$18K Activities Budget Released
Presently Un-Published Yearbook Allotted $6000
A. . ^ 1 t .« . t . . %. ' •• J «• _ _ >» n _ _ .
by Amy Buckner
The Student Government Associa
tion released the proposed Student Ac
tivities budget for the 1996/97 school year
last week.
The most significant inCTease in pro
posed funds for clubs was the paintball
club whose budget jumped from $630 this
year to $860 next year.
SGA president Karis Boyer empha
sized, “I want to stress that this is Just a
can only reach those students who are
members. Since this is only the second
year for the paintball club, their budget
request was justified because they need
more guns and they are trying to build
up their equipment base. They have been
borrowing guns firom Camp Rockmont,”
Sperry remarked.
The residence hall floor fund is a
new program that will allow each resi
dent assistant acertan dollar amount (ap-
ganizations and activities,” Sperry con
cluded.
proposed budget because we still haven’t proximately $3) for each resident on their
received budget requests from most floor. This will allow each hall to partici-
dubs.” pate in an activity of their choice.
According to Student Activities Di- The International Students Club will
rector Dave Sperry a committee consist- fill the gap left by the absence of the eth-
ing of the SGA president, SGA treasurer, nic diversity club. The money set aside
Student Activities chair, and himself meet for the production of the Agape year-
to discuss the breadth of the impact each
club has on campus. They also request a
completely itemized budget from each dub
that lists what they did with the money
given to them last year and what they in
tend to do with the money set aside for
them in the upcoming year.
“The paintball club was one of two
clubs that put in budget requests and the
only thoroughly itemized budget given.
This is a club that can impact the entire
campus whereas a club such as Alpha Chi
book and the Altheia newspaper is pres
ently absorbed back into the college’s
operating expenses, however, Sperry is
currently researching the idea of contrib
uting that money to a fund for a new com
puter to produce the yearbook.
The proposed budget will move
next to the executive committee of SGA
and then to the SGA legislative branch.
“All students are paying for these
things as a part of their tuition, so we want
to make sure they benefit from these or
Student Activities Proposed Budget
1996/97
Agape
$6,000
Aetheia
$150
Aphi Chi
$500
Apha Psi Omega
$250
Anderson Hall
$360
Davis Hall
$210
FCA
$200
Howerton Hall
$210
International Stud.
$200
Logos
$3,200
Mcgregor Hall
$120
NCAE
$500
Off Campus
$75
Paint Ball
$860
Residence floor fimd
$500
SCA
$1,000
SEEDS
$300
SGA
$3,600
SIFE
$100
Student Act. App. $ 18,000
Wirtjes
Retention 14.1% Below Nation ,,
Improvements Expected for '96 Fall
by Shazette Davis lamhope<hatwewillbeabletoenrollan
Administationhashighexpectationsfor evengreaternumberofnBixDritystudeiits’’
theFall 1996semester. Charges and addtions Coordinator ofStudent SuccessDave
by Jeff Sheets
Elizabeth Wirtjes, Assodate Dean
of Students, is resigning after this semes
ter to pursue doctoral studies.
Wirtjes remarked, “During my time
havebeenmadetoinprovetheacademicpro- Walters comments on the cdlege’s student at Montreat God has really been good to
gram and to meet the students’needs.
The new minimumreqiDremertsforad-
ntissions are 2.25 for GPA, 860 fijr the SAT
score, and 18 for the ACT score as opposed
to the past requirement which were 2.0 for
GPA, 740 for the SAT score, and 17 for the
ACT Score.
DirectorofAdmissionsNick Arnett conv
ments on why the change was made, saying,
“The academic rigor at Montreat is beyond a
2.0 student It is felt that in an attempt to ma
triculate students who will better be able to
retentiOT, “Thisyearretentionwillbebetter me and the department in the last five
than previous years based on the fact that years, but it’s time to move on.
we’ve had very poor retention in the past. “I want to get a doctorate in Edu-
We’vedevdoped aretentionprogramwhich national Leadership and Higher Educa-
consistofthreemajorcomponents:theRe- tion Administration. I plan to go part-
tertionCoundlwhichconsistofall VicePresi- time which will take six to seven years,
dents, key sta^ faculty, and student leaders Right now I’m leaning toward St^ord
whomeetonceamonthand fixaisonoutof orNorthwestem(fordoctrinal studies).”
dass and campus life. Freshman Seminar, Since coming to Montreat in the fall
wlwhfocusesonthetranationfromhi^ischod of 1990, Wirtjes has held many hats.
tocoUege,whidvstatisticalIy,coll^esaround Twice she was Anderson Hall’s RD while
theUrated Stateswhousethisprogramhave assuming Career Counselor duties, one
year under the title of Director of Career
Development, the next year Director of
Residence Life, and the past two years
she has been the Associate Dean.
“I feel really prepared going into the
program,” Wirtjes said. “I feel I got the
graduatefix}mMonteat,itisnecessaiytoraise hadsgnificattincreasesintetentbn,andEatty
rninimumstandatds.Furthennore,itiswrong Aa1,wh[chfbcusesonacademicmattiersand
inntyopiniontoeiKOuragestuderlstoattend allows professors to contact me whaistu-
Montreat who do not have a 75% chance of dents begin to have dificult academic situa-
successforthestudent,femily,andthecdl^” tionsandmtyiTequireaddidonalacadenicas-
addir^ “The emphaas for enrollment should sistance ”
beplacedonretaition,mearMngthatifthecol- TheretentionfiguresforMbntneatCdl- doctorate training fromHim (God) here
legeprovidestheiMoductandtheservdceswe l^arenotvayinpessive.Thenationalre- Wirtjes received her undergraduate
promiseandthestudentsaresuccesirful,lhat tention rate for private 4 year colleges fiom training at Wheaten, majoring in Corn-
satisfied customerswilldotheiecmiting” freshman to sophomore year is 73.6%. munications, and obtained a Master’s in
Approximately 165 new students are Montreat’sretentionrateinpastfiieshmanto Communications from Northern Illinois
sophomore years has bear 59.5%. In Jam- University.
ary, 84% offiosman whocameinfell 1995 The smiling Wirtjes added, “I never
returned for spring semester. Only 34% of intended to go into student development,
theseniorshavebeenatMontteatsincetheir but a mentor saw my gifts and advised
fieshmanyear. me to.”
expected forFall 1996 sanester.
Arnett comments on the enrollment of
minoritiesintothecdl^ “Conpared to other
Coalition ofChristiancoIl^esMorTtieat has one
of the highest minority student pacentages, but
Secondary Ed.
Dept. Passes
Accreditation
Process
by Jeff Sheets
The Teacher Education Diviaon un
derwent state and national accreditation
examinations last week and passed with
flying colors, but the final results will not
be available until next fall.
The two groups that critiqued the
program were the North Carolina De
partment ofPublic Instmction (NC-DPI)
and the National Council for the Accredi
tation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
The NC-DPI consists of 5 mem
bers that look strictly at the education
programs of an academic institution.
“The 20 state standards(of NC-
DPI) were all met which I find unusual.,”
Teacher Education Program Director
John Chesky informed. “Most ofthe time
they find something that needs adjust
ment.”
NCATE is made up of five profes
sors from across the country who exam
ine more than just the education program,
but the other features of a college such
as the overall academic program, finan
cial status, presidential leadership, etc.
This group interviewed all senior
education majors and even critiqued
some students, such as Aaron Gabriel,
while they were in teaching atuations.
Gabriel, an English Education ma
jor, noted, “The-interviews were intense.
They really want to be sure they don’t
accredit a school that’s not first rate.”
Chesky remarked on the results,
“Ofthe 20 standards NCATE requires,
only two were not met sufficiently: di
versity of faculty and diversity ofstudents.
Their philosophy is Tf you don’t have a
diversity on campus then it doesn’t pre
pare the student for the classroom. ’ ”
“NCATE has very rigorous stan
dards. They look primarily at processes,
not just products. You can have good
students, but a bad program. When plans
and process are not adequate or have not
been demonstrated, a school doesn’t
receive accreditation.”
Over the past five years, eight insti
tutions have been denied in the state by
NCATE.
Both groups informed the Teacher
Education Division, which consists of
English and History teaching routes, that
the programs passed the overall accredi
tation process well above average, but
only general remarks could be made at
this time. The final decision on accredi
tation and the spedfics of the two reports
Continued on page 2