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Students who switch majors could influence university funding SARAH GARDNER | DAILY EGYPTIAN
LAUREN DUNCAN Daily Egyptian
CHRISTMAS CAST PREPARES FOR PERFORMANCE
The amount of time a student spends at the university may affect the amount of funding the university receives from the state in the future. Because of legislation signed into law in August, state funding will be based on university performance after July 1 and Illinois Board of Higher Education Steering Committee members have started to consider ways to judge a university's performance. One measure the committee has considered is the number of credit hours a student has acquired before graduation, which academic advisers say is often impacted by students changing majors. Jim Allen, associate provost for academic programs, is a member of the SIUC Advisory Committee that provided input to the steering committee about measuring university performance. Based on records both from SIU and other schools, he said the average undergraduate student will change their major five times before they receive a degree. The university can help reduce the number of credit hours a student completes before graduating by looking at academic advisement and how it influences a students' choice in major, Allen said. If a student changes majors five times, their undergraduate career can be prolonged, he said. "You change to another college and guess what, the selection of core courses has changed," he said. Because of this, some students graduate with more credit hours than needed. While most degrees at SIU require 120 credit hours for graduation, Allen said based on records from the university, the average undergraduate student graduates with 137 hours. The steering committee members have discussed the possibility of awarding schools for graduating students with fewer than 144 credit hours. Allen said the frequency of major changes can be reduced with a focus on advisement. By focusing on what students are more interested in earlier on in their academic career, he said, they may be less likely to change their minds. "It saves a lot of students some grief because they've had better academic advisement earlier on," he said. "We know the better the advisement, the more it will help reduce the number of hours." Rebecca Jo Reed, an academic adviser for the College of Science, said students cite many reasons for changing majors. "In general, they either have taken the first few courses within a major and found they didn't want it to be their major, or it can be that their parents picked their major, or it could have to do with the workload," she said.
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t saves a lot of students some grief because they've had better academic advisement earlier on. — Jim Allen associate provost for academic programs Please see MAJORS | 3
Cast members of “White Christmas� perform the musical number “Snow� Monday during a dress rehearsal at McLeod Theater. The department of
theater and School of Music will present Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas� at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at McLeod Theater. The musical runs through Sunday, with a final show at 2 p.m.
Green fee may lead to sustainability hire JACQUELINE MUHAMMAD Daily Egyptian The SIUC Sustainability Council is close to creating a position for a campus sustainability coordinator, after nearly a year of plans. Erin Seekamp, vice chair of the Sustainability Council and assistant professor of forestry, said since the council was established in 2008, members have wanted a permanent administrative position for someone to propose initiatives that will affect campus-wide sustainability. The position will be created after approval from the Affirmative Action Advisory Committee, a committee that advises the recruitment, hiring and retention of university employees. The candidate will collaborate with university officials to develop environmental policies for the campus. Jonathan Gray, chair of the Sustainability Council and associate professor of speech communication, said sustainability is about efficiency at SIU. "We need to make sure our practices
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e see this as the beginning for what sustainability at the university can be. We want to see sustainability fueled by students. — Erin Seekamp vice chair of the Sustainability Council assistant professor of foresty
... are operating in a way that will allow them to continue working tomorrow, but (also) well into the future," he said. The Sustainability Council, a council that focuses on on-campus renewable energy and energy efficiency, was formed after Undergraduate Student Government implemented a green fee, a $10 student fee for on-campus sustainability projects and research. The council is responsible for managing and distributing funds from the fee for sustainability and research at the university. Gray said students have supported the Sustainability Council and the need for a sustainability coordinator since the proposal of the green fee.
Jarid Perrin, a junior from Lindenwood studying forestry, said a sustainability coordinator could save money by combining existing campus resources. “We are a research institution, and right now we have several people scattered all over campus working within housing, dining and at the Physical Plant focusing on sustainability. They’re all doing their own thing, but a coordinator could bring them together,� he said. Gray said the council expects the position to be approved in the upcoming weeks, and he wants to hire someone as early as spring 2012. Please see POSITION | 3
Routine council meeting to address tax levies ELI MILEUR Daily Egyptian The Carbondale City Council will deal with tax levy issues at its regular meeting tonight at the Civic Center. “That’s not real sexy ‌ but without it the city doesn’t function,â€? councilwoman Jane Adams said. The three general business items on the council’s agenda are related to tax levies. The first ordinance abates the city’s property tax levy to refund general obligation bond debt service. The ordinance would replace tax levy funds with money from the city’s general fund. Councilman Don Monty said the city pledged to pay for the bonds with property taxes to give investors a sense of security because property taxes are
a dependable source of income. However, the plan from the beginning was to abate the property taxes and cover the expenses with the city’s other income sources, Monty said. Traditionally, the city has not levied property taxes, he said. The second ordinance would actually approve a property tax levy to pay for the public safety pension funds as well as the city’s library. The two combine for a total of about $1,700,000 in property taxes. The tax had not been levied for years, but it was instated in 2010. Monty said it was a result of the economic downturn. Like many personal portfolios, the pension fund portfolios took a heavy hit in the recession, and extra funds were needed to keep them solvent, he said. Monty said he foresees the property
tax being levied into the near future until the economy turns around. “But right now, anyone who’s got a crystal ball trying to look forward doesn’t see any big improvement in the economy over the next few years,� Monty said. He said he has not heard any complaints from residents specifically regarding this tax. The third ordinance establishes a tax levy for the Downtown Special Services Area Number One. The zone covers a swath of the central part of the city along Illinois Avenue. The levy pays for Carbondale Main Street, Adams said. She said the vote should be routine, and she doesn’t see any complications in the tax levies. Please see COUNCIL | 3