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DAILY KENT STATER
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P.M. showers HI 53, LO 37
Monday, March 16, 2009 • The independent student newspaper of Kent State University
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BIg bucks in the buckeye state OTHER STATES’ TUITION >>KENTUCKY
The Council on Postsecondary Education for Kentucky set tuition and fee ceilings for the 2009-2010 school year at public colleges and universities earlier this month. Sue Patrick, communications director for the council, said tuition at Kentucky universities will still increase to compensate for budget cuts and to maintain educational quality. But she said this is the lowest increase in more than 10 years, and the average increase in tuition was 10 percent.
>>New Mexico
In comparison, New Mexico ranks as the state with the lowest tuition and 39th in percent increase from the 2006-2007 to 2007-2008 school year. Laura Mulry, director of communications for the New Mexico Higher Education Department, said the department tries to keep tuition low because of the state’s demographics. “We keep our tuition rate as low as possible because we have a high poverty rate in the state of New Mexico,” she said. “We have low educational attainment, meaning we have a low number of students who complete their postsecondary education, and financial cost is a factor.”
>>Pennsylvania
Leah Harris, assistant press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Education, said universities and colleges are divided into two groups that have two very different costs. Increases are below the rate of inflation for the 14 Pennsylvania universities that receive state funding and are part of the state system, she said. The board has no role in determining tuition at the private and four state-related universities, which include Penn State University and the University of Pittsburgh. As a result, there is a wide range of tuition costs in Pennsylvania. Harris said tuition increased by 22 percent from 2002 to 2007 at state system universities. Tuition increased by about 45 percent at Penn State main campus from 2003 to 2008.
>>Indiana
In Indiana, another one of Ohio’s neighbors, the average tuition at four-year public universities is increasing 7 to 7.5 percent each year and doubling every decade. It’s a trend that worries Bernie Hannon, associate commissioner for facilities and financial affairs of the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. Hannon said the increase is higher than the rate of inflation and still higher than the average Indiana family income.
Despite average cost to educate, Ohio’s tuition still ranks third highest
comprehensive tuition averages for resident undergraduates in 2007-2008
Remedial math courses consolidated for next fall Currently-enrolled students will see minor differences in classes Regina Garcia Cano Daily Kent Stater
Story Nicole Stempak Graphic Katie Carlson Daily Kent Stater
O
hio’s tuition is the third highest in the nation, even though it has not Oklahoma $3,820 increased in the past two years. Students who attend college in Ohio can expect to pay about $2,600 more than the national average, according to the 2007-2008 tuition and fee rates study by the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board. The statistics reflect averages of each state’s comprehensive fouryear undergraduate resident tuition Mississippi $4,468 fees. Five Ohio universities were calculated, but Kent State was not among them. “The reason we have to charge more than the other states is because the state provides less support,” President Lester Lefton said. “But it is very, very important. It costs no more to educate students in Ohio than it does in Texas, Virginia, Florida or California. Our salaries aren’t higher. Our physical plan costs aren’t higher. The actual cost of education to the institution is about the same as the national average.” About 37 percent of Kent State’s budget for this year comes from the state. Gov. Ted Strickland first implemented the tuition freeze for the 2007Pennsylvania $6,743 2008 and Virginia $6,854 2008-2009 school year. See TUITION, Page 3
New Jersey $9,919
Fundamentals of Math courses will no longer be offered starting in Fall 2009. Instead, a new set of courses named Core Math will substitute the original remedial classes. Fundamentals of Math levels one through six are five-week courses with high school-level math content, in which students are placed if they do not meet the requirements to enroll in a university-level math course. In the new system, Core Math levels one through four will be seven-and-a-half week long courses. They will still provide the same content as Fundamentals of Math. “The revision is a response to the needs of all campuses,” said Mary Ann Haley, assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “While it’s less of an issue currently on this campus, in terms of the five-week fundamental math modules, there can be problems for some students in those transitions in the middle of the semester. See MATH, Page 3
ENROLLMENT IN EACH FUNDAMENTALS OF MATH CLASS
(BY COURSE NUMBER) 10031 = 976 students 10032 = 1,763 students 10033 = 1,374 students 10034 = 802 students 10035 = 501 students 10036 = 566 students The content of the Fundamentals of Math classes 10031, 10032 and 10033 will be combined into Core Math 10021 and Core Math 10022. The content of the Fundamentals of Math classes 10034, 10035 and 10036 will be combined into Core Math 10023 and Core Math 10024. Source: Andrew Tonge, Chairman of the Department of Mathematical Sciences.
Student groups want to work together more WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU:
Some say the organizations on campus don’t work together enough. If organizations begin to work more closely, this can mean a better university for all students. Students must also realize that most groups accept all students to their meetings.
Kyle Roerink
Daily Kent Stater
Two groups working together is better than one group working by itself. That’s the attitude Josh Meadows, a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon, and many other student groups are taking to improve togetherness on campus. The problem on campus is that students are just not interacting enough, said Meadows, a sophomore VCD major. He said his fraternity is ready and willing to work with other organizations. “On this campus, sometimes there is togetherness,” said Alascia Jones, sophomore accounting major and secretary for Black United Students. “And as far as organizations, if they are not related to each other, they don’t really associate with each other.” She said inclusion on campus is important because it gives people opportunities to stop looking at what is different about each group and learn how to benefit each group for progress within the university. Jones said this year alone, BUS worked with PRIDE!Kent, College Democrats, Hillel and Undergraduate Student Government in an effort to learn from each other ’s ideas about how to make the university a better place. “A lot of times you meet people who you never thought you would have associated with,” Jones said. “And I have been pleasantly surprised.” See ORGANIZATIONS, Page 3
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Dr. Seuss visited the university
Do students support troop withdrawal?
Hillel’s Purim Masquerade
View an audio slideshow from the Dr. Seuss-themed reading event over the weekend. The dean of the College of Education, Health and Human Services read to children, and costumed Dr. Seuss characters were there, too.
KentNewsNet hit the sidewalks of campus to find out if students support President Obama’s decision to pull 12,000 troops out of Iraq by September. Be sure to check all this week for a new question every day.
View photos from Thursday’s masquerade at the Hillel Center. Students ate and danced to celebrate Purim, a festival commemorating Jewish deliverance from Persia.