McDermott Asks
For Calendar
Modifications
by R. W. Bonaker
In September, 1973, Penn
State University will conduct
academic instruction with a
revised calendar.
The - fall term will begin
immediately after Labor Day
and will end at Thanksgiving.
The winter term will start
following that holiday, run for
approximately three weeks, and
break for the Christmas
holidays. The term will resume
after New Year's Day and will
conclude after seven weeks. The
spring term will begin in late
February and will wind up late
in May .
That calendar has been
officially designated for the
period of one year by President
John Oswald.
In October, the Capitol
Campus faculty overwhelmingly
voted to go along with the then
proposed calendar, stipulating
that Capitol Campus have the
option of developing its own
calendar after the one year
period.
Accordingly, on October 9,
1972, Capitol's Student
Government Association went
along with the faculty, with
some basic modifications. Dan
Hartsock and SGA members
developed what was considered a
more cohesive academic
calendar. The SGA calendar
called for three units (12 credits)
of instruction in a fall term
be ginning in late August,
allowing for Orientation
activities, and ending at
Thanksgiving. In the three week
period between Thanksgiving
and Christmas, one unit would
be taken. The seven weeks
comprising the remainder of the
winter term in the SGA
calendar, would find two units
of instructions. Th e Spring
term would provide time for
three more units.
Basically, the only difference
between the University Park
calendar and the Capitol SGA
calendar is the winter term
modification.
Campus Provost Robert E.
McDermott has appealed to
University Park to allow Capitol
i
a
to ~,mluct the academic
cale b following the SGA
I\ ,
guid, t*,, ` according to Mr.
George Dressler, Administrative
Officer.
If approved by the authorities
at University Park, Capitol's
Ensnared in self-imposed imprisonment,
I've locked my mind within a concrete tomb.
The stares of strangers serve as punishment
If I should leave the confines of my womb.
Some visitors appear on lonely nights,
On rare occasions breaking through the haze.
I see them not as former friendly light,
But shadows left behind by spotlit days.
I must remind myself that time has gone--
They don't seem changed, but I am not the same
I know I'd rather spend these days alone;
I cannot play a current/time-worn game.
For loneliness will never spawn the urge
To see the past and present dramas merge.
winter term would see one
course taken in the three week
"mini term" and two courses in
the remaining seven weeks.
Divisions (or individual
programs) would have the
option, however, to utilize the
"mini term" concept or follow
University Park guidelines for a
three unit winter term. Dressler
speculated that the Division of
Engineering and Math-Science
would likely follow the main
campus calendar.
Dressler explained that
McDermott asked for the "mini
term" clause as Capitol would
lose between 150 and 200
community college and P.S.U.
Commonwealth Campus
transfers for the winter term if it
completely adopted the
University Park calendar.
Dr. Thomas Knight,
Chairman of the Faculty Council
stated the Council discussed the
calendar modifications at a
recent meeting. The issue was
raised by SGA President Mike
Dini. The Council, in a
consensus vote, reportedly chose
not to interfere with
McDermott's action. Dressler
elaborated further on the
modification request, pointing
to a possible problem in tuition
billing. He explained it is
conceivable that students may
choose not to register for the
"mini term" and work instead,
giving them a six week Christmas
vacation-work period. However,
if that happens, "they still may
take only two courses in the
seven week portion of the winter
term. In order to keep pace with
the rest of the students, they
may want to take a fourth
course during the spring term.
There is a strong possibility they
would have to pay for that
fourth course, "Dressler said.
Currently, a full-time
undergraduates pay tuition of
$2BO whether they are taking
two, three or four units a term.
An additional tuition
problem may center on the
billing if students decide to take
the "mini term" package.
Dressler advocates a system,
similar to the present situation,
where all three courses taken
during the staggered winter term
would be covered by a single
charge of $2BO.
He believes a favorable
decision will come in a few
weeks.
13:13:1
11 January 13
To Mrs. Graham:
Get Well Soon
Photo Club
The Photo Club meets every
Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the rear
portion of the Placement Office.
The club offers new and
interesting visual learning
experiences and skills. If you are
interested, come to the meetings
as conducted by President Jerry
Reich.
Fager's
Quality
Food Market
7ned ear Meats
ifieddet 7exace Sfreezettit
'zee Vl4~ Deleon,
301 N. Union St., Middletown
Phone 944-4321
Behrend
Campus
Granted
Name
Change
University Park, Pa., Trustees
of The Pennsylvania State
University, in recognition of the
expanded mission of the
Behrend Campus in Erie, have
approved changing its official
designation to "The Behrend
College of The Pennsylvania
State University."
In taking the action at a
recent meeting, the Board of
Trustees also authorized
establishment of the position of
dean of the faculty to serve as
the chief academic officer at the
Behrend College.
Behrend was expanded in
1970 to a four-year campus
within the Penn State system
with the addition of two
upper-division undergraduate
programs.
"The change of campus
name," Dr. John W. Oswald,
Penn State president, explained,
"recognizes the change in the
mission of the Behrend Campus
as earlier authorized by the
Board of Trustees.
"The new designation will
distinguish Behrend from the
University's Commonwealth
Campus system in terms of
mission and administration and
will set the stage for increased
upper division program
autonomy within the concept of
a single University system."
The University's Academic
Policy Plan, adopted last June
by the Board of Trustees,
designated Behrend as a
Commonwealth College because
of its four-year status.
The plan cited Behrend's
moderate size as offering the
potential of providing genuinely
distinctive four-year programs,
while at the same time
continuing to provide for the
first two years of instruction for
students who will move to
University Park or the Capitol
Campus in Middletown.
The Trustees reviewed the
report of an eight-man Behrend
Academic Planning Task Force
which was appointed last March
to prepare "an imaginative but
realistic" academic plan for the
development of Behrend as a
four-year branch of Penn State.
According to the report, the
director of Behrend will report
directly to the Provost of the
University, but also will
continue t o work closely with
the Dean of Academic
Instruction for Commonwealth
Campuses.
The faculty will continue to
have a dual membership role,
being members of the Behrend
College and also faculty
members of their respective
academic departments and
colleges at University Park.
Enrollment in the Fall Term,
1972, totaled 2,442 students,
including 1,211 undergraduates
and 183 students enrolled in
two-year Associate Degree
programs. A total o f 1,048
adults were enrolled in
Continuing Education evening
and special courses and the
Master of Engineering degree
program.