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Volume 30 Issue 4 September 23, 1999
loggers
ind aptitude for
It went
graduate work,”
We met
iccording to
d talked
McDowell.
The general
y there
test is broken
. 1 think
into three parts:
)od and
quantitative,
malytical, and
verbal skills.
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tely take
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Weber
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ills from
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Seniors question
validity of GRE
By Johanna Luks
staff Writer
Some UNCA seniors who took
the graduate record examination
GRE) on Sept. 13 were dissatisfied scores
with how the exam measured aca
demic achievement, according to
students.
shouldn’t be sotnething that
automatically knocks people out of student
nning (for graduate school),”
said Alexis McMillan, a senior cre-
tive writing major.
Most seniors who plan on apply
ing to graduate school take the GRE.
rhe GRE is the most common test
:quired by graduate schools, ac
cording to Gene McDowell, direc-
of the Asheville Graduate Cen-
The GRE is used to measure both
McDowell. This is due to the gen
eral belief of admissions commit
tees that students need to have a
certain level of achievement and
aptitude in order to do well in gradu
ate school.
“Grade point averages and GRE
ighed about equally.
Letters of recommendation are also
very helpful,” according to
McDowell. “That’s where the fac
ulty members who have taught the
the past can really help
(the student) out.”
The total raw score does not in
clude the students analytical score.
A lot of schools look at this score
because of the importance of ana
lytical thinking in graduate study,
but most students do not realize
that their total score is derived from
the quantitative and verbal sections,
according to McDowell.
“I think the major shortfall of any
standardized t
“The major
shortfall of any
standardized
test of this sort
is that they
don’t measure
motivation.”
-Gene McDowell, di
rector of Asheville
Graduate Center
It doesn’t take
ndividual study
intOjac
rvifer Baker, a
psychol-
)gy major.
The GRE may be a disadvantage
•traditional students and
students who wait, instead of tak-
it their senior year in college,
)rding to McDowell.
“The GRE is probably a less valid
measure of academic potential in
older students who have been out
)f school for awhile and are not as
t-sawy as they used to be,” said
McDowell. “That’s another short-
ofthiss
don’
measure
Motivation is a
very important
factor in how
well students do
in any academic
program,” said
McDowell.
“There’s a wide
demic levels that
can do well in
graduate school
if they are prop
erly motivated
and have a strong work ethic.”
Many students have a copy of
their scores sent to UNCA, but
these scores are not widely used
internally at UNCA, according to
Archer Gravely, director of institu
tional research.
“It’s hard to draw too many con
clusions from it,” said Gravely.
From 1982 to 1989, only 766
students who took the GRE or an
other graduate school admission te
Administration defends policy
PHOTO BY JASON GRAHAM/ MODELS ANUJ MOONDRA AND BRIAN COUEY
The debate over the new zero-tolerance policy adopted by UNCA continues to be an issue of controversy between
students and administration. A large number of policy violations occur within the dorms.
By Sarah Wilkins
staff Writer
The administration has spoken
in defense of UNCA’s new zero-
tolerance policy, a rule that has
given rise to much student dissat
isfaction and discSs'sion;
In order to prevent underage con
sumption of alcohol, the university
will “do everything we can, from
zero-tolerance to talking about (al
cohol) issues in classrooms,” said
lovacchini.
A UNCA student was admitted to
the Memorial Mission Hospital for
treatment ofalcohol poisoning early
Sept. 16. Mass quantities of alcohol
consumed with medication led to
the emergency.
So far this semester, three students
have had alcohol poisoning, accord
ing to Eric lovacchini, vice chancel
lor for student-affairs. “
The multiple cases are “why the
university worries about alcohol
consumption,” said lovacchini.
“Most of us that are educated are
really concerned about the vol
umes of alcohol that are being
consumed,” said lovacchini. “I
know that we can’t prevent it all,
but we’ve got a responsibility (to
the students).”
“I think alcohol at UNCA is
probably the most abused drug,”
said lovacchini. However, “all of
us across the country are strug
gling with this problem, it’s not
just UNCA.” -
Yet, many students believe that
alcohol is not that big of a prob-
“As long as you do it in modera
tion, I don’t see any problem with
it,” said Julie Garling, a sopho
more music major.
With public safety officers at
shuttles that are going to frater
nity parties, some students are
considering driving in order to
avoid getting a citation.
“If public safety is going to keep
being the way they are, they don’t
leave people many alternatives to
find other ways to get around
them,” said Wesley Hall, a senior
accounting major.
The university would “rather put
somebody who’s been drinking in
See POLICY page 9
UNCA ranked in Princeton Review
fall. I think the GRE does a better had their scores sent back to UNCA.
job with 22-year-olds than 44-year- Because not every student who takes
the GRE has their score mailed to
‘I believe that the GRE is a rather UNCA, institutional research is
measure of a student’s apti- reluctant to draw conclusions based
tude because verbal and quantita-
abilities are very important ii
the information they have, ;
cording to Rebecca Elkin, coordi-
doing graduate level work,” said nator ot intructional technology.
McDowell. “I don’t think there’s;
Graduate schools use the GRE
score as a “gatekeeping device,” in
which they establish an informal
-off score, according to
“We don’t use the data because
it’s usually not complete,” said
Elkin.
See GRE page 9
By Phoebe Hicks
staff Writer
tjNCA’s fall enrollment of full
time students is up, and the univer
sity is ranked as one of the best 331
colleges in the Prmceton Review
guide’s 2000 edition, but UNCA
still has some areas in which to
improve.
“We don’t have enough scholar
ships to offer students. Now, when
students are looking for colleges to
go to, and when they have a good
high school record, they are look
ing for some scholarship dollars,”
said Phillip Weast, assistant vice
chancellor of enrollment services.
“Our school needs more scholar
ship money if we are going to stay
competitive, ' said Weast.
Archer Gravely, director of insti
tutional research, stated in a press
release that we have gained approxi
mately 20 additional full-time stu
dents compared to last years num
bers. Although we have gained more
full-time students, our incoming
freshman class is smaller when com
pared to last fall’s.
“Last year’s new freshmen class
was UNCA’s largest ever. The slight
decline this year is probably due to
a drop in out-of-state enrollment,
which we thmk results from the
new statewide scholarship programs
in neighboring states,” said Gravely
in a press release.
An example of such a program is
the HOPE scholarship program in
Georgia. This program is funded
by ^oney from Georgia’s lottery
and provides free tuition to any
Georgia resident with at least a “B”
average to attend college in state,
according to Gravely’s release.
“Unfortunately, sometimes they
are making decisions (about which
school to attend) based on eco
nomic reasons rather than just the
environment of the institution.
More scholarship dollars will make
us more competitive for top-notch
See RANK page 10
Professor selected for women's leadership program
mail list
ill dona'
lar situa
orkersat
n of their
campui,
PHOTO BY WALTER FYLER
Pam Laughon is UNCA’s first professor to be
selected for the BRIDGES program.
By Holly Beveridge
staff Writer
Pam Laughon, associate pro
fessor of psychology, recently
became UNCA’s first faculty
member ever selected to join
the highly competitive
BRIDGES Academic Leader
ship for Women program at
UNC-Chapel Hill, according
to Jim Pitts, vice chancellor of
academic affairs.
On Sept. 22, Laughon joined
35 women from other four-
year colleges and universities
in the UNC system for the
beginning of the seventh
BRIDGES class in Chapel
Hill. According to Laughon,
UNCA funded her enrollment
in the 12-weekprogram, which
provides extensive leadership
training for women consider
ing careers in higher educa
tion administration.
“I think I’ll either really like
this after I spend 11 weeks think
ing about it, or I’ll decide that I
just want to be a teacher,” said
Laughon. “I’m torn. I love
teaching, I really do.”
Laughon said she first heard
about BRIDGES last spring
through Pitts, who recom
mended her for the program.
As part of the application pro
cess, approximately 15 of her
colleagues and other university
staff members filled out lengthy
questionnaires about Laughon’s
work and leadership abilities,
and sent them to BRIDGES.
“I’m up for the feedback,” said
Laughon. “I don’t know if I’m
suited for this. I think I am, but
this will be my taste of it.”
According to Pitts, profes
sional development programs
like BRI DGES offer new learn
ing experiences and new infor
mation that allow participants
to “serve the university in a To attend the program,
higher level of responsibility.” Laughon said she will travel to
“She’ll do wonderfully,” said Chapel Hill each Wednesday
Pitts. “She is
a lively per-
ways learn-
she’ll flour
ish.”
said both
Pitts and
Chancellor
Jim Mullen
have offered
to meet with
her on a
sis to talk
with her
about how
they make decisions.
“They’ve agreed to mentor me
through the whole thing, which
is really great of them,” said
“She’s a lively
person that’s
always learn
ing, and she’ll
flourish.”
-Jim Pitts, vice chan
cellor for academic
affairs, of Pam
Laugfion
sional week
ends for the
remainder of
the fall se
mester. “I’m
the only (par-
Greensboro,”
said
Laughon,
who will
day morning
teacha 10:50
a.m. class.
If she does decide to pursue
a course in higher education
administration, the next step
would be to apply for an
American Council on Edu
cation (ACE) fellowship,
according to Laughon. In
the ACE program, partici
pants work directly under
or with an administrator in
another four-year institu-
Pursuing the administra
tive route, however, would
mean eventually leaving
Asheville, according to
“I don’t know if I want to
do that or not,” said
Laughon, who came to
UNCA 10 years ago. “There
are a lot of ,people here I
would miss horribly.”
According to Pitts, future
possibilities for Laughon to
put her BRIDGES, experi
ence to use at UNCA re-
“I’m not certain of what
her future will be, but we’ll
all benefit by encouraging
her learning,” said Pitts.