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Fayetteville State University
Not much longer
Last weekend wasn’t as rough as I thought it would be. All of my assignments got finished on time and I more or less feel good about them. This week there are several small assignments and a few papers, overall nothing I haven’t handled before. After this weekend, it is all basically over for me. There will be a few final exams, but nothing more in the way of actual classwork. I don’t really know what I’m going to do with the free time. I think this semester has flown by way too quickly and I’m going to miss it.
In some ways this entire process is a bit surreal.
Rant: Letter to Office of IR @ FSU
Dear Department of Institutional Research:
Your department implements holds on a students records in a most unethical way. It is not part of a students responsibility to conduct an assessment of your faculty and at no time between admissions and registration for classes is such a responsibility communicated. You describe the process of registering early and viewing grades as some type of privilege that is to be given for successfully completing your surveys. Those are privileges that students have already earned by completing enough credit hours and otherwise being in good standing with the university. Your planned usage of an email every 3 days in any other situation could be called abusive.
I will complete the surveys this semester, as I do every semester, but it is not because of your holds nor the "prize" of being able to view the grades that I have earned. I complete the surveys because I feel that it is important for students to give feedback on their instructors and the material in courses, it is part of how a university grows. I do however, believe that such a contribution should be voluntary and any results that are obtained through the types of coercion that you employ are tainted. It is not good scientific process to utilize any type of negative sanction to encourage participation in a survey or study of any kind. If you are having difficulty getting responses without such coercion, perhaps it is time to adapt your methods or perhaps adapt your surveys. The surveys are too lengthy and do not inspire a response. The surveys are quite daunting, especially for students who are in the middle of completing final assignments for courses or are in final preparations for graduation. I have attended five schools, two community colleges and three universities. FSU is the only institution at which I have had to tolerate threats of registration and records holds if course evaluations were not completed. To the best of my knowledge, the other four institutions have had no problem in getting student response.
Sincerely,
Curtis M. Kularski
In Reply To:
Dear Bronco:
FSU is conducting an electronic version of the course and faculty evaluations to obtain your impression of the courses and faculty in which you are enrolled. You will receive a separate email notice for each class in which you are enrolled for 16 and second eight week courses. Click on the link that will be provided in the email to access the survey and complete it for the specific class. You will be sent reminders every 3 days requesting your response until you have completed a survey for each class in which you are enrolled. Surveys will be sent to your Bronco campus email addresses starting Tuesday, November 30, 2010 at 8 a.m. Those persons completing the survey early will be able to register early and to see their posted grades. Likewise those who do not complete the surveys will not be able to register early or see their posted grades.
The system design automatically assigns a password to ensure your response and comments are kept confidential. Your candid responses will be used to improve instruction at FSU. Thank you for your participation. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me.
Thank you,
Error in Degree Audit
I seem to have mis-calculated something in my degree audit, and because Banner is generally less intelligent than a trained monkey, it was no help in discovering the error. When I so eagerly marked the waiver status on the first two requirements on the degree form I neglected that those 5 credit hours don’t just go into the sky, they have to be filled by something, so therefore, I have 5 more elective hours, or closer to 6 since I don’t have any 2 hour courses on my record.
I have elected to use the following courses for those 6 hours:
US History I – CPCC – Fall 2008
Data Structures – FSU – Fall 2009
Degree Audit – BS in Psychology – Fall 2010
As I near the completion of my undergraduate career and must fill out my final Academic Progress Report I have decided to utilize the degree audit features in Banner and work with it and other documentation to create a detailed picture of where all of my credits have come from for the degree. I have accumulated almost 180 credit hours at this point and not all are used in this degree, but quite a few do manage to find a home somewhere or other in the program of study. Spaces where there were multiple courses that could be assigned I entered the course that was selected by Banner to fill the position. I must say, I am a little sad filling out the form that goes with this audit for my last advising session as an undergraduate. Its almost like leaving high school all over again, once the degree is issued none of these courses will matter by themselves, they loose their identity and just become part of the degree. For this particular list of courses I looked back in my records in GITI and pulled semesters that classes were taken (since FSU doesn’t keep that info when transferring) and found myself reflecting on my experiences in the courses, especially those that I took in person, although there were some memorable online courses as well (primarily in the summer of 2004). The end is near.
University College Requirements
UNIV 110 – University Studies (2):
Waived for students entering with 30+ Credit Hours
PHIL 110 – Critical Thinking (3):
Waived for students Entering with 60+ Credit Hours
ENGL 110 – English Composition I (3):
Creative Writing 1 – CPCC – Summer 2007
ENGL 120 – English Composition II (3):
Writing in Academic Communication – UNCC – Fall 2004
SPEE 200 – Introduction to Communication (3):
Interpersonal Communication – Gaston – Spring 2004
MATH 123 – College Algebra (3):
College Algebra – Gaston – Spring 2008
Math Elective (3-4):
Discreet Structures – UNCC – Fall 2005
Natural Sciences (8):
Descriptive Astronomy – Gaston – Spring 2008
General Physics I – UNCC – Fall 2004
History and Social Sciences (3):
General Anthropology – CPCC – Summer 2004
Humanities and Fine Arts (3):
Art Appreciation – CPCC – Summer 2004
Restricted Electives (9):
Art History II – Gaston – Fall 2008
Introduction to Microeconomics – UNCC – Spring 2005
Introduction to Literature – Gaston – Fall 2008
Physical Education (2):
Personal Health & Wellness – CPCC – Summer 2008
Psychology Major Requirements
PSYC 210 – General Psychology (3):
General Psychology – Gaston – Fall 2003
PSYC 233 – Statistics for Psychology (4):
FSU – Summer 2009
PSYC 320 – Theories of Learning (3):
FSU – Spring 2010
PSYC 331 – Developmental Psychology (3):
FSU – Spring 2010
PSYC 352 – Research Methodology (4):
FSU – Spring 2010
PSYC 360 – Social Psychology (3):
Social Psychology – Gaston – Fall 2003
PSYC 370 – Introduction to Biopsychology (3):
FSU – Summer 2010
PSYC 400 – History and Systems of Psychology (3):
FSU – In Progress
PSYC 422 – Abnormal Psychology (3):
Abnormal Psychology – UNCC – Fall 2004
Elective Group 1 [310, 342, 381] (3):
Theories of Personality (PSYC 310) – FSU – Spring 2009
Elective Group 2 [343, 430] (3):
Sex and Gender (PSYC 430) – FSU – Summer 2010
Elective Group 3 [420, 421] (3):
Sensation & Perception (PSYC 420) – FSU – Spring 2010
Computer Competency (3):
Introduction to Business Computing – UNCC – Spring 2005
Psychology Electives [PSYC 300+] (9):
Behavior Modification (PSYC 380) – FSU – Summer 2010
Child Psychopathology (PSYC 381) – FSU – In Progress
Cognitive Psychology (PSYC 421) – FSU – Spring 2009
Sociology Minor
SOCI 210 – Introduction to Sociology (3):
Introduction to Sociology – Gaston – In Progress
SOCI 340 – Crime & Delinquency (3):
Not Yet Started
SOCI 350 – History of Sociological Thought (3):
Not Yet Started
SOCI 412 – Race and Ethnic Relations (3):
Not Yet Started
Sociology Electives (6):
Sociology of the Family – CPCC – Summer 2004
Introduction to SPSS (SOCI 333) – FSU – Not Yet Started
University Free Electives
University Free Electives (9):
Principles of Accounting I – UNCC – Spring 2005
Drawing I – Gaston – Fall 2007
Drawing II – Gaston – Spring 2008
Building Insanity
My Fall 2010 semester chart shows my planned courses for the fall. Looks a little ominous doesn’t it? While the courses total to only 17 credit hours, the number of courses seems to be a little overwhelming to me. As you will notice, all courses are goldenrod except SOCI 333, which is plum. This indicates that most courses are registered and SOCI 333 is just planned. If I am allowed to take SOCI 333 I think I will swap it for PSYC 342 on the schedule. I do worry about having so many courses, how will I keep up with all of them?
Illogical Prerequisites
Course: Introduction to SPSS
Course: SOCI 333 (3)
Description: Introduction to the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), a computer software for data processing and statistical analysis, enabling students without knowledge of programming or without programming aspirations to utilize the computer for scientific research
Pre-reqs: SOCI 210 (Introduction to Sociology), SOCI 331 (Social Statistics)
Here is my issue. I want to take this course because I like SPSS. I like it because it is useful for generating statistical data in a short amount of time and if I end up doing anything research related in the future, it would be very useful. My department (psychology) doesn’t offer the course, but Sociology does. I want to take the course, but I don’t want to take two redundant courses. My opinion on the matter is that because I have had PSYC 210 (General Psychology) and PSYC 233 (Statistics for Psychology) I should be able to take the course with no problems. I originally thought that perhaps I was missing something from my interpretation of the course description that would require the Sociology course to be able to complete. After reading a syllabus from a previous semester I do not believe this to be the case. See Fall 2009 SOCI 333 Syllabus. Looking at the syllabus, I don’t think any social science course should be required, just a statistics course.
I have emailed the course instructor for a pre-requisite waiver/override, but I don’t know how much luck I will have in getting approval.
Rate Table Error
I looked at my tuition bill for the Summer semester last night, and I was somewhat surprised by the amount of the bill, $12, 981.25. Now, the interesting thing about that number is that it is larger than what was paid for the entire 2009 year, which included spring, summer and fall courses. The correct number is somewhere closer to $500 for the entire summer semester. Once noticing the flaw I immediately contacted the Bursar (such lovely title names we have: Bursar, Registrar, Provost; each with their own unique way of screwing you). This morning I got a response from the Bursar and was told there was a “rate table error”. Some error! I can’t imagine what type of error that could be accidental would cause this situation, as the error seems to affect out of state tuition. The reason my rate is so high is because I was billed in-state tuition ($384), as well as out of state tuition ($12,000), but the rate for out of state is incorrect. It is interesting the flaws that my institution seems to create. First mysterious holds for course evaluations placed in the middle of the night, and now this.
The Downfall of Distance Education
When I first started distance education (online) courses back in 2004 things were different than they are now. From that statement you might gather that things have improved, you know, something technical, so it has to have gotten better. The situation is quite the opposite. When I started online courses, I liked them better than lecture courses because they were better on many different aspects. Online instructors used to be specialized in what they did, they had a special affection for the online course delivery method. Often instructors would use such tools as web based chat, interactive websites and sometimes even video to keep students engaged in courses. The point being that the courses were actually web based courses, using the Internet as a key part of the instructional process and not just as the delivery method for the course. Now courses seem to be more structured like independent study courses that merely utilize the Internet as a method for sending in papers or taking quizzes. There is no instruction and often instructors are primarily lecturers looking to pick up a few extra hours on their schedule. To students, these instructors barely exist. I have a hard time remembering the names of my instructors because of their lack of interaction. I remember a time when I took online courses and I had a message in my inbox from an instructor at least once a week, sometimes more. Instructors would do things like send out links that may be of interest, or some little personal observation about course performance. Now the courses are pretty much forced to run themselves. It is quite a sad change. I feel as though the changes in the way online courses have been treated will eventually cause the online method to either be terminated, or force them into a completely different accreditation status.
I believe the change in the way distance education courses have been taught in recent years has a lot to do with adult learners wanting to complete degrees. Those adult students do not want a lot of a materials to handle, or any type of interaction, they just want to do the reading for the course, take the test, and then get a meaningless piece of paper to stick on the wall. I do not believe those students truly want an education, they want a degree. With that downturn of academic ambition there isn’t a lot of reason for instructors to be involved or to do much more than a copy/paste online course in Blackboard. The courses are technically capable of running themselves, they can grade a lot of their own material and they can handle operating on a schedule, no intervention required, but do we really want to change the way academic institutions are structured to have students interacting with a course and not an instructor? If this pattern continues, that’s what will happen, no more instructors, just courses and “course designers” (the people that presently prepare courses for instructors).
I hope that when I begin my masters program I won’t find the same thing in graduate courses as I am finding in undergrad courses.