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The Oracle

The Index

News.................................................................1 Opinion.......................................................6

classifieds..............................................7 Crossword.........................................7

sports............................................................8

T H U R S D AY, D E C E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5 I V O L . 5 3 N O. 5 6 w w w. u s fo r a c l e. co m U N I V E R S I T Y O F S O U T H F LO R I DA T H E O R A C L E W I L L R E S U M E P U B L I C AT I O N M O N D AY, J A N . 1 1 , D U E T O T H E H O L I D AY B R E A K

Inside this Issue

BOT to meet today for final 2015 meeting The USF Board of Trustees will meet today to decide on the termination of two degree programs and creation of another, as well as the presidential evaluation of Judy Genshaft. n

O PINIO N

USF aims to reduce students’ stress during finals week. Page 6

Montage

By Grace Hoyte E D I T O R - I N - C H I E F

S PORTS Breaking down 10 moments that defined USF athletics in 2015. BACK

The full USF Board of Trustees (BOT) will meet today to discuss a number of important issues that are up for approval. In its ongoing effort to maintain a roster of competitive and high-quality degree pro-

grams, USF conducts a review of every program every two years. The requirements for each program include at least 45 bachelor’s, 30 master’s and 15 doctoral degrees in each five-year period. The BOT will decide today whether they believe the linguistic and applied language studies Ph.D program will be able to meet those standards. In addition, the program will have to prove viable in postgraduate employment potential and sustainable from a faculty contribution standpoint. According to the agenda for today’s meeting, the program “supports USF’s strategic plan as it is fully aligned with the Quality Enhancement Plan” and will prepare graduates for academic and private sector positions that require language expertise.

Meanwhile, the BOT will decide whether to terminate both the bachelor’s degrees in American Studies and also foreign language education, as well as the master’s in the former. According to the agenda, both programs have seen declining numbers of graduations, and termination would allow the university to refocus the current curriculum. Additionally, the BOT will have to reach a decision regarding a proposal to extend the Campus Development Agreement, which the university currently holds with the City of Tampa. The agreement — to improve certain facilities and services on campus — was set to expire Dec. 31 of this year. Also on the agenda is the approval of USF President

Judy Genshaft’s Presidential Evaluation. Genshaft, whose contract is up for renewal as it ends next year, has met most of the goals she has set in her 15 years as president. Among those goals have been increasing USF’s research ranking to the top 10th percentile, fundraising millions of dollars for the university and improving USF Health’s relationship with its teaching hospital, Tampa General Hospital. The BOT will also discuss updates to the proposed oncampus Publix, which will go before the Florida Board of Governors in January. The next BOT meeting will be for the Academics and Campus Environment Workgroup on Feb. 9, 2016.

n See JUMP TO on PAGE 3

USF to reform STEM programs with $3 million grant By Miki Shine C O - N E W S

E D I T O R

After receiving a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), USF will endeavor to reform its Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs. Chemistry Professor Gerhard Meisels is leading this change, the goal of which is to improve student success by renovating teaching methods. Together with four other professors, Meisels will initiate a five-year project called Systemic Transformation of EvidenceBased Education Reform (STEER). The STEER project is in collaboration with Hillsborough Community College and will bring together faculty from both schools to discuss curriculum issues and share their experiences. According to a university press release, the STEER program will

help instructors and teaching assistants “in the application of evidence-based teaching strategies” through training programs, support structures and work assignments. Additionally, to aid community college transfer students, the university will create the Transition Implementation Leadership Team, a group consisting of faculty, administrators and staff. “I think they will find the classroom is more directive — that they will get more personalized advising and attention in the STEM areas,” Meisels said. “It will be a better learning experience overall and they will be better prepared for the careers in which they will move to when they graduate.” The majority of STEM graduates don’t end up in a STEM field, according to the 2014 U.S. Census. In fact, 78 percent end up in a different field. An article in the New York Times stated 41 percent of overall graduates

are employed in jobs that don’t require a college degree. This is what Meisels hopes the new program will change. His goal is to make those graduating with a bachelor’s in STEM more appealing to employers and therefore more competitive in the market. The university hopes to address “several aspects of the student experience, from the way STEM classes are taught to the advice students receive as they enter the university,” according to the release. “From a national perspective and from a broader state perspective, the economic future of our country depends, (to) a large extent, on our ability to innovate,” Meisels said. “People innovate technical errors in the STEM field. In order to do that, it takes a well-prepared, sufficient number of graduates in those areas.” He said the first reason for the change is to increase the

n See STEM on PAGE 3


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