THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”
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Wednesday April 16, 2014
VOLUME 126, ISSUE 131
www.THEDAONLINE.com
Online tool eases transfer credit woes By hannah wigal staff writer @dailyathenaeum
With the end of the sem e s t e r a p p ro a c h i n g , many West Virginia University students are dealing with the stress of registering for summer courses at other institutions. Students have the option to complete summer courses in their hometowns for convenience and to save money. However, transferring credits
back to WVU sometimes proves to be difficult. The Transfer Equivalency System, offered by the WVU Office of Admissions, is a convenient service for students to ease the stress of these situations. TES, from CollegeSource, is an interactive database of course data from higher education institutions. “TES allows students to quickly locate course descriptions from institu-
tions around the country and some international institutions,” said Marilyn Potts, the WVU Director of Admissions. To use the system, the student must know the name of the institution the credits are being transferred from, the sending institution course name and number, credit hours and the equivalent course at WVU. “The Transfer Equivalency System provides students with an easy way
to validate transfer credits from other institutions,” Potts said. “For WVU students who desire to take a course at another institution, TES provides easy access to determine what courses will transfer back to WVU.” Throughout the process, TES will give stepby-step directions, and the Office of Admissions provides assistance if questions or issues arise while using the system. The system was de-
signed to make the transfer process easier for students and academic advisers. Current students who wish to enroll in summer courses elsewhere must first meet with their adviser for course approval. Potts said it is imperative that students complete the transfer credit approval process prior to enrolling at other schools or their credits may not apply. WVU accepts two types
WHAT THE DUCK?
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information on the Transfer Equivalency System, visit https://admissions.wvu.edu/admissions/ university-requirements/ transfer_equivalency. of transfer credits. The first is exact matches of courses, meaning the course numbers at both institutions are the same. However, WVU will also
see Credit on PAGE 2
Freshmen students to celebrate first-year completion by caroline peters staff writer @dailyathenaeum
Shannon McKenna/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Animal House Pets and Pet Supplies on High Street rents ducklings and chicks out to anyone who wants to be a temporary parent for a one-time fee of $20.
Local pet store chick, duckling ‘rentals’ may not be all they’re ‘quacked’ up to be BY laura haight staff writer @dailyathenaeum
The Animal House on High Street has started the “Rent-a-Duck” program, which allows students and families to rent a duckling for their preferred duration. Ducklings can be rented for $14.99 and chicks for $9.99. The program is popular with students because once the duckling or chick gets too big, they can return it to the Animal House. Once the animals reach a certain age, the Animal House then sends them to a farm in Preston County, where the farm uses the ducks for laying eggs to sell back to the Morgantown community. Cathy Cutlip, owner of the Animal House, came up with the idea for the program when she noticed families giving their children a duckling for Easter and then not knowing what to do with it once it turned into a full-grown duck. She said this program gives the ducklings a loving home while the farmers benefit from not having to care for them on the farm where predators might eat them. “The farmers don’t have to worry about the lights or the coops,” Cutlip said. “The kids get to raise them until they get too big and start pooping everywhere.”
She said this program is beneficial for everyone involved. “We win because everyone’s purchasing from us, and it helps all of our programs,” Cutlip said. “The kids and the families win because they get the cutest thing ever and they spoil it, feed it and make it nice, fat and plump.” The duckling comes with two pounds of duck starter food and a small bag of litter. The new owner has to provide light, warmth and shelter for the duckling. Cutlip said she won’t sell to students who live in residence halls. Shannon McKenna/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM When students raise a duckling, they condition it to A duckling sits on the counter at Animal House Pets and Pet Supplies. Many WVU become attached to humans, students have been purchasing ducklings and chicks for a few hours or days since and the ducks will show af- the store’s implementation of the deal. fection toward humans instead of biting them. Cutlip to show her how the ducklings are “These kids are spoiling these ducks like growing. crazy,” Cutlip said. “When farmers raise “We haven’t had any complications,” them, they just feed them. These ducks are she said. “We’ve had a few kids sneak just so friendly and spoiled.” ducks in the dorms, and they’ve had to Cutlip said the program has been a suc- return them, which is fine with us because cess so far. Many of the students who pursee ducks on PAGE 1 chase the ducklings have sent pictures to
52° / 33°
FAN SHIRT
INSIDE
The winning official WVU Fan Shirt has been announced. A&E PAGE 3
SUNNY
News: 1, 2 Opinion: 4 A&E: 3, 6, 7 Sports: 8, 9, 10 Campus Connection: 5 Puzzles: 5 Classifieds: 11
The annual West Virginia University Sophomore Celebration will take place Wednesday 5-8 p.m. in the Blue and Gold Room of the Evansdale Residential Complex, where current freshmen can celebrate the completion of their first year. Sheila Powell, the manager of Information Services for the vice president of Personnel Administration, said students should attend the festivities for a number of reasons. “We do this every year because we want students to really experience a nice ending to their first year as Mountaineers,” Powell said. “We want the freshmen to attend because we have lots of nice giveaways. Both DJ’s are locals, and we believe this is a nice way for the freshmen to celebrate the end to a successful freshman year.” Upcoming sophomores can connect with friends they made throughout the year. “We will have dinner served at the celebration, and we want to create a dining hall, picnic atmosphere for the students,” Powell said. “There will also be tables from University resources set up as well as games to play, (and) the first 500 students receive a free T-shirt.” The Student Recreation Center, the Student Government Association, Career Services, Student Employment and numerous other vendors will also be in attendance to give students an opportunity to explore available oncampus resources. The freshmen will also be able to explore student housing options. “Some of the University apartment complexes will have booths set up for the students,” Powell said. “This will be great for this particular group of students, because most of them have spent their first year in the dorms. Now they can explore other options in housing and speak with some of the landlords about living conditions. “I think students should come, especially because this is a great way for freshmen to reflect on the year, celebrate its outcome and be proud of themselves.”
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ON THE INSIDE Parents across the country have been reaching out to their local Boards of Education to express distaste for the Common Course State Standards initiative. OPINION PAGE 4
danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu
WNBA BOUND WVU women’s basketball player Asya Bussie was selected 15th overall in the WNBA Draft this week. SPORTS PAGE 8
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