The Decree
since 1960 “of, by, and for the Wesleyan community” November 21, 2014
NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN COLLEGE, ROCKY MOUNT, NORTH CAROLINA 27804
Tuition To Rise 2.8 Percent, 900
Students Projected for Fall 2015
By Decree Staff
NC Wesleyan will hike tuition and other
costs by 2.8 percent for most students in
2015-16, as it plans for a second-consecutive
jump in enrollment
Next year tuition will rise from $27,250
to $28,000, according to Jason Edwards, the
college’s Vice President of Finance. Under
a previous agreement, tuition will remain
at $26,482 for students who enrolled in fall
2013 or spring 2014.
Some freshmen were unhappy about
the tuition increase.
“It’s already hard for students and their
families to pay tuition,” said Jonathan
Alston. “Why raise prices? I think the school
will lose students due to the crazy increase.”
David Chang, a freshman from
Australia, was less bothered by the tuition
increase, but said he felt that the college
should enhance the residence halls and, in
particular, the offerings in the cafeteria. He
called the current meal plan “expensive”
for “low quality” food. “If we have to pay
an additional $150, I’ll have very high
expectations for next year,” he said.
James Parrish echoed Chang on the quality
of the food. ‘I have a problem with the increase
in the meal plan. It’s an outrage,” said Parrish,
who suggested that the college add a fast-food
outlet on campus to give students more choices.
Aneisha Felton said the meal plan “is pretty
good,’ ’but that the menu lacks variety. She said
she’s been most disappointed in the residence
halls. While calling her room too small, the
Edgecombe Hall resident reported that it’s often
difficult to regulate temperature levels. “So no
one ever wants to stay in their rooms,” she said.
Edwards reported that the yearly cost for a
from $4,281 to $4,400, while a standard meal
plan will rise from $4,651 to $4,800. The student
activity fee will remain at $150, he said, adding
that it’s unclear whether the college will raise
the cost of student insurance, now set at $1,313
per year. ‘ “Student insurance is a pass-through
expense driven by quotes received from a
third-party provider,” Edwards explained, “and
we don’t receive quotes until spring."
Last fall the college decided to increase
tuition, room and board by 2.9 percent, a rate
that was about .3 percent less than that of other
independent colleges and universities around
North Carolina, said Edwards. It’s too early, he
noted, to compare Wesleyan’s 2015-16 price
tag to that of its competitor schools.
This is the second year in a row that the
college has set its tuition in the fall. In the past,
it often waited until the February trustees meet
ing, an approach that hampered recruitment
efforts, Edwards said ‘Last year we pushed fa
approval during the October board meeting,”
he explained “Our admissions team is on the
road beginning in October and we wanted
them to have all the pertinent information to
share with potential students, rather than having
to speak generally about tuition and fees.”
Edwards said that the new approach is
in line with practices at other successful
colleges. “We want to take advantage of
every opportunity that’s available to us,”
he said, “so we can compete for proactive
students who are ready to commit.”
Besides setting the tuition, the board ap
proved a balanced 2014-15 operating budget
of $26.5 million, an increase of about $4
million over the last fiscal year, when the col
lege ran a deficit of about $673,000. Edwards
said that the deficit was about $77,000 more
than anticipated due in part to higher costs
associated with the college’s books-in-tuition
program, which just concluded its third year.
According the Edwards, the current
budget makes provisions fa the college’s new
Heritage Scholarship program, which covers
tuition, room, and board fa students with
exemplary academic credentials. Forty students
were granted the scholarship in 2014-15.
Scholarship funding comes from a
combination of sources, Edwards said.
“We have a few trustees who have agreed
to cover the room and board for some
of the Heritage Scholars,” he said. “We
require that the Heritage Scholars complete
a FAFSA, so we can capture federal aid
available for each student, and the remain
ing funding is absorbed by the college.”
Among other items in the budget, Edwards
highlighted a 3-percent pay raise for all staff
and faculty, more funding for student activities
and intramurals, and additional money for
marketing and recruitment initiatives.
He pointed out that the college must now
absorb a North Carolina sales tax on cafeteria
meal plans, under a mandate approved by the
legislature in July. Edwards noted that, unlike
other colleges, Wesleyan elected not to pass
on the cost to students this fall and spring.
to campus facilities and services. The college is:
• Leasing the Rocky Mount Inn—located three
miles south of campus on North Wesleyan
and providing transportation services to campus.
Edwards repeated that the total expense to
rent the Inn has been offset by student room
payments, but that the college has, so far, borne
the cost of the shuttle service, which is expected
to total $55,000for the academic year. “But
there is still availability in the Rocky Mount Inn
and if we fill the vacant rooms,” he said, “we’ll
break even on the shuttle service as well.”
• Thinning out trees in wooded areas of
campus. Edwards stressed that the college
intends to use the income generated through
sale of the harvested wood to pay for cutting
down and trimming trees. “It’s a break-even
situation,” he said, adding that the objective is to
improve ‘ ‘lighting, security and beautification.”
• Installing cameras in every residence hall
and partnering with Rocky Mount police
to strengthen security. The police now
make regular, nightly rounds on campus.
• Purchasing 10 new tables and 40 chairs
in the cafeteria.
• Laying sod and mulch in parking lot islands
as part of campus beautification efforts.
• Converting to LED lighting in parking
lots, gymnasiums and tennis courts.
• Replacing the original boiler in the
Everett/Taylor building.
• Adding a baseball clubhouse and a
building for the football team to store
equipment and hold meetings.
After its enrollment rose to 793 day
students in 2014, the college has set a goal of
900 students for next fall and 1,000 students
for the following year. President Dewey Clark
is excited about a second straight jump in en-
Unhappy at First, Many NCWC
Students Now Enjoy Life at the Inn
Reported by KeCharna White
Senior Staff Writer
High enrollment this fall forced NC Wesleyan
to house dozens of students at a nearby motel,
a move that initially frustrated many of the
upper-class males who were transferred there.
Seventy-two students live at the Rocky
Mount Inn, a motel located on North Wesleyan
Boulevard, about three miles south of campus.
Jacques Alston, a senior, voiced his initial
frustration, saying he was “mad as hell!” Several
anger cm learning of the change in early August,
when it was time for football training camp.
SGA President Isaiah Morrow reported
that some students, at first, complained
about strong cigarette smoke odors in their
rooms, an issue that was addressed through
vigorous cleaning. He said that other students
had packed as if they would be living in the
residence halls, bringing TVs and refrigera
tors, items already furnished by the motel.
Among other minor grievances, Davon-
tae Williams, ajunior, noted that breakfast
is not provided at the motel. Senior D’ante
Nichols said “there isn’talot of space to
G. Wallace photo
enrollment will allow us to provide more
activities and programs,” the president said
adding “We can better leverage our assets, and
our economic model will work better.”
The college is forecasting 400 new
students in 2015, with 340 freshmen.
The growing enrollment will require
changes in residence life. While renewing
its arrangement at the Rocky Mount Inn
next year, the college has decided to build
a new residence hall in a vacant area next
to Centura Hall. Already approved by the
college’s Board of Trustees, plans call for a
facility with 40 single rooms. The college
intends to finish construction of the residence
hall by August 2015 at an estimated cost of
$1.5 to $2 million, President Clark said.
Edwards said that matey for the new resi
dence hall is not included in the current budget
‘ It would be part of our capital budget and will be
covered by bank financing,’ ’ he explained
Even with the new residence hall, Resident
Clark noted, the college will still need to explore
additional housing options. One may involve
contracting with Wesleyan Villas, the townhouse
complex located just noth of campus.
Due to the higher projected enrollment, and
growth in the ASPIRE adult-degree program
the college will hire new faculty as well. Fa-
2014, Wesleyan established a new tenure-track
position in psychology and hired a full-time
visiting instructor in criminal justice. Provost
Michael Brown has said that next year, along
with replacement hires, the college hopes to
bring in new tenure-track faculty fa the criminal
justice, exercise science, marketing, political
science, and religious studies departments. Dr.
Brown added that the college will hire full-time
visiting instructors in biology, English and math,
as well as a new full-time librarian.
The college won’t know until next summer
the total number of adjunct—or part-time—
faculty it will need to employ, said the provost,
who noted that, this semester, there are 41
adjuncts teaching 73 classes and labs.
He said that the current classroom space
should be adequate to accommodate 900 stu-
dents next year. “We’ve analyzed our classroom
scheduling and believe that we can handle an
additional 100 new students next year with our
current classroom configuration,” he said.
put your clothes” and expressed concern
about driving back and forth to campus and
“wasting gas.”
Other students pointed out the earlier wake-
up time required to travel to school. The college
has contracted with a shuttle service to transpat
studsristocarnpus every harrinavan that seals 12
Despite early frustrations, in recent interviews
residents described the overall experience as positive.
Alston said there is more space and ‘ ‘it’s
quieter,’ ’ while Williams said ‘ The beds, most
definitely’ ’ are a positive aspect of life at the motel
To provide support arri supervision, the
college stalls the motel with one student resident
advisa and three members of the coaching staff,
two from football and one from baseball, who
each live there. As is done on campus, the Rocky
Mount police make regular rounds at the motel
Jessie Langley, Associate Dean of Students
for Campus Life, said that the college learned
in mid-May that there might be a space issue
on campus, after the Admissions office alerted
Student Affairs about a larger-than-expected
incoming class. “In the past, many prospective
students would submit their deposit, but then
not show up fa fall classes,” Langley said.
President Clark with General Hugh Shelton after the former NCWC
trustee introduced Dr. Clark at October inauguration ceremonies.
Photo copyrighted by Garry E. Hodges.
faculty Members Crack
Down on Cell Phone Use
Michael Taylor
Decree Staff Writer
Last semester, Dr. Jonathan Sarris intro
duced a guest speaker, and then sat in a desk
alongside students in his African-American
history class. The speaker, Howard N. Lee,
a Wesleyan Trustee, was the first African-
American elected mayor of a predominantly
white city in the South since Reconstruction
and a former North Carolina state senator.
Midway through Lee’s lecture, his voice was
drowned out by the familiar T-Mobile ring
tone. It rang several times before the student
realized it was her cell phone. After the phone
was shut off, the other students quit staring
at the source of the sound, and the speaker
regrouped his thoughts and continued.
Because of incidents like this, a no-cell-
phone policy permeates the classrooms
of Wesleyan. A majority of the instructors
implement this policy in their classes in
order to keep the students focused on the
subject matter. Dr. Marjon Ames embraces
a no-cell phone policy in her classes. “I
don’t want to see them out during class,”
the history professor said. “They should be
off and put away during the duration of the
class meeting.” Adjunct Professor Danelle
That was not the case in 2014. When
a higher number of students attended the
June and July orientation sessions, Student
Affairs recognized that it would need to
find alternative housing to accommodate
the increased number of residents.
“We realized in July that we were going to
exceed capacity,” said Edward Naylor, Vice
President for Student Affairs, who, along with
other administrators, monitored enrollment
on a daily basis after he joined the college in
May. “We had been exploring options, but at
that point we started negotiating options and
even after that point, demand kept increasing
and our options kept changing.”
The administration considered many alter
natives before deciding on the Rocky Mount
Inn. Dean Langley said that other options
included placing temporary modular housing
units on campus as well as leasing off-campus
apartments. ‘But we ultimately decided that
a motel would be the most feasible choice,”
she said. ‘Many were then considered but the
Rocky Mount Inn was the closest, and it was
the only place that would let us take the whole
building. This became an exciting opportunity
since it would allow us to come closest to a
true residence hall experience.”
Dean Naylor noted that there were cheaper
options. “We found some places we could’ve
gone, but I wasn’t comfortable finding the
cheapest place,” he said. “The student experi
ence was more important than money.”
Interviewed in October, many students
said that they would prefer to remain at the
motel, even if given the opportunity to move
back to the residence halls. Alston said he liked
that he “was free and had my own space.” Wil
liams concurred: “This hotel life is pretty
nice. I don’t miss living on campus at all.”
Cauley shares this policy. She stated that her
students “may not use cell phones in class.”
The dominant reason for the no-cell phone
policy is to avoid distractions during class.
“When students are in class, they need to
be completely present in the moment and
engaging with other people in class,” Cauley
said. Dr. Ames echoed that cell phones “are
distracting, both to the student and to everyone
else in the room.” Ames also pointed out that
using a cell phone during class is impolite.
‘It’s disrespectful to be engaged in anything
phone related during class,” she commented.
Many professors will allow school-re
lated work on cell phones if it is approved
by them first. Cauley, who teaches acting
and directs plays, has many students put
their script lines in their phones. She stated
she is fine with using cell phones for
class-related purposes “as long as students
use it as an electronic device and not as
a phone!” Cauley stressed, “I will let the
student know when it’s appropriate to do
that.” In order to verify that a student is
using her phone for approved reasons she
said, “I come around and look.”
Some professors make few or no
exceptions in their policy. Dr. Lee Templeton
gives some options to students who feel they
need their phone for class purposes. ‘There are
other methods,” the English professor said He
recommends taking notes by hand or looking
words up in the dictionaiy. Dr. Fred Sanborn is
also firm with his policy. ‘The only exceptions
I’ve made are for international students who
need to use their phones to translate words,”
he said‘T find it hard to believe anyone could
take effective notes on a phone.”
Dr. Ames also feels that it should be
the instructor’s decision whether to allow
students to use cell phones during class,
even for school-related reasons. She avoids
problems with cell phones by having a no
tolerance policy. “Anything that is done on
a phone during class could be done after the
meeting has ended without distraction or
offense,” she said “In my class, we can look
up any questions after class and use it as a
jumping-off point for further discussion.”
Not all instructors put the same weight
on the no-cell phone policy and some
have no policy at all. Senior Katherine
Crickmore noted that some professors are
stricter on cell phones than others. “In one
class the teacher may say ‘stay off your
phones’. In another class, a teacher may say
‘if I see it, you’re kicked out of class and
you make an “F’ for the day,’” she said.
Student Michael Whitten related that in
his chemistry lab, cell phones are permitted
because students use them as a calculator.
However, in his chemistry lecture class, there is
a “three strikes and you’re out of class” policy.
Whitten also said that one professor’s policy is
even more stringent “If she catches you with
it, you’re absent from class,” the junior said
Dr. Templeton has a stringent punishment
for students using their phones in class. “If
I see your phone or if it appears that you’re
looking at it, I will deduct five points from
your final grade,” he stated emphasizing the
See Phones pg 2