Monday, July 1 2013

Page 1

T H E I N D E P E N D E N T D A I LY AT D U K E U N I V E R S I T Y

The Chronicle

XXXDAY, MONTH MONDAY, JULY 1, XX, 20132013

ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTH YEAR, ISSUE X 1

WWW.DUKECHRONICLE.COM

Uni online Student activism remains strong at Duke status still in limbo by Emma Baccellieri THE CHRONICLE

TORI POWERS/CHRONICLE ONICLE FILE FIL PHOTO PHOT CHRIS DIECKHAUS/CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO

After faculty voted to reject online courses for credit, the specifics of Duke’s future in online education remain unresolved. Following the Arts and Sciences Council’s April 25 vote, the University withdrew from a contract with Internet education company 2U and left Semester Online, a consortium of universities offering courses via the 2U platform. But the faculty’s decision not to participate in the program does not indicate a stop to the University’s involvement with online education—far from it, say faculty and administrators. “We’re just beginning,” said Thomas Robisheaux, chair of the Arts and Sciences Council and Fred W. Schaffer professor of history. “I see this as just the first step in a lively discussion where there are going to be many different solutions proposed, and we’re going to have to maybe try some—some may work, some may not work.” Although the University currently does not have concrete plans concerning its future role in online courses for credit, the discussion is still vibrant, officials noted, and Duke is pushing forward with online education in other ways.

CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO

SOPHIE TURNER/CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO

Initial plans In November 2012, Provost Peter Lange signed a contract with 2U, entering Duke into a consortium of 10 schools that would offer online classes for credit through a platform called Semester Online. The contract was signed before the Arts and Sciences Council voted on how online courses could be included in the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences curriculum and graduation requirements. Had the motion to approve for-credit online courses passed, Duke would have offered courses for credit through Semester Online for at least a three-year pilot program. Not all academic departments would have been obligated to teach courses or to give credit to the courses taught by the professors from the other schools, however, as an “opt-in/opt-out” clause would have given each department the ability to decide whether or not it wished to participate. “It was a very modest proposal that was put before the council and defeated,” Robisheaux said. “It was a miniscule number of courses offered, departments could opt out if they wished—the actual impact

TORI POWERS/THE CHRONICLE JISOO YOON/CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO

by Sophia Durand THE CHRONICLE

Student activism has always been a facet of the University, however in the past cou-

ple of years there has been an uptick of student demonstrations. Although activism traces as far back as 1934, student activism became a more reg-

SEE ACTIVISM ON PAGE 20

Demand for fin.aid remains high Despite recession, financial aid is still accessible by Raisa Chowdhury THE CHRONICLE

Although the country has bounced back since the economic downturn in 2008, demand for financial aid still remains high at Duke. Following the recession, there was a significant increase in students applying for need-based financial aid as many families suffered the consequences of layoffs and a tough job market, said Alison Rabil, assistant vice provost and director of financial aid. Although the financial aid granted to students has increased, and student debt at graduation has de-

creased since the Financial Aid Initiative was launched in 2005, the University must still work to make financial aid accessible, especially to middle class families hurting after the financial crisis. “There continues to be very high demand for financial aid although the economy has improved, and especially those families in the middle class are trying hard to catch up,” said Stephen Nowicki, dean and vice provost of undergraduate education. “[Demand] may never decrease.”

The University’s endowment took a major hit from the 2008 financial crisis, and the slow road to recovery has made providing financial aid difficult. The Duke University Endowment experienced its biggest decrease in value in the last decade, going from a peak of $6.1 billion in the 2007-2008 fiscal year to $4.4 billion in the 2008-2009 fiscal year after the recession. As of June 30, 2012, the endowment was valued at approximately $5.6 billion, which is $500 million lower than the value before the recession. All in all, the University experienced a

Recovering from a crisis

SEE ONLINE ON PAGE 10

History of the biology department at Duke, Page 5

ular aspect of Duke culture in the 1960s. In 1967, students protested segregation on campus by holding a sit-in in the Allen

SEE FINANCIAL AID ON PAGE 17

ONTHERECORD

“Removing death-qualification reqs would render truly impartial and representative juries” —Mousa Alshanteer in “partial and unrepresentative.” See column page X

Lefkowitz, Duke’s most recent Nobel laureate , Page 7


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