the
Volume 119, Issue 10
VISTA “Our Words, Your Voice.”
vistanews1903 @thevista1903 @thevista1903 The Vista ucentralmedia.com Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021
Transformative Learning stays
INSIDE
President Neuhold-Ravikumar said the university remains “deeply committed” to mission statement Madalyn Nix Editor-in-Chief
Women’s Basketball
A special preview of women’s basketball and this season’s outlook. See Pg. 7
Movie Review
‘Eternals’ brings new narratives to the Marvel Universe. See Pg. 8
UCO President Patti Neuhold-Ravikumar responded to the University of Central Oklahoma Chapter of the American Association of University Professor’s letter about their concern over the possible elimination of Transformative Learning from the university’s mission statement. On Oct. 27, Marc Goulding, president of the AAUP’s UCO Chapter, wrote a letter addressed to UCO President Neuhold-Ravikumar. “We write to voice our strong opposition to your plan to remove Transformative Learning from UCO’s mission,” Goulding said. “We wonder what has prompted this move away from a program that has been integral to the univer-
sity’s academic mission for years.” Goulding explained the importance of Transformative Learning at UCO and that “to remove Transformative Learning from the University’s mission is to remove much of what makes this university a successful and distinctive institution of higher learning, and threatens to give students one less reason to choose UCO over other colleges and universities.” On Oct. 28, Neuhold-Ravikumar responded to this letter with one of her own. The president said she received their letter “voicing opposition to the removal of the phrase Continued on Pg. 3
AAUP expressed their concerns to the President on Oct. 27 about the potential disolvement of STLR. (The Vista/ Madalyn Nix)
Online enrollment increases at UCO Joseph Haddock Contributing Writer
Ice Skating Two local ice skating rinks in Edmond and Oklahoma City will open for the season on Friday. See Pg. 6
Around Campus It’s getting cold, but don’t fret. Muslim Student Association hosts Hot Chocolate Social tomorrow. See Pg. 2
Online enrollment increased by 27% this fall due to the efforts of UCO President Patti Nuehold-Ravikumar, as interest in fully online classes persists . Neuhold-Ravikumar has been putting in efforts to grow “more fully online programs designed and taught by UCO’s talented faculty,” according to the university website. Fully online learning is where students use D2L to complete their classes. D2L is an online portal where homework and assignments are posted for students to access. An example of a fully online learning program is the new master of arts in
strategic communications graduate degree, which was announced in a university press release Oct. 26. This
the “Connected Campus.” “UCO continues to see growth in online learning enrollment,” said Bucky
Since fall 2019, UCO has seen a 66% increase in fully online enrollment. Since Fall 2020, there has been a 27% increase in online enrollment. (The Vista/ Cici Simon)
program and others like it are a part of what UCO calls
Dodd, Ph.D., assistant vice president for education
strategy and innovation at UCO. Dodd said that since fall 2019, UCO has seen a 66% increase in fully online enrollment. This number coincides with the start of the pandemic, but since fall 2020, there has been a 27% increase in online enrollment up to the current semester. During the pandemic, UCO had switched over to “asynchronous online courses” and “live virtual class meetings.” There is still an interest in fully online classes at UCO, which are termed “asynchronous” due to the fact there is no specific class time for meeting. Live virtual class Continued on Pg. 3