UB Buzz

Looking to the Future

Three web exclusives coinciding with University Business' July/August 2010 edition reflect on what the future of current topics or initiatives may bring, with the outcomes seemingly plentiful.

 - The Liberal Arts and ‘Back to the Future’

The recession does not mark the first time in history the value of a liberal arts education has been in question. It either shouldn't be cause for administrators at these respective institutions to make sudden changes to their mission statement. In their piece, Dickinson College (Pa.) President William G. Durden and Neil B. Weissman, provost and dean of the college, advise them to help the public better understand how this type of higher learning can help students in the real world.

- Training the Architects of The Networked Future

In the summer of 2004, George Mason University’s (Va.) Volgenau School of Information Technology and Engineering partnered with Cisco to sponsor a Networking Academy (the program provides students with networking and technical skills). Don Gantz, chair of the Applied Information Technology Department, describes how the program has established a strong partnership between public and private organizations with multiple benefits for students, the university, and the local economy.

- 10 Predictions for Campus Card Technology

Campus card technology is always evolving. Methods in use today could be gone tomorrow. Robert C. Huber, a campus card systems consultant, offers his insight on what's next in this field.

Living Like the Romans Do

How would you like to wake up in the morning, look out your window and see Gianiculum hill and the gardens where Cristina of Sweden is buried? Or walk through Caesar’s botanical gardens on your way home from school?

 

With the opening of its first residence hall this fall in Trastevere, Rome, students of John Cabot University—an accredited four-year, English-speaking liberal arts school offering an American undergraduate education in the heart of the Italian capital—can do just that.

 

The fully-renovated historic building, once the home of an ancient French family, is called the Gianicolo Residence, and is a two-minute walk from JCU’s main campus. The new furnishings include wood and marble floors, new furniture, air-conditioning, and Wi-Fi connection to the university’s network. Boasting 240 beds, the building includes singles, doubles, triples, and apartments, as well as a common lounge and a quiet study room. A resident assistant will be assigned to each floor to help build community, and students can feel safe with 24/7 security. And with a weekly cleaning service, they can feel clean too!

 

While study-abroad students will be able to live in the Gianicolo Residence, preference will be given to full-time students.

 

Want to read about other impressive residence halls? See our feature Dorms of Distinction.

Higher Ed's Help with Oil Spill Response

Since the BP Deepwater Horizon rig explosion on April 20, engineers and scientists from colleges and universities across the country have been getting their hands dirty with the Gulf Coast oil spill. They continue to give their time and expertise toward tracking the leak, developing cleanup methods, and monitoring the consequential damage on the region’s ecosystem. Here is a sample of various institutional efforts.

Conducting Research

About 14 scientists from The Institute of Environmental and Human Health at Texas Tech University have been collecting oil samples along the coast to for toxicology tests to determine the direction of oil is spreading and how organisms are responding to it, according to Director Ron Kendall. Crude Survival, a web-based journal, catalogs their efforts and acts as a media resource center. The institute is also working with the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A & M University-Kingsville to conduct surveillance of rookeries (breeding grounds for birds) and determine how vulnerable they are to contact with oil.

At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, researchers from the College of Arts and Sciences have been examining microbes present in the Gulf’s waters to see how they might be helpful in cleaning up the oil.

In mid-June, two University of Iowa students and a UI engineering professor visited Louisiana for five days to see how to treat marshlands that have been heavily affected by the spill. The team is studying how much oil the coast's salt marsh can withstand before the vegetation dies and also will examine how to best speed up the wetlands' recovery should it die.

Marty Matlock, professor of ecological engineering at the University of Arkansas, has been working with a group of students to assess environmental damage and ultimately to develop recommendations for coastal wetlands restoration.

Three University of Connecticut scientists were among a select group of researchers convening at Louisiana State University in early June in an emergency meeting to assess the spill’s environmental impact. They had also contributed in science-based efforts. Professor James O’Donnell, a physical oceanographer, helped to develop tools for the Coast Guard and NOAA to predict how the oil will be distributed at the ocean surface. Associate professor and chemist Penny Vlahos created a method for testing the oil’s chemical makeup in water samples.

Texas A&M University atmospheric science researcher Don Conlee and a group of students are taking air samples with a series of weather balloon tests in conjunction with the National Weather Service. The group was asked by the NWS to develop procedures and examine feasibility of weather balloon observations in the vicinity of the spill site. The weather balloon launches will help improve the operational forecasting efforts of the weather service.

Johns Hopkins University (Md.) scientists are collaborating with colleagues at the Baltimore Aquarium and the Mote Marine Laboratory to access what impact the released oil would have in Florida's Sarasota Bay if the spill were to reach the area's ecosystem. According to Edward Bouwer, the university's Abel Wolman professor of environmental engineering, the team will sample the bay's sediment, biota (living organisms), and water samples for background levels of oil so that they can monitor the oil spill's long-term effects. The work will allow them to do a before-and-after analysis to better define what the impacts would be.

Paul Edmiston, an associate professor of chemistry at The College of Wooster (Ohio), developed Osorb, a nano-material glass that can absorb organic compounds like oil, in 2005. Edmiston and employees of his company ABS Materials sent a unit to the Gulf on July 12 with a machine that is described as being capable of treating up to 100 gallons of sea water and oil per minute.

Getting Information Out

Higher ed institutions along the Gulf have been providing web-based information to keep the public up to date on information and efforts. Mississippi State University Extension Service’s website, MSUCares.com, has a section listing research-based information on disaster preparedness and response initiatives.

Tulane University (La.) students in a Geographic Information Systems class used open source software to develop an Oil Spill Crisis Map for displaying the impact of and the response to the crisis with reports from ordinary citizens. Folks can send in tips by text message, e-mail, and Twitter.

A team of researchers at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa have chartered a series of computer simulations to portray how the oil spill could possibly spread over the course of a year.

Louisiana State University's Media Center has a web page highlighting institution-wide initiatives such as a poster project run by art students and alumni, veterinarian instructors and students caring for oiled birds, and researchers studying the health impacts of Louisiana coastal residents.

Scholars and scientists at Florida's public and private universities belong to an Oil Spill Academic Task Force that is working in collaboration with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The website provides information on the task force, links to partners and other resources.

Course Subject

On campus, instructors are bringing the issue to their classrooms. The University of Minnesota will offer a fall course called “Oil and Water: The Gulf Oil Spill of 2010” centering on the Gulf’s history and ecology, the makeup of the Louisiana economy, and the impact of past oil spills.

Stephen MacAvoy, a biogeochemist and a College of Arts and Sciences professor at American University (D.C.), has been opening each session of his undergraduate oceanography class this summer with a discussion of the situation. The topic is also being discussed academically in economics, biology, and psychology courses at Harper College (Ill.).

Institutions can send their examples to Associate Editor Michele Herrmann at mherrmann@universitybusiness.com.

Colleges Face Strict New File-sharing Rules

Today (July 1) is the day that colleges and universities that receive Title IV funding were to have implemented file-sharing rules under the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) of 2008.

Among other things, according to CNET, the schools are required to:

• Provide students a description of copyright law and campus policies with regards to violations of copyright law. 
• Combat copyright violations on campus networks using technology-based deterrents.
  
• Offer alternatives to illegal downloading.

Recording Industry Association of America President Cary Sherman noted that although many schools have taken it upon themselves to monitor file-sharing activity, the new law—with the threat of loss of funding—carries extra weight.

"It's the first time ever in the history of dealing with the issue that Congress is holding schools accountable and requiring them to address the problem," he said. "Here you have Congress saying 'Get off the sidelines and deal with the problem.' It's an important signal." 

Summer Reading—The Gateway to the First Year Experience

As the hottest days of summer begin to arrive, there are, without a doubt, a lot of things on the average high school graduate’s mind. Where do summer reading assignments fall? While perhaps not in the prioritized position reserved for the beach or tanning, summer reading will play an integral part in the first year experience of many of 2010’s incoming college students. “[Our] main goal is to find a book with a diversity-related theme that gives us a jumping off point to talk about diversity issues,” says Cari S. Wallace, director of new student programs at the University of Dayton (Ohio). After an extensive search involving a committee of faculty, staff, and students, When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Otsuka was selected this year. The text will provide an important gateway into the first year experience. From the first days of orientation when students will discuss prepared essays to programming pertaining to Asian culture, Wallace notes how the book is only the beginning to understanding the institution’s commitment to diversity, community, and inclusivity.

Bentley University (Mass.) has similar plans in mind. “[We] approach it more from a thematic perspective—what is it we want to get students to read in order to have a fruitful discussion?” explains Gerry Stenerson, First Year Seminar associate dean. Themes like diversity and adjustment were ones deemed important for incoming students to delve into, and they were overwhelmingly present in A Hope in the Unseen by Ron Suskind.  A story about the struggles a boy from a poor neighborhood faces entering an Ivy League school, the text helps students explore “who they are and how they fit in” to their own new college experience while addressing the fact that “it’s not an equal playing field for everyone,” Stenerson says. Students will continue that discussion during a semester-long first-year seminar and various on-campus projects, including a presentation by antiracism activist Tim Wise. 

The key to summer reading success seems to lie in the potential for integration of themes and issues once students get on campus in the fall. “In choosing the assignment, we wanted to find an author who could come to campus for a public presentation and some other smaller group discussions—meetings, dinner, etc.,” says Mark Graham, an associate professor of Religious Studies at The College of Wooster (Ohio), and a member of the planning committee for the 2010 Wooster Forum. Ali Eteraz and his memoir, Children of Dust, fit the bill. A central part to this year’s Wooster Forum, “South Asian Perspectives,” Eteraz’s book is a coming of age story that explores “his values, ideals, and the role he wishes to play in being a leader in this complex world… [speaking] to the place in life that many of our students find themselves as they work to figure out who they are, what values they hold, and how they will live in this world,” Graham explains. Beginning with a book discussion and introduction to the concept of critical inquiry, the themes of Children of Dust will be explored throughout the semester in the first-year seminar. 

What book has your institution assigned incoming students this year? How do you integrate the themes of your chosen text into campus life and real-world experience? Please share with us!  

Cleveland State University Goes to School

This past February, UB featured a story by Ron Schachter that investigated the exciting opportunities—and potential obstacles—that universities face in developing on-campus K-12 schools. Now, as fall 2010 approaches, Cleveland State University is about to join the ranks of those institutions that have already embarked upon this new chapter in education, with the opening of the Campus International School (CIS) near its urban campus.
 
The Campus International School has big plans for both K-12 and university-level students. “K-12 students will have access to university facilities … and in the future, secondary students will have opportunities to take university credits,” says Ronald Abate, a member of CSU’s College of Education and Human Services’ faculty and the liaison for the new Campus International School.  In addition, “a number of academic colleges and departments have expressed an interest in conducting enrichment learning experiences for K-12 students both at the CIS school site and on campus.” Departments include Psychology, Speech & Hearing, Urban Studies, and Chemistry, and more are expected as the program grows.  And of course, it only seems obvious that CSU education students and faculty will take advantage of the hands-on, real-world opportunities that an on-campus K-12 school offers.
 
CIS is in part a response to the city’s need for development and growth.  “Local foundations, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, and Cleveland State University recognized the need to establish a public urban K-12 school that produced high quality graduates that are prepared to contribute to the economic future of the greater Cleveland area,” Abate says.  Funding provided by the Gund Foundation and the Cleveland Foundation have “been instrumental in the planning and start-up process.”  As Ron Schachter noted in his UB’s February issue, the start-up for a charter school such as this is estimated at anywhere between $250,000 to $500,000. The Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) will fund the CIS’s general operating expense, as it is an important part of the district’s transformation plans.  The new school is expected to aid in reversing the flow of urban sprawl and draw new families into the city by offering a new, viable option for students and their families living downtown. During the start-up years of the school, the CIS will focus primarily on the needs of students and parents, but there is a high level of community interest in the school, Abate says, adding that “community outreach efforts are planned.”
 
Seeking Swiss-based International Baccalaureate (IB) program authorization, the Campus International School hopes to “raise academic performance requirements beyond the baseline Ohio standards,” while educating students to compete in a globalizing world and ensuring the necessary preparation for transition to the university level.  
 
The Campus International School will accept 120 students in kindergarten and first and second grades for its first year and plants to extend classes to the 12th grade by 2015. It will be housed in a school building near the CSU campus owned by the United Methodist Church.  CSU and the CMSD are “seeking external funding to design and build a state of the art K-12 school building on the campus of [CSU],” and Abate puts the current estimate of the building at twenty-two million dollars.  

Focus on Gulf Oil Spill

It hasn't taken long for academic researchers to recognize, and even offer their assistance with, the devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. We want to learn more about these efforts.
We seek information on how your instructors and officials are giving their time and expertise in promoting awareness and potential solutions to the region's plight. Whether in the field or back at campus, we encourage you to tell us how your institution is getting involved for inclusion in a UBBuzz news piece.
Please e-mail Associate Editor Michele Herrmann at mherrmann@universitybusiness.com.

Text Messaging Supplants E-mail for College Students

A new study from Ball State University says that text messaging on mobile devices has overtaken e-mail and instant messaging (IM) as their main form of communication. Ninety-seven percent of students surveyed reported sending/receiving text messages as compared to 30 percent for e-mail and 25 percent with IM.
Smart phones now account for 49 percent of mobile communication devices on college campuses, up from 38 percent in October 2009 and 27 percent in February 2009, says BSU's Michael Hanley, director of the university's Institute for Mobile Media Research.
Hanley has conducted 11 surveys of mobile device usage since 2005 that includes a total of 5,500 college students.
"College students are increasingly adopting the smart phone as the core mobile communication and entertainment device for their hectic lifestyles," observed Hanley. "In the few years since instant messaging leaped from the computer to the cell phone, a new mobile lifestyle has evolved for college students. And except for studying, the computer is quickly being left behind."
Other findings from the survey:

• The use of cell phones is nearly universal on campus, with 99.8 percent of students having a cell phone.
• Nearly nine in 10 students with smart phones access the Internet from the device, versus less than half with a feature phone.
• Cell phone camera usage has soared, with 97 percent of smart phone owners taking and sending photographs while 87 percent take and send video.

"In the next few years, I see smart phones saturating the collegiate market, but at the same time, devices similar to the iPad will become increasingly popular among young people," Hanley says. "College students are the first to adopt new types of communication technologies. I think the iPad and similar devices may change the way they communicate yet again as the technology evolves."

June Reads

Three web exclusives accompany University Business magazine's June issue:

 - "Greening Your Dining Services"
Tying in with UB's Green 2010 section, campus dining services has been one area for institutions to adopt sustainable practices. "Greening" them doesn't have to be expensive. Grace Zarnas-Hoyer, president of Hoyer & Associates Inc., Public Relations and Communications, offers some tips from institutions managed by Parkhurst Dining for keeping costs low. She has clients in the onsite food service management industry.

- "Innovative Design Enhances the Post-Secondary Education Experience"
Can a campus's design stimulate student satisfaction? Officials at West Coast University (Calif.) recognized that a better campus experience could be a positive factor in recruitment, retention, and overall student success. They chose to work with Shlemmer Algaze & Associates (SAA) to renovate its Orange County campus with a $2 million dental clinic built to support WCU’s dental hygiene program. This decision ignited an effort that would ultimately incorporate each campus’s aesthetics, branding, and design. Rick Shlemmer, SAA's founder and principal, writes about WCU's progress and end results.

- "No Reservations: Transforming Hotels into Housing"
When there’s an opportunity to convert a hotel into student housing, should officials pursue it? A hotel building can be turned into a housing solution due to having similar amenities—including bedrooms, dining rooms, and bathrooms—found in traditional residence halls. It can provide an immediate solution when an institution is in dire need of quick housing due to a sudden spurt in enrollment before the school year starts. UB's Associate Editor Michele Herrmann spoke with higher ed administrators who have pursued such a conversion and give their take on how and why they did it. Facility experts offer their insight as well.

Study Says College Students Prefer Printed Text Over Digital

   A new report by the National Association of College Stores says that, despite the growing market and variety of e-book readers, such as Amazon's Kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nook, and Apple's iPad, college students  are decidedly "old school" when it comes to reading. According to the report conducted by NACS' OnCampus Research division, 74 percent of college students still prefer to use a printed textbook when taking a class.

In addition, 53% of students were unsure about purchasing digital textbooks or would not consider buying them even if they were available. The study was conducted last fall (before the introduction of the iPad, it should be noted) at 19 campuses nationwide.

“The findings of the report are not surprising,” says OnCampus Research Manager Laura Cozart. “Every new innovation takes time before the mainstream population embraces it.”

E-books comprise only 2 to 3 percent of course material sales at NACS member stores, but Cozart predicts that figure could be as much as 10 to 15 percent of textbook sales by 2012.