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Serving the University of Texas at Austin community since 1900
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Wednesday, September 18, 2013
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UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY
Graduation rates show mixed progress
Blackboard to be erased by Canvas in August 2015
By Alyssa Mahoney @thealyssam
Despite recent initiatives to increase four-year graduation rates, the preliminary Fall 2013 Enrollment Analysis released Monday shows there has been little to no change in the statistic. In May of 2011, President William Powers Jr. announced a goal to increase four-year graduation rates to
70 percent by 2016. According to the analysis, four-year graduation rates actually decreased from 52.2 percent in spring 2012 to 52 percent in spring 2013. Five-year and six-year graduation rates both increased, by 1.9 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively. David Laude, UT senior vice provost of enrollment and graduation management, said UT has re-emphasized alternate ways to earn
academic credit — AP, dual enrollment, summer school and online credit — to speed up the graduation process with the class of 2017. “This is a reality of the modern college campus,” Laude said. “There are multiple ways to earn the … credit needed each academic year for a traditional 120-hour degree plan.” Government sophomore Irina Yaremchuk is a
transfer student from Austin Community College who plans to graduate on time. She said her academic
adviser was very helpful in providing her with
RATES page 2
UT Graduation Rates
By Wynne Davis
2012
2013
4-year grad rates
52.2%
52%
5-year grad rates
75%
76.9%
6-year grad rates
78.7%
79.4%
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
IT Services to improve wireless coverage By Anthony Green @AnthonyGrreen
Problems with cell reception in and around UT are nothing new, especially after kickoff at Saturday football games, but a campus distributed antenna system is constantly working to better reception quality and manage demand. Originally deployed in 2008, the campus distributed antenna system is a partnership between Information Technology Services and wireless networks AT&T, Verizon and Sprint to provide improved wireless coverage across campus. The networks’ participation in the project is entirely voluntary and the vendors rely on reports of coverage issues provided by the University. Last month, AT&T added additional 3G coverage and completed LTE upgrades to the system, although the
PHONE page 2
Marshall Nolen / Daily Texan Staff
Students may notice an increase in cell phone signal around campus due to updates on the distributed antenna system, a network designated to enhance wireless service in specific areas.
CAMPUS
@wynneellyn
After using Blackboard for 13 years, UT professors and students will soon make the switch to Canvas, a new learning management system. Blackboard will be completely phased out by August 2015. Last school year, Canvas was implemented on a trial basis in select classrooms. Faculty and student survey responses showed that 80 percent of faculty and 66 percent of students were in support of Canvas. Based on these results, the Course and Learning Management Evaluation Steering Committee voted in favor of the transition 16 to 1. When the trial period began, management professor Dennis Passovoy, who used Canvas in its first testing stages, said he eagerly signed on to try the new system. Passovoy said many students and faculty find Blackboard difficult to navigate and that Canvas offers a user-friendly interface comparable to Facebook. “The biggest difference is the way Canvas organizes a student’s schedule,” Passovoy said. “When they first log in, they see all the assignments they have due in the next seven days.” Students also have the opportunity to predict many possible grade outcomes based on how they do on upcoming assignments and assessments. Many of the initial issues
CANVAS page 2
ALUMNI
Quidditch team looks to repeat success UT alum makes fourth ‘Jeopardy!’ appearance
By Ashton Moore @ashton_less
It’s safe to say not many national champions are crowned by catching a snitch. The Texas Quidditch team, which earned a national championship last spring at the 2013 Quidditch World Cup VI in Kissimmee, Fla., has no desire to be conventional. After all, when playing a modified version of a sport from the magical world of “Harry Potter,” concessions have to be made. “Quidditch can’t escape the fact that it’s different, but it’s the smartest game I’ve ever played and requires the most strategy,” said Kenny Chilton, theatre and dance junior and the team’s cocaptain. Chilton sealed the final match of the World Cup last year by catching the snitch. That difference is what inspired prospective players running sprints aboard broomsticks at 9 a.m. for fall travel team tryouts. Those trying out may have been reenacting a game created in the mind of J.K. Rowling, but
By Julia Brouillett @juliakbrou
Erica Reed / Daily Texan Staff
Texas quidditch captains Kenny Chilton and Augustine Monroe look to lead the team to a second straight World Cup title this season.
the media presence, which included five writers and photographers, reflected the intensity and buzz that surrounds a team preparing to defend its title. The success of Texas Quidditch is remarkable considering it is entering just its second year as a club. As scrimmages began, it
The key to success this year will be building a new World Cup-caliber team, not trying to replicate the 2013 team. —Augustine Monroe, co-captain and social work graduate student
became clear the tryouts weren’t just fans of Rowling, but hopeful athletes interested
in competing in a contact
QUIDDITCH page 6
Former UT graduate student Jared Hall appeared in his fourth episode of the quizstyle game show “Jeopardy!” Tuesday night as friends and co-workers gathered to cheer him on. Hall graduated with a master’s degree in global policy studies from the LBJ School of Public Affairs in May 2013. He currently works as a researcher in UT’s International Office. He will appear in several more episodes this week and may return for a champion tournament match next year. Hall said both his research and studies at the University played a large part in his success on the show so far. “I think the coursework that I had at the LBJ School exposed me to a wide range of different subjects — in terms of current affairs, history and economics — that helped to further broaden my horizons,” Hall said. “It exposed me to all sorts of different
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facts and bodies of knowledge that came in handy as I competed on the show.” Hall’s journey began in March of 2012, when he took his first online trivia test. “I didn’t know what to expect going into it,” Hall said. “I really had no idea what it would be like.” After passing two written trivia tests, Hall joined other prospective contestants from the region for an audition in New Orleans. In the months leading up to the audition, Hall said he prepared by routinely watching the show. “I saw what types of questions were asked and worked on how I play the game,” Hall said. “I used a reference book, I used different trivia guides, I made flashcards and I read a lot of Wikipedia articles.” In March of 2013, Hall received a call from a contestant coordinator in Los Angeles and taped his first episode a few weeks later. “I was pleasantly surprised by all of the people involved
JEOPARDY page 2 REASON TO PARTY
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