Tuesday, March 5, 2013 // Issue 86, Volume 78
THE DAILY COUGAR
T H E
O F F I C I A L
S T U D E N T
N E W S PA P E R
O F
T H E
U N I V E R S I T Y
O F
H O U S T O N
S I N C E
1 9 3 4
ADMINISTRATION
Fixed tuition gets mixed reviews Minh Dam Contributing writer
Starting in the fall, incoming freshmen and undergraduate transfer students will have the opportunity to choose a four-year fixed tuition rate. The UH System has asked Texas Legislature for a delay in the implementation of the option until Fall 2014, among other requests. To the Board of Regents, the UH Political Action Committee and Chancellor Renu Khator, the time necessary to inform students and program changes required for student information systems just isn’t enough. The University welcomes the idea of a four-year fixed tuition option, said President and Chancellor Renu Khator. “But we are proposing modifications to make it a true option for students, since many of our students are part-time and many are unable to make a four-year financial commitment at once,” Khator said. According to the Almanac of Higher Education 2011, 23 percent of full-time undergraduate students,
who are 24 or younger, work 20 hours or more per week. With limited time to take classes, some are forced to extend their time passed the typical four years in college. “I am completely for the four-year fixed tuition. It makes sense to pay the same amount while you’re in school,” said political science and liberal studies double major senior Yesenia Chavez. “But it does concern me to have a fixed amount of time, because I’m definitely not graduating in four years and that’s basically an old-school institution kind of thing.” Students who opt for a double major degree plan will graduate after completing a minimum of 150 semester credit hours. Even enrolling full-time, double majors typically don’t graduate in the traditional timeframe. Among graduates in 2009 who continuously enrolled full-time, 45 percent needed an extra year or more to earn a four-year degree, according Beginning Postsecondary Student Rates from the National Center for
UH Academic Year Tuition Year tuition and required fees for full-time, first-time undergraduates: 2006-2012 $9,765
10000
$8,471 8000
6000
$8,862
Soggy students need help
$7,811
$5,886 $5,680
$6,196 $6,084
$6,658
$6,921
$7,342
$7,513 UH TUITION
4000 2006-2007
2007-2008
2008-2009
2009-2010
2010-2011
2011-2012
Tuition and fees for full-time Comparison Group UH student, if first enrolled in 2006 (Chosen by UH): UH student that graduates in 4 years
$25,343
UH student that graduates in 6 years
$40,198
These figures don't take into account textbooks, school supplies and any financial expense related to commuting to school.
Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ) George Mason University (Fairfax, VA) Georgia State University (Atlanta, GA) Temple University (Philadelphia, PA) Texas Tech University (Lubbock, TX) The University of Texas at Dallas (Richardson, TX) University of Cincinnati-Main Campus (Cincinnati, OH) University of Illinois at Chicago (Chicago, IL) University of Oklahoma Norman Campus (Norman, OK) Wayne State University (Detroit, MI)
All data gathered from National Center For Education Statistics, www.nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/ Graphic by Andres Garcia
Two new assistant professors at the Conrad N. Hilton College have been awarded the New Faculty Research Grant, an annual research opportunity from the University. The grant is awarded to only a few assistant professors. The Guchait applications go through a university committee that chooses a recipient based on his or her merits within the field. Priyanko Guchait and Yoon Koh are two of the grant’s recipients for their research projects this month. “We have a great group of assistant professors,” said Dean of the Hilton College John Bowen. “In a way, it just validates that we chose a couple of more good people. We are very selective.”
Up-close with conductor SPORTS
TUITION continues on page 3
DONATION
Researchers gain recognition Professor promises gift Contributing writer
LIFE+ARTS
COMPARISON GROUP MEDIAN
HILTON
Erika Forero
OPINION
Guchait and Koh have published numerous papers and articles in distinguished journals in their fields, have earned doctorates and have at least three years of experience working in the industry. Guchait’s growing interest in what he calls the people aspect of management within the business field led him to the hospitality industry and eventually to UH and the Hilton College. Guchait said he is ready for the challenge that this grant brings. “I definitely feel the pressure to maintain the standards. But it’s a positive pressure. I think I can play at this level,” Guchait said. “That was one of the reasons I moved here. My colleagues are very supportive and helpful but we have a healthy competition going on in the department, which keeps all of us motivated.” Guchait’s research project is titled “Error Management in Hotel Teams: Impact on Employee and Firm Performance.” The research will focus on error-management
culture within the hospitality industry. According to a summary of the project, it encompasses organizational practices related to communicating about errors, to sharing error knowledge, to helping in error situations and to quickly detecting and handling errors. Guchait highlights the tendency for companies to focus on the negative aspects of error, how to prevent it and proposes a positive look at error. “Some positive consequences of errors are learning, knowledge management and creativity. You learn from errors and you get better in anticipating errors,” Guchait said. “You can avoid the errors from happening again in the future, and you can share the error knowledge with others so they do not repeat the same mistakes. You come up with better and innovative solutions to tackle the challenges in future.”
RESEARCH continues on page 3
Tara Gonzales Contributing writer
After teaching for more than 40 years at UH, a political science professor has promised, through his will and a contract with the University, to financially endow a chair in the Political Science Department, as well as other financial support. “The two go hand-in-glove. If the university isn’t clear what to do with the money that I have left in the will then they might spend it on new furniture in the Cullen building or something,” said professor Robert Carp. “So, it needs to be clear between me and the University exactly what is to be done with the inheritance”. Carp said he made the decision because he loves the University and believes it and the UH System since he first began teaching after receiving his doctorate at the University of Iowa in 1969. “It’s a pledge,” Carp said. “Until GIFT continues on page 3
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