Issue 01, Volume 79 - News

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

Monday, August 26, 2013

Issue 1, Volume 79

O F

H O U S T O N

S I N C E

1 9 3 4

ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM

SPORTS

8 Something

to prove With transition abound, Cougars hope to rebound OPINION

3

Light rail needs to prioritize safety

NEWS

2

Program helps get grads out

NEWS

LIFE & ARTS

8

8 Satisfy your app-etite

Provost’s office revamped with students in mind

FREE TUTORING N109 Cougar Village (Building 563)

www.las.uh.edu

NEWS

4

Khator to run the numbers

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2 \\ Monday, August 26, 2013

EDITOR’S NOTE

ACADEMICS

New program wrestles sinking graduation rates Nam-My Le Staff writer

The University’s administration is working with the Student Government Association to launch a new program this fall called Foundations of Excellence, which seeks to improve students’ first-year experiences and six-year graduation rates.

Through student surveys and the establishment of committees made up of students, faculty and staff, the two-year program will spend the first year evaluating UH’s strengths and weaknesses.

One survey will be given to freshmen halfway through the semester, and another survey will be given to upperclassmen.

“How does dining impact your first year? How does parking? All those things will be fully considered through this whole process,” said SGA president Cedric Bandoh.

The University will report the results of its evaluation to the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education for help finding solutions that can be implemented during the program’s second year.

The Gardner Institute was founded in 1999 and works with institutions of higher learning to develop and enhance the first year retention of students.

“Only certain universities are invited to be part of this,” Bandoh said. “We’re working with the best minds in regards to professors and administrators from other universities who have great academic enterprises.”

Welcome back.

The Daily Cougar has been working hard to adhere to the rapid changes of journalism. We’ve realized that it is not always what you read, but what you see.

If you go on to thedailycougar.com, you’ll find we restyled our website to Channler K. be more visually Hill appealing.

Our goal is to reach you in ways that we never have before. Check out your favorite section online daily for exclusives that are sure to add a splash of excitement into your day.

In print, we’re catering our content to your interests. After all, what would we be without you?

Your voice is just as important as the words that fill the pages of our newspaper Monday to Thursdays.

If you have news tips or suggestions, or if you want more information about what we do and how you can get involved, come see us at the Cat’s Back on Aug. 28, meet the editors at our Open House on Sept. 5 or stop by our information tables, which will be held every other Thursday starting Sept. 5 at Philip Guthrie Hoffman Hall.

We’re celebrating our 79th year of publication, and we want you to be the cornerstone of our success.

STAFF Section Editor

Closing Editors

Mary Dahdouh

Natalie Harms, Channler Hill, Mahnoor Samana

Assistant Editors Low graduation rates greatly affect both students and administrators. | File Photo/The Daily Cougar

Laura Gillespie, Jessica Crawford

Copy Editors In addition to first-year experiences, six-year graduation rates are another focus of the program.

Since 2005, more students at UH have dropped out after the first year than any other. While first-year retention

Amanda Hilow, Ivania Rivas, Jenae Sitzes

Copy Chief David Bryant

Cover Photography Aisha Bouderdaben, The Daily Cougar File Photos, courtesy of uh.edu

Contact information Email: news@thedailycougar.com Phone: (713) 743-5314

GRAD continues on page 12

University Eye Institute Optical Contact Lenses Family Practice Pediatric Vision Sports Vision Low Vision To schedule a comprehensive eye examination and for a full listing of our services, please call 713.743.2020 or visit www.uei.uh.edu 4901 Calhoun ( Calhoun at Wheeler )

Open to the public, Monday - Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. - Entrance 2A - Access Calhoun Road

Monday, August 26, 2013 // 3

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Dear Students: As a new academic year begins, I take great pride and pleasure in welcoming each of you – our new and returning students – to the University of Houston.

Our Tier One university continues to grow at a remarkable pace. The new football stadium is progressing from an ambitious dream to a concrete-and-steel reality. Two more residence halls have opened their doors, giving us the second highest residential capacity among Texas campuses.

A spectacular new University Center nears completion. Additional academic and research facilities abound.

These are exciting and challenging times, and I want you to remember that student success – your success – is our priority. We are here to support your determined efforts to achieve your goals. That is our goal, too.

So, make the best of your time here. Study hard, have fun – and wear red on Fridays to show your pride in being a vital part of the UH community. Go Coogs!

Renu Khator President

Follow President Khator: Twitter.com/UHpres www.uh.edu/president

The Daily Cougar

4 \\ Monday, August 26, 2013

ADMINISTRATION

Khator’s yearly address to prove considerable growth Channler K. Hill

AT A GLANCE

Editor in chief

PROGRESS CARD SHOWS UNIVERSITY IMPROVEMENT Category

Base Year (2007-08)

Last Year (2012-13)

Freshman Acceptance Rate

77%

56%

Total Research Expenditures

$73,542,000

$116,175,000

Total Enrollment

34,883

40,747

Retention Rate (First Year)

77%

83%

Graduation Rate (6 Year)

43%

46%

All information from uh.edu/president/vision-priorities/progress-cards/ Graphic by Laura Gillespie and Jessica Crawford

Just as the president of the United States delivers the State of the Union Address every year, President Renu Khator does something similar.

Khator and the administration have been busy preparing to discuss a broad range of topics, such as the University’s 2012-13 Progress Card — a document that reveals a generalized overview of how the University has been advancing since Khator took office in January 2008 — at the Fall Address. The Card outlines six strategic goals: National Competitiveness, Student Success, Community Advancement, Athletic Competitiveness, National and Local Recognition and Resource

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Competitiveness.

“A progress card is a dashboard that can illustrate quickly if the institution is on the right track.

Comparing the base year with the most current year, our overall progress is evident,” Khator said.

“We have faced many obstacles — budget cuts, federal sequestration, economic recession, stock market decline — but we have continued moving forward. It takes a strong commitment and a strong team of faculty and staff to continue to making progress under unfavorable conditions.”

Based on the UH Progress Card, the total number of research expenditures has increased by about $42.6 million since the 2007-08 base year.

The University’s emphasis on energy and health sciences has helped support the additional research funding.

“The University’s research strategy is to support programs that represent both institutional strengths and significant opportunities for external research funding, particularly from the federal government,” said Chris Stanich, associate vice chancellor and associate provost of Institutional Planning & Analysis. “In addition, UH recently qualified for state research funding through the National Research University Fund, (providing) an additional annual appropriation of $7.9 million.”

The number of nationally ranked UH graduate programs has doubled and there has been a steady increase in doctorates awarded and post-doctoral appointees since the base year. Through the Graduate Assistant Tuition Fellowship and Doctoral Student Tuition Fellowship at UH, students who serve as graduate assistants while obtaining their degrees have their designated tuition and fees paid for by the University.

“Addressing the financial needs of doctoral students enables the University to better compete for top doctoral students and facilitates timely graduation,” Stanich said. “The number of post-doctoral researchers employed at a university tends to be positively associated with the amount of research dollars the university expends.”

In regards to student success, there has been little to no increase in first-time in college retention rate, FTIC graduation rate, the percentage of graduate or professional students and course completion rates, based on UH’s Progress Card.

US News & World Report disclosed that the median retention rate for national universities is 83 percent. With the University’s 5 percent increase to 82 from 77 for firstyear students, it’s a mere 1 percent KHATOR continues on page 6

Monday, August 26, 2013 // 5

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MAJORS

ART Art* Art History Studio Art - Graphic Communications - Painting - Photography/Digital Media - Sculpture COMMUNICATION Advertising Corporate Communication Health Communication Integrated Communication Interpersonal Communication Journalism* - Broadcast - Print Media Media Production Media Studies Public Relations

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WWW.UH.EDU/CLASS

HONORS COLLEGE Creative Work Medicine and Society Phronesis, Politics, and Ethics INTERDISCIPLINARY ART MILITARY SCIENCE (ARMY ROTC) MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES MODERN & CLASSICAL LANGUAGES Arab Studies Chinese Studies Classical Studies French French for Business Professionals German Greek Italian Studies Jewish Studies Latin World Cultures and Literatures

MUSIC Music Literature/History Music Theory NAVAL SCIENCE (NAVY ROTC) PHILOSOPHY POLITICAL SCIENCE Law, Value, and Policy National Security Studies Quantitative Social Science PSYCHOLOGY SOCIOLOGY THEATRE & DANCE Dance WOMEN’S, GENDER & SEXUALITY STUDIES Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Women’s Studies

AGNES ARNOLD HALL, ROOM 320

The Daily Cougar

6 \\ Monday, August 26, 2013

KHATOR

we can continue moving steadily toward that goal,” Khator said.

The Fall Address is scheduled for Oct. 2.

continued from page 4

less than the national average.

“The six-year graduation rate is a difficult measure to move on an annual basis, as it can take several years for program/policy changes to be reflected in performance on this measure,” Stanich said.

From the base year to 2012-13, there has been a decrease in freshman acceptance rates, which Stanich said is a result of a more competitive pool of freshman applicants, and this decrease won’t be changing anytime soon. The University will be creating higher admission standards for incoming freshman next year.

“In general, we have accomplished a lot, but a lot more needs to be accomplished. The most important goal is helping students achieve their objectives and complete college. I am confident that

news@thedailycougar.com

NATION

Obama signs temporary fix to student loan rates Mary Dahdouh News editor

President Renu Khator took office in January 2008. | Courtesy of UH.edu

After months of strained deliberation in Congress, a bipartisan deal that restored lower interest rates for student loans was recently signed into law by President Barack Obama, allowing students to let go of financial uncertainty as the academic year begins.

“I want to thank ... all the members of both the House and Senate from both parties that came together to design a sensible, common-sense approach to

keeping student interest rates at a reasonable level so that young people have a better opportunity to go to college, get the education that they need not only to better their own lives but also to strengthen the country’s economy,” Obama said before signing the bill, according to a White House press release.

The new legislation ties student loan interest rates made on or after July 1 to the market and locks in the rate for the life of the loan. For the coming school year, undergraduates can receive federally subsidized Stafford loans at

GREETINGS UH STUDENTS!

Find out more about Urban Experience Program and how we can help you succeed in your experience at UH.

an interest rate of 3.86 percent.

Without this compromise, students would be borrowing at a rate of 6.8, as percentages would have doubled on July 1 with the discord in Congress.

“We have demonstrated to the American people that this body has the capacity to overcome partisan differences,” said Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine after the Senate passed the bill by a vote of 81 to 18.

According to NBC, King said the bill offers a long-term, marketbased solution that lowers and caps interest rates for all students taking out a loan and finally gets Congress out of the business of setting rates.

Through Democratic efforts, the law guarantees a limit on how high loan interest rates can climb, setting the ceiling for undergraduates at 8.25 percent, graduate students at 9.5 and parents at 10.5.

The Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act of 2013, as it is being called, is expected to give 11 million students this year lower interest rates, saving the average undergraduate $1,500 on interest charges on this year’s loans, according to USA Today.

It has a depressive effect on the economy overall, and we’ve got to do something about it.

President Barack Obama, before signing the legislation to lower the student loan rate

out for more details at

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Yet the bill secures these rates through the 2015 academic year only, drawing massive criticism toward the bipartisan effort.

“I honestly think we should slowly increase the rates as opposed to pushing off the problem for a few years,” said nutrition junior Breanna Larsen. “Once the term of agreement has ceased, as it will in 2015, students will likely be faced with loan interests doubling, tripling or even quadrupling.”

NBC reported that Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called the final compromise bill “obscene.”

She said supporters of the bill “say that it will lower interest rates for students this year, and that’s all that matters. That’s the same thing LOAN continues on page 15

Monday, August 26, 2013 // 7

The Daily Cougar

4:00 PM - 7:00 PM

08.28.13

Campus Recreation

& Wellness Center

FREE FOOD ENTERTAINMENT GAMES MUSIC PRIZES

STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS FAIR & UH FALL SPORTS PEP RALLY

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8 \\ Monday, August 26, 2013

SORTING OUT ITS AFFAIRS

PRESID CHANC Renu K

OFFICE OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS REORGANIZED ITS SYSTEM TO BETTER STUDENT SUCCESS, PROMOTE NATIONAL PROMINENCE Natalie Harms

ASSOCIATE VICE CHANCELLOR FOR SYSTEM INITIATIVES Richard Phillips

Managing editor

Y

ASSOCIATE PROVOST OF STRATEGIC ENROLLMENT PLANNING

ASSOCIATE VC/ PROVOST OF INSTITUTIONAL PLANNING & ANALYSIS

Richard Olenchak

Vacant

Chris Stanich

ASSOCIATE PROVOST OF FINANCE &

DEANS OF COLLEGES & LIBRARIES

ADMINISTRATION Edward Craig Ness

KEY PLA

Edward Craig Ness Associate vice provost for Finance and Administration Provides budget management for the Provost and all units reporting to the provost

Paula

Senior Academ

As the c create a ters rela univers senior c and cha

Teri Elkins Longacre Interim vice provost and dean for Undergraduate Student Success As the university-wide advocate for undergraduate education, ensures quality advising and orientations for undergraduate students, reviews and enhances curriculum and maintains testing and placement services

“I’m driven by the desire to im do affect the goals that (Khato national prominence,” Short s and working with the faculty t oping effective strategies to m driven by having an impact on

Jeff M Richard Olenchak

Interim tion Inn

Interim associate provost for Faculty Development and Affairs

Determi learning vances methods courses educatio

2

Pappas Consulting Group, Inc. begins its report on UH’s Office of Academic Affairs

ACADEMIC continues on page 10

All information provided by UH.edu, Paula Short and the Pappas Consulting Group Inc. report

Pappas concludes its report

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Coordinates faculty recruitment and dean appointments; develops faculty salary scales and employment conditions; and ensures tenure policies and employment laws meet standards

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As everyone was wrapping up the spring semester, President and Chancellor Renu Khator wasn’t preparing for a summer vacation. Instead, she and then-Interim Provost Paula Short were preparing a reorganization of the Office of Academic Affairs with the goal of enhancing student success.

The reorganization was constructed by an outside consulting firm, Pappas Consulting Group Inc., the chancellor, the provost and members of the department. The provost said all the changes will be finalized by Dec. 1.

The report, which was commissioned on Aug. 28, 2012 and concluded May 3, aimed to fine-tune areas within the academic world of UH, such as providing more training and resources for faculty.

“We’re looking at, in particular, faculty development and faculty affairs. We’re looking at developing a center to support our faculty to be innovative in their teaching and to be really effective instructors in the classroom,” Short said.

“We’ve hired 298 faculty since 2008, and they have produced $43 million worth of external funding. That means we’ve been doing a good job hiring faculty.”

While faculty is a key focus in the reorganization, part of ensuring student success after graduation is creating and nurturing relationships with major industries in the Houston area. This inspired the creation of three positions responsible for this task: the chief health sciences officer, the chief arts officer and, most notably, the chief energy officer.

“It’s really to increase our footprint in this incredible city of Houston in the area of energy. It’s to connect the University and its faculty, its research and its students to the industry that’s here in the No. 1 energy capital in the world,” Short said, “and also to address workforce development needs, to conduct research and to develop research out of that.”

Short said the Office is working on new degree programs for all three categories, with recent progress in health sciences.

With UH located so close to the Texas Medical Center, Short said the excitement is tangible and it’s only a matter of time before UH steps out as a health science leader.

On Aug. 5, Short made a huge stride in this reorganization: She created the UH Graduate School.

UH has had stand-out graduate programs for years, but what the University lacked was one central system.

“That’s where the establishment of the Graduate School comes in. … That’s done so that we can begin to have better coordination in graduate education, both in terms of policy, student support, student voice, ensuring continuous quality of dissertations, of admissions — we’re automating admissions of graduate students,” Short said.

The consistency and cohesiveness of the graduate school will help the individual programs grow, she said.

With all this tucked under their belts, the chancellor and provost have much left to tackle by the end of the

ASSOCIATE PROVOST OF FACULTY DEVELOPMENT & AFFAIRS

M

ou wouldn’t know it from the outside, but the Ezekiel W. Cullen Building — home to most of the administration — has one of the most renovated offices on campus. Even though no carpet was torn up and no hammering took place during the summer, the Office of Academic Affairs has been subject to significant structural improvements.

SENIO PRESIDENT/C FOR ACADEM & PRO Paula

Khator and Short an nounce the elimina tion of eight position within the Office

Monday, August 26, 2013 // 9

The Daily Cougar

DENT & CELLOR Khator

CHIEF HEALTH SCIENCES OFFICER Vacant

PROVOST’S PUNCH LIST

CHIEF ARTS OFFICER Vacant

R VICE CHANCELLOR MIC AFFAIRS OVOST Short

The Pappas Consulting Group Inc.’s report included a multitude of suggested changes, tasks or goals for the University, and specifically the provost, to complete.

CHIEF ENERGY OFFICER Ramanan Krishnamoorti

The Office of Academic Affairs and the provost will:

UNIVERSITY ENGAGEMENT To be determined

VICE PROVOST & DEAN OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT SUCCESS

VICE PROVOST & DEAN OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

VICE PROVOST OF GLOBAL STRATEGIES & STUDIES

Teri Elkins Longacre

Dmitri Litvinov

Vacant

AYERS

Indicates interim capacity

Create and monitor strategic initiatives supporting UH’s academic goals Realign duties of the previous office to fit the new organization of positions

ASSOCIATE PROVOST OF EDUCATION INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY

Ensure decision support systems and services exist to guide system-wide decisions Meet the personnel and training needs of the faculty Focus on undergraduate programs and activities to enhance student success

Jeff Morgan

Establish a graduate school that coordinates admissions for the University at the graduate level and makes sure resources for financial support are available

Dmitri Litvinov

Organize a Universitywide enrollment management plan that works with deans and department chairs on the undergraduate level

Interim vice provost and dean for UH Graduate School Coordinates admissions, recruitment and programs; establish and enforce policies, procedures and processes; serves as a graduate student advocate by ensuring resources, financial aid, and training opportunities

Short

vice president/chancellor for mic Affairs and provost

chief academic officer, works to and develop all academic matating to students, faculty and the ity as a whole and serves as the cabinet member to the president ncellor

Develop a plan for global activities for students, faculty and staff Encourage innovation and introduce technologies that advance learning and teaching Regulate administrative and financial practices that support deans, department chairs and business administrators of different colleges

Ramanan Krishnamoorti

Maintain the goals of the Office as suggested by the report, including: thinking strategically, being service oriented in its day-to-day interface with students, academic administrators and faculty, working in a transparent and nimble manner, being timely and clear in its responses that require decision-making, and holding deans and the staff accountable

Chief energy officer

mplement strategies that really or) set for student success and said. “I’m working with the deans to make that happen and develmake that happen. Ultimately I’m n our students.”

Analyzes workforce needs, builds partnerships on the global and local scale — including within the Energy Research Park, increases private sector giving and serves on the staff energy advisory board

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Chris Stanich Richard Phillips Associate vice chancellor for System Initiatives and Administration

Graphics by Andres Garcia and Natalie Harms

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Short plans to have all the vacant and interim positions filled permanently and all reorganization finalized

The Daily Cougar

10 \\ Monday, August 26, 2013

CONSTRUCTION ZONE

Graphic by Mary Dahdouh Photos by Aisha Bouderdaben All information from uh.edu/plantops/departments/fpc/under-construction

1A PARKING GARAGE COMPLETED

$20,000,000 FOOTBALL STADIUM SUMMER 2014

$105,000,000 COUGAR PLACE COMPLETED

$48,500,000 CENTRAL PLANT SEPTEMBER 2013

$38,693,196 COUGAR VILLAGE II COMPLETED

$50,000,000 UNIVERSITY CENTER PHASE I - WINTER 2013 PHASE II - WINTER 2014

$80,000,000

ACADEMIC

CAMPUS

Rail connects UH to city Chrystal Grant Staff writer

Construction continues around UH as Metro coordinates its next rail project.

The METRORail could ease the the woes of distressed commuters, but not any time soon.

“The rail will give students another option to move about. They can link to the existing Red Line, which connects patrons to 70-plus bus routes at or adjacent to the rail line, or transfer to the future Green Line and head East,” said Jerome Gray, senior press officer for Metro.

“Expanding the rail system gives the community more choices.

Rather than get in a car and fight traffic, they can ride the rail, transfer to a bus and finish their trip on a bike — or whatever combination works for them — and let Metro do the driving.”

The project is expected to be completed in late 2014, said Metro spokeswoman Caroline Mendoza.

Mendoza said voters approved the Southeast Line in the 2003 referendum.

“It takes years to construct a project like this,” Gray said. “The Southeast Line is a partially federalfunded line. So before ground is broken, there are a lot of milestones to be reached in the federal process, like environmental studies and clearances, preliminary engineering work, final design and more.

Construction on the Southeast Line began (in) January 2010.”

The total cost of the Southeast Line is $823 million, he said.

Metro expects the expansion project to have a positive influence on businesses and plans to coordinate on several campaigns with the University to increase awareness for students and faculty, Gray said.

“This will give the public more commuting options to patronize business, schools, visit entertainment venues, go to medical appointments or connect to the other rail lines or to the bus network and

continued from page 8

only concern is the safety, if the line will be running at night,” Watford said.

Safety information will be posted on gometrorail.org under driver safety and construction safety. The scheduled times the MetroRail will run have not been set. Students may go to ridemetro.org for more details in the future.

semester. There are still four vacant positions within the Department and four individuals serving in interim positions.

“Part of (what’s left) is me making a decision on whether or not to permanently appoint the interims or whether or not I want to do an external search,” Short said. “And I do have searches going on actually for two: the strategic enrollment planning and the global strategy.”

All of the plans and changes have been made with students in mind, and Short said she wants students to be able to look back and see how all these changes affected their experience.

“If you really look at every one of these things and you coil it down to its essence, it’s to improve the experience of our students, both at the graduate and undergraduate level,” Short said.

“If we’re not successful in giving you what you need, both educationally and in all ways, then we really haven’t succeeded as a Tier One institution.”

news@thedailycougar.com

news@thedailycougar.com

In late 2014, students can look forward to riding The University Line, which will travel to universities all around Houston and connect commuters to the Uptown Light Rail Line, near The Galleria. | Aisha Bouderdaben/The Daily Cougar explore the city further using transit,” Gray said.

Prospective UH graduate student Diandre Watford is looking forward to the University’s access to the rail and thinks it will be great for students and those that don’t have a vehicle.

“I plan to begin the MBA program in the spring, and I would rather ride the line than drive. It will save gas and time with traffic in Houston. My

Monday, August 26, 2013 // 11

The Daily Cougar

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meal plan

Shower caddy Towels Washcloths Mirror Scale Laundry bags Ironing board Drying rack Hooks Storage units

social life

The Daily Cougar

12 \\ Monday, August 26, 2013

Q&A

SGA president, VP share on exciting endeavors Katherine Morris Staff writer

Time has come to dust off the books and get back to class, and the Bandoh-Ramchandani administration is ready to make sure you see some improvements this semester.

Student Government Association President Cedric Bandoh and Vice President Rani Ramchandani, both supply chain seniors, have spent the summer getting the ball rolling on several projects and working to carry out their campaign promises.

The Daily Cougar sat down with the power duo that’s leading the 50th administration to talk about this coming year.

The Daily Cougar: Has SGA done anything major this summer?

Cedric Bandoh: One thing that impacts students here and now is the extension of the library hours.

The students have been calling for a 24-hour library and so the dean of libraries, (Dana Rooks) and I had a meeting … It became a matter of safety and security and the cost. So, she said let’s do it (in) increments;

let’s extend it one more hour this fall, we’ll monitor it, and then based off of that, we’ll re-evaluate extending them further.

TDC: Are there any new updates on the app, Redline, that will be released the beginning of the fall semester?

Rani Ramchandani: It’s a beautiful interface that will be extremely user-friendly and very easy to navigate. Right now we are making sure the push alerts, search map, campus SGA continues on page 15

SGA is not all fun and games for Cedric Bandoh and Rani Ramchandani, who plan to tackle difficult topics, such as extended library hours and the safety of students on campus. | Courtesy of Rani Ramchandani

GRAD

AFRICAN/AMERICAN STUDIES AFRICAN/AMERICAN STUDIES

AnExperience Experience in in Academic Academic and An and Cultural CulturalDiversity!

Diversity!

The mission of the African American Studies Program at the University of Houston is to develop, promote and enhance the knowledge of information of the discipline as well as the collective consciousness of African descended people.

AAS focuses upon the cultural and historical heritage of Africans on the Continent, in the Americas and throughout the great Diaspora.

FALL 2013 UNDERGRADUATE COURSES COURSE #

COURSE TITLE

INSTRUCTOR

DAYS

TIMES

ROOM

AAS 2320

Intro to African American Studies

Crawford, M.

TTh

1–2:30PM

AH 106

AAS 2320

Intro to African American Studies

Poindexter-Sylvers, C. T

7–10PM

AH 204

AAS 2320

Intro to African American Studies

Walker, A.

Sat.

9AM–12PM

H 30

AAS 3310

Af. Amer. Experience Through Theater

Anderson, F.

MWF

11AM–12PM

H 34

AAS 3348

African Americans and the Law

Putman, Eronn

TTh

2:30–4PM

TBA

AAS 3394

African American Histoy & Biography

Walker, M.

Online

Online

Online

AAS 3394

Community Internship in AAS

Conyers, J.

TBA

TBA

TBA

AAS 4330

Black Church in America

Walker, A.

MWF

11AM–12PM

H 43

AAS 4373

Black Leaders of the 20 Century

Williams, L.

TTh

10–11:30AM

AH 628

AAS 4377

Seminar on W.E.B. DuBois

Conyers, J.

TTh

11:30AM–1PM AH 628

th

GRADUATE COURSES COURSE #

COURSE TITLE

INSTRUCTOR

DAYS

TIMES

ROOM

AAS 6308

Africana Religion and Biography

Conyers, J.

Online

Online

Online

628 Agnes Arnold Hall • Houston, TX 77204-3047 • (713) 743-2811

continued from page 2

rates have increased to 83 from 77 percent in the last five years, the sixyear graduation rate remains at 46 percent. In comparison, the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M have 80 percent six-year graduation rates, according to US World News & Report.

Six-year graduation rates and first-year retention rates also account for 20 percent of the University’s US World News & Report’s National Universities ranking.

“We have to move the needle on six-year graduation rates,” said President and Chancellor Renu Khator.

“Our retention is looking pretty good for the first year and second year, but we need to start working on year three and four.”

While the graduation rate is below the national and state average, UH’s student body has a different composition than other schools in the state.

Twenty-five percent of students are age 25 or older, while UT and A&M are below 6 percent in that category, according to reports published by the universities.

In 2012, less than half of first-year freshmen lived on campus, and more than 60 percent of that same population had financial needs, according to reports published by UH. “It’s not an excuse to not do better,” Bandoh said. “There are other universities who have similar student profiles in terms of the types of students that we have who have higher graduation rates.”

The administration plans to use funds generated from this year’s tuition hike to hire more advisers and faculty, increase need-based financial aid and improve the M.D. Anderson Memorial Library.

“The whole point is that if you set a good foundation for students their first year, then they will be on the right path to succeed and matriculate through the rest of their years at the University,” Bandoh said. news@thedailycougar.com

Monday, August 26, 2013 // 13

The Daily Cougar

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The Daily Cougar

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THANKS for reading The Daily Cougar!

Puzzle answers online: www.thedailycougar.com/puzzles

Monday, August 26, 2013 // 15

The Daily Cougar

SGA

continued from page 12

bus routes and calendar updates are up to speed and working seamlessly.

TDC: What’s the next step for ensuring safety on campus?

Cedric: [Special Adviser to the President for Safety and Security] Kyle Spears is working with the police department in terms of the Cougar Patrol and the feasibility of that. The discussion that’s come up over the summertime is the situations that we’re willing to put students in and making sure that’s safe...Another thing that’s come up during the summertime is looking at having officers on bikes. That’s something that used to be a huge thing here at UH, and that’s something that’s really big on all college campuses. news@thedailycougar.com

For the rest of the Q&A, visit thedailycougar.com/news

LOAN

continued from page 6

the credit card companies said when they sold zero-interest credit cards and the same thing subprime mortgage lenders said when they sold teaser rate mortgages.”

Even though the bill was passed and signed into law, senators are already talking about trashing the deal when they take up a rewrite of the Higher Education Act this fall.

For now, interest payments will be less expensive.

According to Time Magazine, about 18 million loans will be covered by the legislation, totaling about $106 billion this fall.

The Congressional Budget Office also estimated the bill would reduce the deficit by $715 million throughout the next decade, as federal loans would be a $1.4 trillion program.

Although this is good news for now, Obama assured students that “our job is not done, because the cost of college remains extraordinarily high.”

“It’s out of reach for a lot of folks, and for those who do end up attending college, the amount of debt that young people are coming out of school with is a huge burden on them,” Obama said at the signing of the bill, according to the press release.

“It’s a burden on their families.

It makes it more difficult for them to buy a home. It makes it more difficult for them if they want to start a business. It has a depressive effect on the economy overall, and we’ve got to do something about it.” news@thedailycougar.com

Welcome back Coogs & incoming Freshmen!

The Daily Cougar

16 \\ Monday, August 26, 2013

LSS WORKSHOPS FALL 2013 LOCATION: N112 Cougar Village (Building 563) REGISTER: “Workshop Signup” at www.las.uh.edu/lss On-line registration is necessary to obtain a spot.

Problems registering? Call Laura Heidel 713.743.5439 or Jason Yu 713.743.1223

WEEK 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 12 12 13 13 14 15 15

TOPIC

TIME #1

TIME #2

Transfer Student Success Freshman Student Success Transfer Student Success Freshman Student Success Goal Setting Note Taking College Level Reading Overcoming Procrastination Improving Concentration Time Management Time Management Studying for Natural Science Courses Studying Groups Reading for STEM majors Improve Your Memory Reading Online Texts Reducing Test Anxiety Writing Research Papers Learning Beyond Memorizing Test Preparation Overcoming Procrastination Critical Thinking Giving Professional Presentations Getting Organized Motivation Improving Your Memory Improving Your Memory Coping with Finals Time Management Meditation to Deal with Academic Stress Coping with Finals Overcoming Procrastination

Mon. 8/26 @ 5pm Tues. 8/27 @ 10am Tues. 9/3 @ 10am Wed. 9/4 @ 1pm Thurs. 9/5 @ 2pm Wed. 9/4 @ 5pm Tues. 9/10 @ 11am Mon. 9/9 @ 3pm Tues. 9/17 @ 11am Thurs. 9/19 @ 4pm Sat. 9/21 @ 11am Mon. 9/23 @ 10am Wed. 9/25 @ 2pm Mon. 9/23 @ 3pm Wed. 10/2 @ 2pm Tues. 10/1 @ 1pm Mon. 9/30 @ 2pm Mon. 10/7 @ 3pm Mon. 10/7 @ 10am Tues. 10/15 @ 9am Mon. 10/14 @ 11am Tues. 10/22 @ 11am Tues. 10/29 @ 1pm Tues. 11/5 @ 1pm Mon. 11/11 @ 3pm Tues. 11/12 @ 1pm Fri. 11/15 @ 3pm Wed. 11/20 @ 11am Wed. 11/20 @ 3pm Tues. 11/26 @ 9am Mon. 12/2 @ 10am Wed. 12/4 @ 3pm

Thurs. 8/29 @ 5pm Thurs. 8/29 @ 1pm Sat. 9/7 @ 11am Thurs. 9/5 @ 3pm Fri. 9/6 @ 11am Thurs. 9/5 @ 10am Wed. 9/11 @ 2pm Thurs. 9/12 @ 3pm Thurs. 9/19 @ 1pm Wed. 9/18 @ 2pm Thurs. 9/26 @ 2pm Fri. 9/27 @ 4pm Tues. 9/24 @ 11am Fri. 10/4 @ 10am Wed. 10/2 @ 4pm Thurs. 10/3 @ 4pm Thurs. 10/3 @ 4pm Thurs. 10/10 @ 10am Wed. 10/16 @ 2pm Fri. 10/18 @ 3pm Wed. 10/23 @ 4pm Wed. 10/30 @ 5pm Wed. 11/6 @ 1pm Thurs. 11/14 @ 11am Tues. 11/12 @ 5pm Fri. 11/22 @ 10am Sat. 11/23 @ 11am Tues. 11/26 @ 1pm Tues. 12/3 @ 10am Thurs. 12/5 @ 11am

**Workshops will be added when necessary throughout the semester.

Please visit the “Workshops Signup” link on the LSS website www.las.uh.edu/lss for the most up to date information.