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NEWS / THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
Board of Regents lowers credit hour requirements
Changes will be implemented differently in individual departments
BY STEPHEN GRAY
sgray@kansan.com
The University and its schools have responded to last Thursday's decision by the Kansas Board of Regents to reduce the minimum number of credit hours required for a bachelor's degree. Instead of requiring 124 credit hours for graduation, the board has approved a reduction to 120 hours.
While this state requirement is effective immediately, the University of Kansas has not yet adopted the new minimum. The University will be working with each individual school to determine when, if and how to implement the rule.
Provost Jeffrey Vitter said the Regents' decision was made to keep Kansas' requirements in line with the majority of other state institutions across the country. Thirtynine other states have a 120-hour minimum and two others have considered adopting this requirement.
Danny Anderson, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
said that many fields in the College will take on the 120 hour minimum after new approaches are reviewed and approved by faculty governance committees.
"We will be moving quickly to examine and implement appropriate changes." Anderson said.
For now, though, liberal arts and sciences students must fulfill the requirements currently approved for their degrees. Certain degrees require more than the minimum by the nature of the field, and that will not change.
Vitter said that the new requirements in some cases, however, may apply to current students retroactively if they choose to be governed by a later catalog.
Max Mickunas, a freshman from Atwood, hopes that the reduction will apply to him.
With fewer credits, it will mean less money spent, especially on textbooks. Mickunas said.
Anderson said this change will decrease tuition dollars for students, but it also means that the College will not have to spend money to provide these additional courses and programs, which saves
dollars.
Rick Ginsberg, dean of education, said that this will force the School of Education to try to limit the number of credit hours for graduation. Ginsberg doesn't have a sense yet, though, whether any education-specific hours will be cut.
cut.
"It will need to be determined by the faculty exactly where the reduced hours would come from," Ginsberg said.
This credit reduction is one of the recommendations that were offered by Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little's retention and graduation task force earlier this year to remove obstacles to timely graduation.
During the 2009-2010 academic year, 134 potential CLAS graduates, having completed between 120 to 123 hours, were denied degree certification due to the College's minimum requirement of 124. This demonstrates the potential effect of reducing the required number of credit hours, Vitter said.
new hires. Ann Brill, dean of journalism,
said that the School of Journalism will use the Regents' standards to
set minimum hours for students and is working with the administration to implement this.
"The change will likely improve our quality of education and is a good thing for students," Brill said.
good thing to.
Vitter said that the University's process for lowering the minimum requirement should take approximately three months. If the changes are made quickly, the new minimum would apply to incoming students in fall 2011.
The state's requirement was set at 124 in 2003 and had not been altered until now. The requirement of 124 at the University's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, however, has not been changed since 1933, when it was increased in order to incorporate hygiene and physical education into the curriculum.
"These changes meet the demands of our age," Anderson said. "They will contribute to strategies that increase the value and quality of University of Kansas degrees."
— Edited by Michael Bednar
The previous requirement for a bachelor's degree in the liberal arts, sciences or professional fields was 124 credit hours.
arts, sciences or professional fields was 124 credit hours. The 124-hour minimum is part of the University Senate Rules and Regulations. University Governance will determine support for lowering the minimum requirement to 120 hours over approximately three months. if the process is done quickly, and changes could apply to incoming students in 2011.
Business: The school will consider how this change could affect its curriculum. It looks forward to University Senate discussions on the Regents decision and any recommendations that will amount from it.
CLAS: Many fields will take on the 120-hour minimum after new approaches are reviewed by faculty committees.
Education: The school plans to limit the overall number of credit hours. Faculty will determine where the reduced hours will come from.
Engineering: All undergraduate degree programs require more credit hours than this minimum requirement. At this point in time, the School of Engineering doesn't anticipate any changes in curriculum directly related to this rule change.
Journalism: The school will use the Regents' standards to set the minimum hours. It is working with the administration to implement the change.
Nursing: The faculty plans to discuss a change in the minimum number of credit hours required for the bachelor of science in nursing degree. Any changes would affect future students only. Social Welfare: The school plans to be in compliance with the Regents decision.
AWARENESS (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
She said when the community is smaller, a higher percentage of people will know about a person's relationship problems. She said a person feels alienated when so many others know about his or her personal problems, which made it difficult for victims to seek help.
At one point in Sarah's relationship, her partner threatened to kill her because he didn't believe she loved him enough. She said she decided enough was enough.
"Something had to give and it wasn't going to be my bones," Sarah said.
She said she reached out to an agency in her college town that worked with LGBTQ domestic
violence survivors. She said they helped her validate her experience and told her not to feel ashamed. At that moment, she said, she realized how unsafe her relationship was and how much she needed help.
help.
"In retrospect, I think 'God, that wasn't love,'" Sarah said.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The Kansas City Anti-Violence Project caters to the needs of people within the LGBTQ community who are in a violent relationship. Farmer said KCAVP is there for support and as a resource for safety. Farmer said KCAVP provides emergency hotel shelter, clothes, food and hospital
care for those who need to get away from a violent relationship
Gadd-Nelson said she thought there needed to be more resources for LGBTQ people in abusive relationships. KCAVP is the only resource center that focuses on the LGBTQ community from Chicago to Colorado, Farmer said. She said the community needs more resources that focus on issues in the LGBTQ community.
Regardless, Sarah said even if a person isn't sure if his or her relationship is abusive, the person should talk to someone.
"You can't be afraid," she said
- Edited by Michael Bedna
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The Bottleneck 737 New Hampshire St·Lawrence Ks
Saturday, October 30th Frontier Rukus w/The Outfit
Sunday, October 31st
Smile Smile w/ Julia Peterson & the Good Deed
"When it comes to STDs, people either don't want to know or they don't want to seek treatment," VandeVelde said. "Then the cycle just continues. Chlamydia just keeps getting passed on and on and on."
On average, one out of four college students who are tested for STDs will test positive. The number of chlamydia cases reported in Douglas county last year was 209. However, this is extremely inaccurate, VandeVelde said, because they are not reported to the state of Kansas if the student is not a Kansas resident.
When past or present sexual partners are notified of exposure, the Department of Health does not disclose any geographic information or a time frame. They will not disclose if it is a past or current sexual partner.
Wednesday, November 3rd Mayer Hawthorne and the Country w/Gordon Voidwell
Edited by David Cawthon
County Health Department of Health has representatives who work closely with both testing centers, and are available to notify current and past partners of their exposure to the disease. All testing and test results are strictly confidential, VandeVelde said, especially in Douglas County.
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offering free testing for chlamydia to women under 25. If a woman has chlamydia and it goes untreated, it can result in Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, pregnancy difficulties, or ultimately, inability to have children.
rhea test?" VandeVelde said.
to have children.
"Young people aren't thinking about fertility," said Jennifer VandeVelde, deputy director of the Sexually Transmitted Disease section of the Kansas Department of Health. "They have school, friends and social lives. It's just not on their list of priorities to be tested."
RESEARCH (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
www.thebottlenecklive.com
"Your nurse isn't going to walk up to you in the grocery store and say, 'Hey, how about that gonor-
The Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department and Watkins Health Center both offer testing for chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, syphilis and HIV, and testing for chlamydia is free to women under 25 at the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department.
Testing centers, VandeVelde explains, canbe filled with a mixture of patients.
VandeVelde and other DOH employees are responsible for notifying patients of their test results after being screened for STDs. For college-aged men and women, the results aren't always good.
I've called people to notify
them they've tested positive for chlamydia and they have been in absolute hysteresis" VandeVelde said. "But then I've called people to notify them they've had HIV and they've said, 'Yeah, I kind of already knew."
ODD NEWS
Man holds up bank calls get-away taxi
MISSOULA, Mont. — Police in Montana say a man robbed a bank and then called a taxi to make his getaway, tipping the driver five dollars just before
squad cars surrounded the cab. Taxi driver James Anderson told the Missoulian that the man was acting strangely when he picked him up at a Missoula coffee shop
up at a mississippi coffee shop
The man asked to be taken to
a hotel, but not before stopping
to buy cigarettes.
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Police allege the man earlier entered a downtown bank, told a teller he had a weapon and demanded money. No one was injured.
Associated Press
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