Technique Friday, February 3, 2012 • Volume 97, Issue 22 • nique.net
The South’s Liveliest College Newspaper
SC: V arrives
Is this tale of swords and souls one which should be eternally retold?413
MSFAC releases health, transport fee increases
No changes recommended for athletic fee, AA warns of future increases
Infographic by Ian Bailie / Student Publications
By Kyle Bulkley Contributing Writer
The Mandatory Student Fee Advisory Committee (MSFAC) met on Thursday, Jan. 26, to discuss proposed increases to Tech’s mandatory student fees for the 2013 fiscal year. It discussed proposed changes to the athletic,
transportation and health fees, ultimately deciding to recommend to change the transportation fee from $76 to $81 per semester and the health fee from $154 to $160. The committee will give its recommendations to Institute President G.P. “Bud” Peterson, who will, in turn, recommend fee changes to the Board of Regents.
“The deliberations are based on thorough reviews of the budgets submitted, especially the explanations of how the dollars are linked to the services,” said Jim Kirk, Director of the Tech Office of Institute Budget Planning & Administration and co-chair of the committee. “One of the key questions that we always ask is, ‘what
would be the impact on services to students if the requested increase is not approved?’” The committee’s goal was to strike a balance between providing exceptional services to Tech students and keeping the cost of school affordable. “Because of the significant financial burden that Tech students
Stingerette to designate “pick-up” zones
have recently incurred through the Special Institutional Fee — a $544 per semester fee issued by the USG Board of Regents that is not covered by HOPE — we examined all fee requests with great scrutiny,” said Elle Creel, Undergraduate Student Body President. See MSFAC, page 5
NSSE shows emphasis on collaboration By Mike Donohue News Editor
Photo by Sho Kitamura / Student Publications
Stingerettes are parked in Tech Square during the day before beginning their service at 6:00 p.m. Parking and Transportation will designate certain locations as “pick-up points,” which will be given to students when they call a van. By Sam Somani Staff Writer
To increase the overall efficiency of their transportation systems, Parking and Transportation has introduced various changes to the Stingerette system. “One of the problems Stingerette drivers encounter is finding a student who has requested a ride,” wrote Emily Gooding, SGA Parking and Transportation Committee Chair, in an email. “Although the student might identify a
street corner, they could be inside a building, waiting on the sidewalk, etc.” This has caused great delays to other students waiting for Stingerette rides. “I remember a few weeks ago, when I was riding the Stingerette, and I had to wait in the car for like five minutes for some guy who was inside the recreation center,” said Luke Bufardi, a first-year CHBE major. “I thought to myself, ‘Why bother taking the Stingerette in the first
place?’” However, Parking and Transportation has been able to come up with what may be a long-term solution. “We recently pulled together a focus group to identify the best ‘pick-up-points’ for various locations on campus,” Gooding wrote. “Now, when a student requests a ride, they will receive a message with specific instructions on where the Stingerette will pick them up.” The focus groups also sought to increase the safety of students who rode the Stingerette late at night. “All of these areas were determined to be the
safest, best-lit locations, and many are areas inside buildings where students can see the street,” Gooding wrote. In addition, students need not wait very long for the implementation of these improvements. “They will be implemented as soon as possible,” Gooding wrote. “The location of the correct pick up point will be sent to the student as soon as they request a Stingerette ride, so it’s just a matter of changing the programming to reflect this.” The changes may take some getting used to, however. “It’s a mini-culture change. I’m sure it’ll have its rough points,” said Eran Mordel, SGA Vice President of Campus Affairs. “I think at the end of the day it’ll be helpful on the both efficiency side and the safety side.”
Photo by Sho Kitamura/ Student Publications
Tech students are more likely to collaborate on coursework than their peers at other universities, although they are less likely to receive academic and personal support from faculty, according to a report released last week by Institute Office of Assessment using data from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). “The results of the 2011 NSSE survey continue to show that Georgia Tech students find that the Institute sets high academic expectations and provides opportunities to participate in co-curricular activities...all of which provide preparation in solving real-world problems and workrelated knowledge and skills,” the Office of Assessment wrote in the report’s conclusion. The NSSE is administered yearly around the country to measure what Tech’s report calls “self-reported behaviors that correlate with positive learning and personal development outcomes.” The report compared a survey administered to 637 first-years and 820 seniors at Tech to similar surveys administered at six other universities: North Carolina State, Penn State, Texas A&M, Minnesota, Washington and Virginia Tech. Respondents to the survey at Tech, 65.8 percent of whom were majoring in engineering compared to 23.4 percent at peer universities, indicated that they were more likely than their peers to spend 11 hours per week on class work. Tech students also indicated that they were more likely to feel that the Institute emphasizes spendSee NSSE, page 5