides to use it. Clickers can be purchased at the Wildcat Shop for $41 new, $31 used and can be resold to the university.

“If it was something that was adopted campus-wide - which I would actually be supportive of because it is such a good way to test your knowledge as you’re going - I feel that it would be more worth it,” said Laural Bales, senior psychology major.

This quarter there are a total of five courses using the clicker in the biology and nutrition departments. Despite the occasional compatibility problem, and a few bugs, which can create a loss of lecture time, junior geography major Toni Christen believes that clickers can be useful.

“It’s kind of good at highlighting what’s important in the material because once you go through like, 10 or 15 slides, you kind of have to pick and choose what you think is important,” Christen said.

“But when they give you a specific question based on what you just learned, you can say ‘okay, well, this was obviously important,’ so I can write it down and study it later.”

According to Stryker, technology is good for the most part and is created to make life easier. But she also believes that it depends on the specific technology itself.

“I think that [the clicker] has a long way to go to become friendly enough before a lot of teachers will use it,” Stryker said. “But I hope that they get there.”

Aside from the clicker, professors have also made good use of the Internet in their classrooms. Stryker has personally been using embedded YouTube videos within her PowerPoint presentations for the past two years. Before this ability, showing students videos was much more of a hassle.

“Your PowerPoint is showing up on the screen and then as you click … it shows up on the screen big and then the students can actually see what they’re supposed to see in the microscopes,” Stryker said. “Some people are visual learners, some people need to read the material, some people need to hear the material. So using different approaches to present the same material, you’ll help the greatest number of students.”

Students log in to tune out

BY LINDSAY TROTT | Staff Reporter

Texting during a lecture, listening to headphones and surfing the Internet instead of taking notes are all things that most students may have done at one point in their college career.

Whether it’s to disengage from the day’s lecture or simply chat with friends, more and more students are using gadgets in the classroom.

Despite the many positive aspects of technology in the classroom, with it comes distractions, interruptions and annoyances.

While students may think that texting, listening to music, or surfing the Internet during class is something everyone does, most professors do not appreciate these activities and often find them to be disrespectful and disruptive.

Judith Hennessy, assistant professor of sociology, pointed out that professors notice when students are not paying attention and says they will be less likely to help students they know were not engaged in class.

“Cell phones are distracting because you are using them to communicate with someone outside of class,” Hennessy said.

If a student’s phone goes off in Hennessy’s class, the student must get up and dance to their ringtone.

According to Hennessy, laptops can be a helpful tool if they are being used for the right reasons like Googling a question and taking notes.

“I’ve had students who had their laptops look things up for me that came up during class,” Hennessy said. “That’s very helpful.”

While using computers is necessary in classes that are held in computer labs, many professors believe students still face distractions.

“It’s very clear when students are not paying attention because you can hear them typing at inappropriate times,” said Mike Harrod, assistant professor of sociology.
Some professors go to extreme measures to insure that there are no distractions in their classrooms.

Ian Loverro, associate professor of education, has a policy in his computer classes that is spelled out in his syllabus. If any student is found texting, surfing the Internet, or e-mailing during class time, their grade will be deducted by half a letter grade.

“I’ve never had to do it because the penalty is pretty severe,” Loverro said.
While most professors can agree that there is really no need to have music playing or cell phones out during class, that doesn’t seem to stop students.

“I’ve seen students text each other from opposite sides of the same classroom,” Harrod said.

Many students turn to their cell phones out of boredom or as a distraction away from class.

“If we aren’t doing anything important in class or are just sitting around doing group work I usually whip out my iPhone,” said Andrew Brannan junior physical education major.

Students are aware that professors do not appreciate the use of cell phones, iPods, and laptops, but many still choose to do it anyways, mainly because they know they are not the only ones doing it.

“It’s distracting to me and probably other people,” said Suzanne McIntyre, senior nutrition major. “I try not to do it very much because it’s rude to the teacher.”

Other students see the inappropriate use of technology in the classroom as not only disrespectful, but also as a waste of the student’s learning experience.

“Students who use laptops to go look on the Internet for fun don’t get it,” said Mike Yellam, senior construction management. “They’re wasting their money and time.”

Loverro points out the importance of giving your classes and professors your full attention.

“They want to be teachers themselves,” Loverro said. “How would they like it if instead of teaching class I went on Facebook?”

Aryell Adams: Student leaves behind CWU and family for a more affordable education

BY KELLY REQUA | Staff Reporter

Aryell Adams, sophomore undeclared, is a student who will not be returning to Central Washington University next year. It’s not because of poor grades or lack of interest. There’s no disciplinary problems or a family crisis in her life. Adams can no longer afford to attend Central due to the cost of tuition and lack of financial aid.

A strong-headed young woman and a member of the Yakama Nation, Adams moved out of her mother’s house in Yakima when she turned 18 and went to live with her aunt and cousins who also lives in Yakima. Two of her aunts and her grandmother all own houses next door to each other, so her family is nearby. Adams has always been expected to attend college because her mother and aunts did before her. It has also been her responsibility to pay for her schooling. Throughout high school, Adams saved money from her summer job working with wildland firefighting to pay for her future education.

“I got accepted into the UW, but I didn’t go there because they wanted me to take out a bunch of loans,” Adams said. “Central, my first year, basically provided me with the best financial aid I could get.”

Central was the only school that would provide Adams enough aid to cover tuition, but she still had to take out a $5,000 loan to cover the cost of on-campus housing.

Adams hopes to be able to get a degree in geography or environmental sciences so she can advance in a career in wildland firefighting. Adams has been involved in wildland firefighting since she was 17. When she turned 18, she took the 45 minute, three mile, 45 lb pack test in the Yakima summer heat, but Adams says it wasn’t really that bad.

“What I really want to do is be as diverse a firefighter I can be. I want to get a degree and do every kind of fire course I can possibly take,” Adams said.

In September 2009 just before her second year of school started Adams was notified that she would not be receiving financial aid for the school year.

“I honestly don’t know why. I kept talking to the [financial aid office] and I kept trying to get financial aid and all that stuff and they just didn’t really give me any options,” Adams said.

Three days later Adams took a $15,000 loan to cover the cost of tuition, making her total in loans $20,000. Adams got some help from her aunts and grandma back in Yakima and chose to live off-campus with her boyfriend, Jared Swan, to try and save money.

Swan is a fellow wildland firefighter and has supporter Adams as she’s tried to find ways to stay at Central.

“We wouldn’t have food or a decent place to stay or anything if we paid out of pocket [for tuition,]” Swan said. “Just to get around, just to get by, it takes a lot of money.”

By February, Adams realized that paying for school with loans was not going to work.

“I was sitting in Subway and trying to figure out what I was going to do. I was thinking and talking to my boyfriend and trying to figure everything out and I was just like ‘I’m not going to be able to afford it,’” Adams said. “I just decided that really I had no option other than to find a different school. So I got into my car and I went to go talk to my grandma about going to Haskell.”

Haskell Indians Nation University is a small college in Lawrence, Kansas that is available only to Native American students. Tuition and housing are free at Haskell, but it’s not Adams’ first choice.

“I don’t want to go there, I don’t want to move five states away to Kansas but it’s all getting paid for so that’s why I’m going,” Adams said.

On Feb. 4, Adams attended the student walk out rally, just days after she had finalized her plans to leave Central. Adams said it was a spontaneous decision and
she ended up sharing her story with the board of trustees.

“I just wanted them to see how rising tuition and cutting financial aid, how it affects students in that they are sending them away,” Adams said.

The change in schools will put over 1,700 miles between Adams and her family,
friends and the wildland firefighting community that she loves.

“My little cousins are really upset about it. I’m really family oriented and it’s just kind of hard for me to think about being so far away from them,” Adams said. “I go home every other weekend and see them and hang out with them and it’s going to be hard to do that five states away.”

Wendy Lopez, sophomore undeclared, is Adams’ old roommate and says that Adams has grown attached to Central.

“It takes motivation and she goes back to firefighting because it feels like family. And it’s the same as at Central, Central is home.”

Despite the changes set in her future Adams is hopeful that she’ll be able to come back to Central to finish her degree once she saves enough money.

“It’s gonna be a new experience and I just plan on adapting to it and making it the best I can,” Adams said.

S&A committee votes against fee increase

BY RYAN RICIGLIANO | News Editor

Financially strained Central Washington University students can now breath a cautionary sigh of relief. Last week the Services and Activities (S&A) committee voted against raising fees for the 2010-11 school year.

During their weekly Wednesday meeting, the committee, made up of six students and three faculty members, voted 5 – 1 to keep the fees as they are and not raise them for the coming year.

The three faculty members abstained. Baker said they wanted it to be a “total student decision” in order to be reflective of the student voice.

“We are sending the message that students will not keep incurring blind increases,” said Logan Bahr, executive vice president for the Associated Students of Central Washington University Board of Directors (ASCWU-BOD) and S&A member.

Last year, the S&A Committee voted to raise fees by 14 percent in conjunction with tuition increases. Currently, quarterly fees are $208 per student or $624 annually.

“The committee was not going to blindly accept S&A increases and put the burden on students,” said Jack Baker, assistant to the vice president of student affairs and enrollment management (SAEM) and S&A committee adviser.

Despite the vote, Baker is quick to point out that S&A is a recommending committee only. The final decision rests in the hands of the Board of Trustees and will be decided on later this year.

Baker still notes the importance of the vote and believes it to be a step in the right direction.

“The committee has broken away and recommended to not be tied to tuition,” Baker said. “It shows that students are serious.”

Bahr, who motioned the recommendation, said his reasons for supporting it were twofold.

“First there was the pragmatic reason that the fee was raised 14 percent last year and that was an exorbitant amount,” Bahr said. “So we are hoping to mitigate the effects of the last increase.”

Bahr went on to say that the members of the S&A committee met for “four to five hours” on the Monday before the meeting to discuss the possible increase and the message they wanted to send.

“Students are the majority funders [of S&A now] and hopefully we can send the message that we can’t keep up with the status quo,” Bahr said.

Bahr also mentioned that the S&A fees at Central are noticeably higher than those of other universities. Currently, S&A fees make up about 11 percent of the total tuition cost.

“Our fee is staggering compared to other universities like the University of Washington,” Bahr said.

The proposal of an S&A fee increase comes at a time when the committee is deciding upon base funding requests for the upcoming school year. Due to possible university and state budget cuts, more and more campus departments are asking the S&A for funding.

The University Writing Center, normally funded by Academic Affairs and Student Affairs, was told to request $200,000 of its budget to be funded by S&A for the upcoming year. The Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Office is requesting $125,291 to replace a portion of Baker’s salary and that of Keith Champagne, associate vice president of SAEM. The office fears its state funding for these positions may soon dry up.

“It’s a little disappointing these decisions are being left up to students, but we are prepared to make them,” Bahr said. “There should be some aspect of shared sacrifice.”

Despite the committee’s recommendation, Baker feels that next year they’ll have to raise the fees.

“You can’t run a business without some kind of increases,” Baker said.

Now on tap: microbrewing certificate

BY KELSEE DODSON-CARTER | Staff Reporter

In Washington State there are 100 craft breweries, ranking it third nationally, just behind Colorado and California. The craft brewing industry is growing at a steady rate, not only here in Washington, but also nationally. More and more, this is an industry that needs formally educated people to employ with the knowledge of brewing, selling and distribution processes.

To help give students these tools, Central Washington University is offering the first ever Craft Brewing Certificate program this spring quarter.

“Its not drinking 101, it’s the business of craft brewing,” said Dwayne Douglas, professor of recreational management and tourism. “This is a program that will educate students all about the brewing industry - from the science aspect to the business aspect.”

The program organizers, Jim Johnson, Steve Wagner, Dwayne Douglas, Roger Beardsley, Robert Lupton, Doug Lonowski and Kevin Nemeth, hope the certificate program will gain interest and follow the path of Central’s highly successful World Wine Program.

“This is one of the programs that will do very well - a feather in the cap for the campus. It fills a very important need,” said Robert Lupton, department of information technology and administrative management professor.

The ten-week, 16 credit program covers every aspect of the brewing industry. There are four courses being offered that are required to complete the certificate.

The Brewing Microbiology course will cover the basic chemistry of brewing, along with yeast biology and sanitation concerns. Brewing Process Technology will touch on the pumping, packaging, and heating and cooling processes. Principles and Biochemistry of Brewing will focus on barley and malt structures, hop chemistry and evaluation of differing beer styles. Lastly, the Principles of Merchandising Management for Microbrewing course will give students insights into the selling, distributing and operations management processes.

Organizers are hoping that students will come away from the program with a well-balanced knowledge of the microbrew industry and will be able to perform a wide variety of jobs within it.

“You can’t sell the product without talking the talk,” said Doug Lonowski, associate director for continuing education.

Organizers developed the curriculum with the help of Greg Parker, owner and brewer of Iron Horse Brewery. They also sent the outline of the program to multiple breweries in the Northwest for feedback.

In the United States, there are few educational opportunities available for students who want to learn about the trade. University of California - Davis, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Oregon State University are the only other colleges that offer a similar program.

“There are not a lot of places you can formally learn how to brew beer,” Lonowski said.

This program hopes to educate students in a variety of different ways. In addition to lectures and labs, field trips and guest speakers will be utilized to provide a holistic experience.

“Hands on with the people in the industry. [You will hear] a lot of rags to riches stories,” Douglas said.

The idea for the program was generated last fall, and on Feb. 11 it was officially approved by the Faculty Senate.

“It was easy to do, there was passion involved at all levels,” Lupton said.
Organizers say that within a week of being approved flyers were out. Word of mouth also helped generate a lot of interest. The first information meeting had 55 students in attendance.

Despite interest in the program, organizers say they’ve only received a few applications. Each class is required to have eight students enrolled or the program won’t get off the ground.

“[This program] fills a need that the region has,” said Jim Johnson, associate biology professor.


For more information on the microbrewing certificate contact:
Steve Wagner - WagnerS@cwu.edu
Jim Johnson- jjohnson@cwu.edu
Doug Lonowski - lonowskd@cwu.edu