Semester plan moves closer to reality
The Board of Trustees last month gave the green light to converting
from a quarter- to a semester-based academic calendar at Northeastern,
beginning in either 2001 or 2002.
The action comes on the heels of a faculty-wide referendum in November
in which approximately two-thirds of those casting ballots voiced support
for the measure.
"The board was very impressed by the support on campus," said
President Freeland, who proposed the change in his state-of-the-university
address in September. "They fully endorsed the recommendation."
Freeland said the adoption of a semester calendar, employed by the overwhelming
majority of American universities, will enhance Northeastern's academic
strength and reputation by improving educational programs, enhancing cooperative
education, reducing the stress of student life, improving the environment
for scholarly work, and fostering administrative efficiencies.
He has suggested implementing an academic calendar of two sixteen-week
semesters-the first running from around Labor Day to just before the December
holidays, and the second from January to May-plus a twelve- to fourteen-week
summer session divided into two terms of equal length. Most students would
attend classes for seven full semesters plus two summer sessions and take
three six-month co-ops during their five-year academic career.
The president, in conjunction with provost David Hall and faculty leaders,
is expected to appoint an implementation planning group of faculty, administrators,
and students this month to help draft the specifics of the plan.
Faculty who voted in favor of the proposal said the longer course schedule
inherent in a semester calendar would greatly improve student learning.
"It seems we just get to the interesting part of the course and
then it's all over," associate professor of computer science Carole
Hafner said of the current quarter system. "I hope after the details
of the [semester] calendar are worked
Giving, receiving all in a day for Matthews
George Matthews's legacy of contributing to Northeastern
was further preserved and strengthened last month when the former chairman
of the Board of Trustees donated a 264-year-old elephant tusk from China
to the Snell Library.
The six-foot-long tusk, displayed in a custom-built
case, features several intricate carvings depicting Buddha, etched by three
generations of Chinese artists.
Also last month, an eighteen-inch sculpture of
Matthews was unveiled in the arena that bears his name. The work of Robert
Shure, the artist who created the Cy Young statue outside Churchill Hall,
the sculpture was donated to the university by the Board of Trustees. Another
version of the statue was presented to Matthews when he stepped down from
the chairmanship in June 1998.
Both statues depict Matthews, BA'56, H'86, handing
a diploma to a female hockey player, symbolic of his support for both academic
and athletic endeavors at Northeastern.
N.U. survey: Americans want safer roadways
Americans are concerned about safety on roadways
and want police to crack down on drunken and unsafe drivers, according
to a survey by two faculty members.
Business professors Frederick Wiseman and Robert
Lieb surveyed a sample of adults across the nation and found that people
in all age groups hold tough attitudes on auto safety and drunken driving.
"There's really strong support for different
regulatory devices," Wiseman said.
For example, sixty-four percent of respondents
want police cameras at busy intersections to identify drivers who run red
lights, and sixty-one percent favor police roadblocks to catch drivers
under the influence.
In addition, respondents also said they would
support lowering the legal blood alcohol level from 0.08 to 0.06, and they
believe that judges are too lenient on drunken drivers.
At the same time, respondents also expressed a
desire to have the interstate highway speed limit raised to seventy miles
per hour.
The apparent contradiction reflects people's attitudes
toward their own driving, Wiseman said: "People perceive that they
can take care of themselves. Most people think they can drive safely, but
they have to watch out for others."
Wiseman and Lieb conducted similar polls in 1973
and again in 1985. The results have not changed much during those twenty-five
years.
"People considered drunken driving a major
problem then, and they consider it a major problem now," Wiseman said.
"In general, things haven't changed. People are clearly concerned
about auto safety and have been for twenty-five years."
New campus initiative puts students first
"When in doubt, students first."
That's the thrust behind a new initiative designed
to enhance the quality of student services and instruction and, ultimately,
to improve student retention rates at Northeastern.
"We need to rally people around this,"
said information services vice president Robert Weir, who cochairs the
Student First! core team. "We need to change the culture and emphasize
that when all else fails, serve students first."
Although still in its infancy, the Student First!
effort will initially focus on four areas: the creation of a "one-stop"
student service center spanning registration, financial aid, bursar, and
other key student advisement and administrative services; the short-term
improvement of the current student administrative services and culture;
the enhancement of the student classroom experience; and the establishment
of baseline and ongoing student service satisfaction measurement mechanisms
to track progress.
Weir said university officials must invest in
service personnel by offering professional development and incentive programs,
and by helping staff members better understand the customer's viewpoint.
The ultimate goal of the initiative is improved
student graduation rates, President Freeland has said. He recently called
upon faculty and staff to work toward achieving a 70-percent graduation
rate by 2003, a substantial increase from the class of 1999's 48 percent
and the previous class's 42.8 percent.
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