The Student Voice Since 1903 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2004
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
Students to evaluate professors online ■ Students will need to get online to critique their classes and professors this semester. by Joseph Wertz Staff Writer Beginning this semester, students will evaluate their classes and professors online rather than by hand as part of a new program initiated by the office of Academic Affairs. Students are asked to evaluate the effectiveness of their classes and professors at the end of each semester by participating in a "Student Perception of Instructional Effectiveness" evaluation. The evaluations were handled by
Testing Services traditionally, but were outsourced to a private company last year due to cost cutting measures according to administration officials. "The Office of Testing Services needed equipment upgrades to continue doing the evaluations," said Dr. Patricia Lagrow, assistant vice president of Academic Affairs. "We decided to outsource the evaluations to save money." Doing the evaluations online will save around 54,000 dollars and won't necessitate using class time to fill them out "Students at UCO responded very
well to online enrollment. We are hoping this is the same for the evaluations," Lagrow said. Seventy-two percent of the surveys were filled out for the spring 2004 semester, and administrators are hoping the online evaluation will increase that percentage. Web-based evaluations at other schools have reported return rates as high as 90 percent. Students doing evaluations online were also more likely to leave comments. "The faculty finds student comments most effective," Lagrow said "The number and quality of student
comments on the (online) evaluations was much higher. It's most helpful to the faculty to inform them on what needs to be improved and what might have helped them." The Information Technology department will handle the programming of the evaluation as well as the statistical analysis. Evaluations will be from Nov. 15 to Dec. 10 and can be found online at http://Broncho.ucok.edu/iquest or by logging on to UCONNECT clicking the UCO evaluations link on the "My Courses" page.
Stafford speaks...
Photo by Justin Avera
Astronaut Tom Stafford presents his photograph of the first American to walk.space. Stafford, who has been to the moon four times, spoke Nov. 9 at Pegasus Theatre.
Tree planting ceremony to celebrate donations by Sarah Skinner Staff Writer The UCO International Office and National Collegiate Network of Japan will host a Cherry Blossom Tree Planting Ceremony beginning at 9 a.m., Nov. 12, at the southeast corner of Evans Field. The National Collegiate Network Foundation will donate five cherry blossom, or Sakura, trees to UCO to promote growth in the educational exchanges between Japan and the United States and to celebrate the relationship between the two countries. "We envision the day when they are blooming," said Ronald L. Paddack, director of International Student Services. "We will have our own cherry blossom festival just like they do in Washington, D.C." The ceremony is open to UCO students and there will be free Japanese food. The Japan American Society of Oklahoma will also provide dance entertainment. Ceremony speakers include: a speaker from Japan, Kathryn E. Gage, Vice President of Student Services, Ronald L. Paddack and Yuka Kawai, a senior Management Information Systems major. Yosuke Yamamoto, a vocal student, will sing a Japanese song at the ceremony, and Rebecca Teeters will sing the national anthem. According to the N.C.N. Foundation, U.S. colleges and universities continue to attract an increasing number of Japanese students. The number of Japanese students studying in the United States has tripled over the past decade. Nearly 50,000 Japanese students are enrolled in American universities. "We have 361 Japanese students this semester," said Ronald L Paddack. "So, they are a sizeable group on the campus."
see TREES, page 5
Graduate strives to better lives of orphaned Ukranian children ■ Timber Massey joined the Peace Corps after graduating from UCO in 2002. She now lives and works in the Ukraine teaching English. by Lauren Pulsinelli Senior Staff Writer Most people begin job searching or go to graduate school after receiving their bachelors degrees, but UCO graduate Timber Massey decided to join the Peace Corps. At 12 years old, she said she decided volunteering for the Peace Corps was something she wanted to do. "I had a friend whose parents met while serving as Peace Corps volunteers in Africa. They used to tell me so many amazing stories about their experiences there," Massey said. But it wasn't until after she graduated from UCO in December 2002 and went backpacking through Europe for a few months that she signed into the Corps. Her plane landed in Ukraine in October of 2003.
In the group's spare time, "My whole world has not been the same since," Massey they taught classes at four local said. "I would have to say that schools in the village and creatcoming to Ukraine has been ed English language tapes as a one of the best decisions that I secondary project. "We also have ever made. started a soccer I have done a lot of volunteer "I would have to league and played tournawork in America, but say that coming to ments with the children every nothing was ever Ukraine has been week," Massey quite as rewarding as the work I one of the best said. After three have done here." decisions that I months of trainAfter landing ing, she was in Ukraine, have ever made." assigned to a Massey was permanent site assigned to a — TIMBER MASSEY where she spent group with five UCO 2002 graduate the next two other volunteers years teaching that lived togethEnglish before er in a small vilmoving to Vinnitsya. lage outside of Kiev. "It is located in the center of "Each of us lived with a fabulous host family, and we spent Ukraine and has a population four hours a day learning of around 350,000. I have Russian together," Massey become very involved in my said. "I learned more Russian in three months than I did in see MASSEY, page 3 three years of German."
Peace Corps member seeks to collect donations from UCO for children at orphanage by Lauren Pulsinelli Senior Staff Writer Although many charities have begun collecting items for worthy causes in America, Timber Massey is asking that UCO students, faculty and staff donate items for Ukranian orphans. "The children desperately need new clothes and shoes. Every time that I go to visit them they are wearing the same exact clothes," Massey said. "Their clothes are old and tattered. It is often difficult to tell the boys from the girls because all of the girls have short hair, and the girls often have to wear boy's clothes and vice versa. Most
of all them need warm clothes and shoes for the cold Ukrainian winters." The director of the orphanage also said it would be nice to have film for a Polaroid camera to take pictures of the children. They purchased a Polaroid camera, but they cannot afford any film because it's So expensive, she said. "They would like to have pictures so that the orphans will have some way to remember their childhood," she said. "And of course, toys would be greatly appreciated because right now they hardly have anything to play with
see ORPHANS, page 3
CAMPUS ANNOUNCEMENTS ■ A.C.E.I. will hold a half-off bookfair Nov. 15-19 in the lobby of the Education Building. ■ The deadline to apply for the 2005 Miss UCO Scholarship Pageant is 5 p.m. Nov. 12. For information, contact Christina Gilmore at cgilmore@ucok.edu or at 974-2363. ■ The Sociology Club is collecting donations for a Thanksgiving food drive. Boxes are set up in the Liberal Arts Building. For information, contact Kori Hirrill at khirrill@ucok.edu or at 8505860.
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