Newspapers / University of North Carolina … / April 9, 1998, edition 1 / Page 1
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The University of North Carolina at Asheville www.uuca.edu/bantter Volume 27 Issue 11 April 9, 1998 Board of Governors changes method for funding growth UNCA receives special funding provision due to its small size By Nicole Miller staff Writer The University of North Carohna Board of Governors voted on March 19 to change the way in which the General Administration will fund lew enrollment growth at all state- ipported universities. UNC System President Molly Jroad said that under the new sys- em, growth in higher-cost disci- )lines, such as graduate programs ind high-tech courses, will gener- ite more new funding for schools han growth in lower cost programs, ;uch as undergraduate and litera- ure-based courses. “Before, there was just a single imount per student, regardless of what they were studying or what ree they were pursuing,” said koad. Broad said kt the legis- ature re- (uested that ie Board of aovernors ex- )iore new iinding meth ods which would ac- tnowledge :hat some dis- iplines are more expensive to main- ain than .others. She said that the ' funding model would only af- :ect funding for enrollment growth, and that none of the system univer ities would lose existing funds. “No funds will be taken away,” said Broad. “As enrollment grows, campuses will get different fund- ing.” According to Broad, the Board of Governors considered UNCA’s mission as a small public liberal arts university when making the deci sion to change the funding process for new growth, and decided to make a special funding provision to UNCA and other small universi ties. Broad said that the provision il provide the smaller schools with 1 level of support greater than "Quid be provided simply by the level of the students and the nature of the academic programs.” Broad said, “Smaller schools still Molly Broad need a full admissions apparatus, a full registrar’s office, a full financial aid office, all of those same things that larger campuses provide. But they do not have as many students to spread the cost across.” UNCA Chancellor Patsy Reed agreed that the special funding pro vision was necessary for UNCA because of the school’s small size. “If you have 3,000 students, you still have to perform all the func tions that you do if you have 6,000 students,” said Reed. “So you end up having, proportionally, a greater load on your staff” Archer Gravely, director of insti tutional research, added that UNCA faculty costs are propor tionally higher than faculty costs at larger system schools, because UNCA staffs all classes with faculty members, and keeps class sizes small in order to fulfill its mission as a liberal arts university. Gravely said that other system schools often times hire graduate students to teach large classes, which is significantly cheaper than the staffing method employed by UNCA. According to Reed, UNCA will receive 25 percent more money under the special provisions of the new funding model than it “would have gotten without the acknowl edgment of our mission and size.” However, UNCA administrators said that it is too early to know exactly how much money the uni versity will acquire under the new flinding plan. “We will not know until we know what our enrollment is (next se mester), and where that enrollment falls,” said Reed. “It will depend on how many students are in the higher cost categories.” Gravely said that Reed was instru mental in acquiring the special fund ing provision for UNCA. “Chancellor Reed has been very effective in getting the UNC Gen eral Administration to understand that we are different,” Gravely said. Even with the special funding pro vision for UNCA, a growth in over all enrollment would result in the allocation of more funds to UNCA. However, administrators said that See FUNDING on page 10 UNCA investigated for possible Disabilities Act violations PHOTO BY PRESTON GANNAWAY Junior sociology major Teresa Bradley (right), who is mobility impaired, claims that the UNCA administration is not adequately addressing her special mobility requirements, and is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. By Amelia Morrison staff Writer Astate government council that investigates violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) sent a representative to the UNCA campus on March 30 to determine if UNCA is in violation of the ADA. The ADA says that a state in stitution like UNCA must pro vide reasonable access to facili ties unless it causes undo finan cial hardship or changes the fun damentals of the program. Tom Griffin of the Governors Advocacy Council for Persons with Disabilities (GAC) came to the UNCA campus in re sponse to a request by Teresa Bradley, a junior sociology ma jor with mobility problems, who claims that UNCA is in viola tion of the ADA. “Tom Griffin came to campus basically as an investigator,” said David Rothman, a senior politi cal science major who is work ing to ensure that Bradley’s safety and accessibility problems at the university are addressed. “He was very helpful and seemed to agree that there was a severe violation of her rights.” Griffin did not respond to at tempts by T/je Banner to obtain a direct comment on his findings. Bradley, who navigates the cam pus on a scooter, said that she has problems accessing Zageir Hall, Ramsey Library bathrooms, and the bookstore. “It is difficult for me to get into Zageir because there are no auto matic doors, and there is no way for me to get to the second floor, even if I try to use the elevator which is like a cubby hole,” said Bradley. “There is not a single bathroom in the library she can use,” said Rothman. “Teresa also cannot get around the bookstore. She was not at first willing to demonstrate (to Griffin) getting through the book store because she was not sure how hard it would be to get out.” Rob Hammonds, a junior politi cal science major who is working with Rothman to make sure that Bradley’s problems are resolved, said that the Physical Plant staff failed to clear snow from the handicapped ramps during the last winter storm, which immobilized Bradley. “They cleared all of the stairs and sidewalks, but not the ramps, and pushed the snow so that there was an additional layer of snow on the ramps,” said Hammonds. Bradley said that she has repeat edly voiced her concerns since she started classes at UNCA in Janu ary, but that the administration has been unresponsive to her com plaints. “They say they are trying. They are not trying,” said Bradley. Assistant Director of Student Development Amyjustice said that UNCA may not be in violation of the ADA. “We were aware of the fact that (Bradley) was having a harcf time to an extent, but the university may be in compliance, even if it is not ideal,” said Justice. “There are dif ferent opinions about what is rea sonable. The university has to have some boundaries. “I have followed through with everything I was working on, and either responded with a yes or a no with an alternative solution,” said Justice. “It is important that we use the funds we have to serve all of the students we have, and to still meet the requirements.” Vice Chancellor of Student Af fairs Eric lovacchini said that the administration was only recently made aware of the specifics of Bradlc'y’s mobility problems. “We were aware that she needed some assistance, but we did not know the specifics,” said lovacchini. “We find that be cause disabilities are individual, sometimes individuals with dis abilities need to tell us where we need to change, so we know. “I think most of the things she raised are things we can work with her on,” said lovacchini. “It is a learning process for ev eryone, and we need to work together, not against each other,” said Justice. “We are definitely open to creative ideas.” lovacchini said that the admin istration is continuously work ing to make the campus more accessible for students with dis abilities and mobility problems. “This is a difficult campus to maneuver because it is not a flat place. People with disabilities have a tough time because of the terrain,” said lovachinni. “We are always doing something in the way of modifying facilities. See ACCESS on page 10 New registration system put into place By Gene Zaleski staff Writer The UNCA Registrar’s Office installed a lew Internet-based registration system *hich will be used to conduct the pre- Kgistration session beginning on April 20. All returning students will be required to 'fgister through the UNCA home page on 'he World Wide Web instead of in-person Lipinsky Hall. The old way of registering was not work- any longer,” said UNCA Registrar lecca Sensabaugh. “The student body - grown to such a point that we really "ceded to find an alternative system of Registering.” Under the new system, registration ap pointment postcards will continue to be to students prior to each registration ing Reb. has sent period Th, : appointment time will represent the time in which each student will first be allowed to access the registration Rome page. Registration times will continue to be staggered, with priority given to students with the most accumulated academic hours. According to Sensabaugh, every student will be required to obtain a Personal Iden tification Number (PIN) from their advi sor prior to registering. The new computer system will not allow students to register without a PIN from their designated advisor. “Students will need to see their real advi sor to get their PIN numbers,” said Sensabaugh. “The emergency advisors on the second floor of Lipinsky will not have the PINs.” Sensabaugh said that a three-page tutorial including instructions on how to use the new registration process was sent to every student in late March. “The tutorial is by no means all-inclusive, but it will get the students through registra tion, screens, and fee payments,” said Sensabaugh. According to Sensabaugh, the new regis tration system was adopted because the old process was obsolete. “Regular registra tion prior to each se mester was a cum bersome process,” said Sensabaugh. “Going through the basement and pull ing cards was a sys tem that was aban doned before I even started college. It worked well for a while, but it was time to move on.” Sensabaugh said that the new system was also adopted because many stu dents suggested the change. “Transfer students, who had been to other schools and had used newer systems really “The student body has grown to such a point that we really needed to find an al ternative system of registering.” - UNCA Registrar Rebecca Sensabaugh wanted us to take advantage of the technol ogy,” said Sensabaugh. According to Sensabaugh, one of the pri mary advantages of the new system is that it gives students flexibility in decid- ing when and where to register. “Students can register from any computer that is (World Wide Web) accessible,” said Sensabaugh. “They can register at night, on week ends, and on-cam- pus or off-cam- pus.” Sensabaugh claimed that the new procedure is simple to use. She said that it “was written for students and not for computer people.” Roughly 100 students used the new sys tem during a trial run conducted last fall. Freshman Nathan Mann, who participated in the trial run, said that he liked the new system. “It was nice not to have to wait in line, and in five minutes I was done,” said Mann. “The speed was a pleasant surprise.” Sophomore psychology major Marla Stecki also was pleased with the new sys tem. “I thought the online registration was very good,” said Stecki. “the instructions were self-explanatory, and I just breezed along.” However, sophomore political science major Holly Spencer said that the registra tion web site was not user-friendly. “In the web site itself, a lot of the title links are not real clear, and even with instruc tions were sort of confusing,” said Spencer. Sensabaugh said that the Registrar’s Of fice will ensure that the new registration system does not discriminate against handi- See REGISTER on page 10
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April 9, 1998, edition 1
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