The Stuudint Anna
Fusldiman
Fall 2005
Bobby Casiano
Penn State President
Graham Spanier has agreed to
freeze tuition for all Penn State
campuses, except University
Park, for the 2006-07 year if the
state will appropriate the
requested $354.4 million.
Some Mont Alto
students do not agree that this
is a good idea. Mont Alto
Student Government
Association Information
Technologies Representative
Benjamin Orr believes “hiding
the problem for a year doesn’t
get rid of it completely.” This
will only “stall and cause for
tuition percentages to
increase.” Freshman Erica
“"
Panico believes that it’s “a
band-aid over the problem”
and “there is no guarantee that
it will be continuous.” Panico
states that by “lowering tuition,
the perception of the degree is
at stake” and “graduating with
a degree from Mont Alto would
be perceived as lower than
graduating from University
Park.”
Danielle Ramsay
The former Commonwealth
College, of which Penn State
Mont Alto was a constituent
campus, made a strategic
decision in the past couple of
years to seek accreditation with
the Association to Advance
Collegiate Schools of Business
(AACSB), an international
accreditation program, for the
Bachelor of Business
Administration
Commonwealth College
(BBACCO).
Francis Achampong,
Director of Academic Affairs,
says, “This is the most
prestigious business
accreditation program... and
will improve enrollment and
retention.” Achampong states
that there are only 506 business
programs worldwide that carry
the AACSB approval ; there are
over 1,500 business programs
in the United States alone.
In order to achieve the
standards set by the AACSB,
changes had to take place in the
business program. The
BBACC, as it is currently
known, is the former Bachelor
of Science in Business
Administration. Any student
entering the business program
in Fall 2005 or later will enter
into the BBACC. The BBACC
requires students to complete
Math 110, a higher math level
than was previously required.
This is causing some anxiety
among many students. Senior
Chance Cailone says, “...[the]
added courses are unnecessary;
you don’t need calculus for
business.” Business instructor
Michael Labalokie says that he
is pleased with the change,
especially for those students
seeking a masters degree which
will require Math 110 for
admission.
According to Achampong,
there were a total of six business
programs offered by Penn State
with many similar courses
required for each, along with
some variations depending on
the program. The first three
years of a business student’s
coursework is very similar and
only in the second semester of
the junior year and the senior
year does the student take
courses that focus on a specific
business degree (marketing,
finance, accounting,
management, international
business, etc.).
Labalokie explains that if
the first two years of each
campus have the same course
schedule, transferring will be
easier. Mont Alto’s BSB
program was liberal compared
to the more conservative
programs of the UP or
Harrisburg campuses and some
credits (such as principles of
management, marketing, and
finance courses taken at the 100
level) would not transfer. These
program changes will give
students time to decide where
they intend to finish out their
See Business page 4
Penn State Mont Alto
Chancellor Dr. David Gnage is
“for the proposed tuition
freeze.” Gnage feels that we
have “nothing to lose.” Gnage
says that “one of the purposes
of the satellite campuses is to
aid lower income families and
communities. Why not give it
a try?” Gnage states that even
if the proposed tuition freeze is
not long term, it will “provide
a year advantage for lower
tuition for the students at the
satellite campuses.”
Mont Alto Freshman
Crystal Jean states that “if the
tuition keeps going up, there are
going to be less students
enrolling.” This impacts the
economic contributions that
Penn State provides for the state
of Pennsylvania. A study
published by Tripp Umbach, a
leading provider of economic
impact analysis for universities
and health centers, revealed that
Penn State Mont Alto is “a
major part of the total
economic impact of more than
$44 million alone at the 1,028-
student campus. In addition,
the campus contributes
See Tuition page 3
Nolan Fontaine
Everyone who was anyone was
in attendance at the grand
opening of the Penn Gate
game room. In celebration of
this special event, the Resident
Hall Council provided free
pool. There were also cookies,
chips, and refreshments
courtesy of Residence Life and
Housing & Food Services.
Jessica Smythe, CAMP
Chair & Penn Gate RA,
comments on the new game
room and what she thinks
about it: “I think it should be
open more, but I understand
why it isn’t. The prices are also
higher so we may need to
evaluate that in the future, and
when the air hockey table
comes, it may attract more
people; in addition, I really
think the television is extremely
nice!”
The struggle for the game
room can be traced back long
ago to last semester, when it was
SGA Senate who spearheaded
the campaign for a game room
and brought the idea to the
attention of Housing and Food
Services. At that time though,
the idea was put on the
backburner because of the
newly renovated Wiestling
Student Center. More focus
was put on promoting
See Game Room page 4