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ranger Serving San Antonio College since 1926

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Volume 88 Issue 18 • April 11, 2014

210-486-1773 • Single copies free

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Parking garage fee removed

Special section on trustee candidates

Check out Pages 4 and 5 with stories and positions on district topics on each of the eight candidates running for sixyear terms for the board of trustees.

Fee would just produce profit, vice chancellor says. By Katherine Garcia

kgarcia203@student.alamo.edu

Visit theranger.org. for “NLC seeking accreditation for six years” and “Twenty candidates apply for president position”

district officials are backing down on implementing EDUC 1300, Learning Framework, as a requirement in the core curriculum and requiring e-book instructional materials in the fall. EDUC 1300 was scheduled to replace one of the humanities requirements in the core curriculum and be required for all degrees. “While it troubles me to write this … The controversy and divisiveness surrounding this issue have simply outweighed the necessity to push

Drivers will not be charged an extra fee to park in this college’s original or Tobin garage and the Northwest Vista garage in the fall, if the board of trustees approves a proposal at the regular monthly meeting Tuesday. The proposal was forwarded from the Audit, Budget and Finance Committee, which approved a minute order rescinding a $1 garage entry fee approved May 23, 2013. Diane Snyder, vice chancellor for finance and administration, presented an update on the $1 fee, which had never been put into effect. Snyder said the fee would have provided funding to break even on several projects, such as the debt service on the Northwest Vista parking garage and the capital revolving fund used to build the Tobin garage and maintain parking areas and parking garages and as well as provide $250,000 for scholarships. She said the fee would have started when all three garages were open, but she said she has updated calculations since then. The Northwest Vista garage opened in October, and the old garage at this college opened in January 2008. Tobin garage opened March 17. “Based on the current volumes of the campus access fees that are paid by all students, we can now break even without having to charge the dollar per use for our students

See BACKS DOWN, Page 6

See PARKING, Page 6

PENNY WISE Breaking leases costs money, hurts credit The Texas Apartment Association provides state-standard rules and regulations for renting. Along with the responsibilities of maintaining the home under the conditions of the rental contract, also known as a lease, it is a legal obligation to pay rent for a certain length of time, according to the TAA. “Students need to keep in mind that when they sign a lease, they need to read the contract,” David Mintz, communications director at TAA, said. Renters are forewarned of the potential for disagreements that might lead to the idea of breaking the lease. According to the renting basics web page, most disagreements between residents and rental housing owners or managers occur because of misunderstandings about obligations in the lease. There are very few circumstances in which you can break a lease without penalty. Only in special exceptions for military personnel or victims of domestic violence will the contract be nullified. If you want to buy a home, your job is transferring you, or you are getting a divorce, you must still abide by the lease’s length of residency. Unless you and the property owner agreed to some special provision when the lease was signed, you will still be responsible. Such charges include a reletting fee, which covers the property’s cost of getting the apartment leased again or the remainder of the rent through the end of the lease term. “Students have consequences. When trying to get another apartment, they look at prior rental terms and might decide not to allow you to rent,” Mintz said. “Plus it will make your credit bad.”

Brenda Carielo

For a direct link to theranger.org, download a qr reader from the app store today

Seeing red Construction workers from Tremco Manufacturing work from a suspended swing gate March 31 to install metal panels to cover bricks on the east side of Moody. The red metal panels cost about $200,000. The project will take about four more weeks to complete. The panels are intended to make the exterior of the seven-story building look more modern. Daniel Carde

Chancellor backs down Faculty proceed “skeptically” but remain optimistic. Editor’s note: This is an updated story since it was posted online Tuesday.

By Bleah B. Patterson

bpatterson13@student.alamo.edu

Thursday Jo-Carol Fabkianke, vice chancellor for academic success said district received approval from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to revert to the 2013-14 core curriculum.

“We asked for reinstatement of our previous core,” Fabianke said. She explained the art and dance courses removed from the core will not be reinstated, but the second humanities requirement will be present and EDUC 1300 will not. “The decision to remove the art classes still stands. That was the Coordinating Board’s decision, they said those courses don’t fit the description of creative arts.” Chancellor Bruce Leslie sent an email at 10:40 a.m. Tuesday indicating

More than 300 students fill out e-book survey Student District Council discusses alternatives and survey with trustees. By Katherine Garcia

kgarcia203@student.alamo.edu

Two students from Student District Council recommended alternatives to the Academic Accountability and Success Committee Tuesday. The recommendations came from an email survey from Alamo Colleges District Student Council that was intended for the district’s 60,000 students and sought feedback on the instructional materials strategy. The council, composed of student government presidents from all five colleges, decided about a month ago to develop the survey to learn students’ opinions, which the group could relay to trustees.

More than 300 students — or 0.5 percent out of 60,000 students — filled out the survey, with some students answering more questions than others. Brittany Trub, political science sophomore, SGA vice president and Student District Council secretary, presented the results. The first question: “If voting were held today, would you vote for or vote against the proposed instructional materials strategy?” Two hundred and sixty four students voted against it, 24 voted for it and 23 were unsure. Question 2 — an openended question asking how the strategy would benefit the colleges — yielded various results. Some students

said the strategy is good because students would have their books before class starts, while others suggested the instructional materials be $20 or less to be beneficial. The lack of choices and how district plans to reimburse the students when a class is canceled for low enrollment were possible challenges the strategy could pose for colleges. Students ages 18-24 — or 52 percent of students — were the largest surveyed demographic and 66 percent of responses came from women and 34 percent from males. Seventy percent of responders were Hispanic, and 69 percent of responders attended college full-time. Fifty-five percent of responders attended Palo Alto. Question 9 found that 59

percent of students have an electronic device for reading e-books. Students with e-books had good and bad experiences with accessing these devices at school; some said they couldn’t access Canvas or Wi-Fi while others like using the devices for research. Seventy-three percent of students have Internet access outside of school, and 67 percent of students take face-to-face courses, 21 percent take online courses and 26 percent take both. Trub said it’s possible the 31 percent of students who do not have an electronic device for reading e-books are the same 27 percent of students who do not have Internet access outside of school. Sandra Piñeda, Palo Alto Student Government Association president, made

recommendations such as refining the process used to gauge students’ opinion guaranteeing equal participation from all colleges and having an adviser for district council. She said if the board considers moving forward with the instructional materials strategy, they should “begin it with the student voice in mind in the beginning and throughout this process and faculty as well.” Trub presented three potential solutions to the strategy: one being able to opt out of including the fee in students’ tuition if they are sure they can pay for the instructional materials themselves, but will be held accountable if they cannot pay. Another solution is having a down payment of 50

See SURVEY, Page 6


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