10
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2005
Quicker degrees
deflate costs,
new study finds
Emphasizes need to stay on track
BY ERIC JOHNSON
ASSISTANT STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR
With higher education becoming
increasingly important and expen
sive, anew study suggests that one of
the best ways to reduce college costs
is to make sure a four-year degree
takes only four years to earn.
The study, funded by the
Lumina Foundation for
Education, involved a series of
focus-group discussions with col
lege administrators and parents
from around the country.
“The longer they stay, the more
they have to pay,” said Marty
McGough, vice president of
research and polling for Widmeyer
Communications, the firm hired to
conduct the focus groups.
“If there could be measures that
could reduce the time to (achieve
a) degree, that would have a major
positive benefit.”
Parents and college adminis
trators participating in the focus
group sessions held in Atlanta,
Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles
agreed that accumulating debt
often becomes an issue for students
spending more than four years to
earn a degree.
Gretchen Bataille, UNC-sys
tem senior vice president for
academic affairs, said four-year
graduation plans are preferable,
but not vital.
“It’s in students’ best interest to
be able to go four years and gradu
ate, and it’s in the taxpayers’ best
interest to have students go four
years and graduate,” she said. “But
we recognize that’s not always how
it happens.”
The university system, she said,
often analyzes the six-year gradu
ation rate to account for students
who don’t take on a full-time sched
ule for four consecutive years.
“Students who begin and go full
time for four years do graduate at a
very high rate,” she said. “We know
that some students just take longer
to graduate because they don’t go
full time.”
I
I
W H jHV
in
HB|
i^in
I I I I I I
M m M, fg. jmm
-dPr' ' I HHk
V ~‘*. ’ \ ~
Gwouiw PERPORms: fl Student Perror/hinc ftar CEUfßwmoii it a free
open house that highlight* the spectrum of Carolina’s student performers. 181 , oniv ,r„tv
Soloists, ensembles and student groups ujifl light up the stage with || jj ,mu aaouu
notable campus personaMfes as the masters of ceremony during the final 4U! ■ cnuu mu
event of tfe memorial Haß Grand Opening weekend.
Many students choose to take
semesters off in order to work or
study abroad, and others simply
don’t have a clear plan of action.
“Students don’t always know
what they want to do,” Bataille said.
“That’s why advising is so impor
tant. There are a lot of things that
can minimize that risk.”
The most critical factor in get
ting students on track to earn a
degree in four years is to make sure
they’re ready for a rigorous college
curriculum, McGough said.
There was agreement among
the focus groups that college
bound students should be strongly
encouraged to take advanced-level
classes in high school and to com
plete any remedial courses before
enrolling at a university.
“It’d be really great if we had these
students more prepared when they
went to college,” McGough said.
“Let’s get them the remedial work
they need before they get there.”
The report found that closer
cooperation among universities,
high schools and community col
leges could help to standardize
credit hours and provide students
with more options for completing
necessary coursework.
Another significant finding of the
Lumina report is the need to publi
cize more aggressively scholarship
and financial aid opportunities.
The focus groups that Widmeyer
conducted involved parents of
college-age students with family
incomes of less than $30,000 per
year, McGough said.
The results clearly point to a
need for a public information cam
paign on scholarships and financial
aid, he said.
“Someone has to step up to the
plate and educate low-income
parents and their kids about the
opportunities available to them,”
he said. “There’s really a low aware
ness of it.”
Contact the State Si National
Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
Zipcars aid transport crunch
Prices stay down
despite expenses
BY KATHRYN BALES
STAFF WRITER
With gas prices at an all-time
high, UNC students, faculty and
staff continue to look toward
alternative transportation where
they will pay zip for maintenance,
insurance and costly fuel.
Zipcar Inc. has been an option
on UNC’s campus since Jan. 2004,
but it took a while to catch on, said
Randy Young, spokesman for the
UNC Department of Public Safety.
“I think more and more people
are becoming aware not only of the
program itself but of the benefits of
the program,” he said. “It certainly
makes sense between the current
demand for fuel and parking.”
Young said 346 separate entities
are registered with Zipcar through
YDs slow to start, still seek local impact
BY ERIN ZUREICK
STAFF WRITER
Long after the shouts from the
fall’s contentious elections died
down, Young Democrats quietly
are gearing up for another round.
And though UNC students might
not find themselves bombarded at
every corner by eager campaign
ers touting colorful banners, group
officials say they still plan to impact
this fall’s municipal elections.
Members of the organization
held a general interest meeting
Monday night in an attempt to
generate interest in November’s
local elections, gamer new mem
bers and raise funds for Hurricane
Katrina relief.
Members said they had hoped
to recruit a high-profile speaker
to highlight their first meeting
—a tradition for campus political
groups —but plans failed to mate
rialize in time.
Last year Erskine Bowles, a for
mer candidate for the U.S. Senate,
spoke at the group’s first meeting.
“We worked for about two
months trying to get someone for
this meeting, but we couldn’t get
anyone to commit,” said Dustin
Ingalls, the group’s public relations
director, who noted John Edwards,
News
the University, including 37 depart
ments.
Registration for the program has
increased by more than 100 percent
since last September, Young said.
“People are learning that the
University is very accessible to
those who do not drive single-occu
pancy vehicles,” he said.
The registration fee is S2O for
individuals and University depart
ments, said Christine Laurence,
business development manager with
the Zipcar office in Washington,
D.C., but it is basically given back
in the form of four hours of driving
credit valued at $5 per hour.
Young said the cost of using a
Zipcar will not increase for those
who are signed on, even with the
gas shortage and price hikes.
“I don’t think you can underplay
the importance of a program like
this right now,” she said.
Laurence said increasing mem
bership will increase the likelihood
former vice presidential candidate,
as a speaker they targeted.
But senior Nadav Ariel, a mem
ber of Young Democrats’ execu
tive board, said the large turnout
indicated that students still want
to help out even though there is no
national election this fall.
“I think a lot of people are inter
ested in supporting our organiza
tion,” he said.
A crowd of close to 200 students
gathered Monday night on Polk
Place and listened to N.C. Sen. Ellie
Kinnaird, D-Orange, who empha
sized the importance of activism in
local politics.
“You may not feel like Qocal elec
tions) have a whole lot to do with you
a11... but the local government real
ly does have an effect on you,” said
Kinnaird, a former Carrboro mayor.
Despite the narrower scope of
elections this fall, organization lead
ers said they are striving to increase
student interest in town politics.
“Our focus is on local elections,”
said Blakely Whilden, co-president
of the group. “We want to get stu
dents involved and educated.”
Voter registration efforts will
take place up until the Oct. 14
deadline, she said.
Even though local elections
tend to generate less interest than
national campaigns, members said
they still hope to register a large
Interested in making a
difference by covering the
people who make the news?
Have a passion for reporting,
writing, photographing,
reviewing or designing?
l/nUet.lifc.
<%■
'Nicole &
JjcrfanM.
OsnUbw.
Whatever your
interest, we’ve
got it covered.
ficjtofo.
Finalist for the 2004 Pacemaker from /3/
the Associated Collegiate Press. /cT
Come to The Daily Tar Heel's interest meetings:
Wed.. Sept. 7at 4:45 pm • Wed.. Sept. 14 at 4:45
Student Union, Room 3413
that prices will not rise.
“Nothing’s happened yet,” she
said'. “We can insulate members
from the price of (gas). The more
people we sign up means that we
don’t have to raise our prices.”
UNC’s fleet of Zipcars, com
prised of four Volkswagen bugs,
occupies choice parking on campus
and is open to faculty, staff and stu
dents who are at least 21 in age and
need a short-term set of wheels.
Members can use the cars up to
four days in a row sometimes
longer —with manager approval,
Laurence said.
Young said purchasing more
Zipcars is an option, but they will
monitor their current use before
expanding.
Zipcars incorporation into the
University was not intended to be a
capitalist venture, Young said, but to
make things easier by relieving the
strain caused by parking scarcity.
“This program was never initi
DTH/ISAAC SANDLIN
Blakely Whilden, left, of the UNC Young Democrats, speaks to freshman
Samuel Lau, right, while collecting donations for Hurricane Katrina victims.
number of students.
Last fall, members registered
close to 3,000 voters, said organi
zation Co-president Kris Gould.
“If we could do half of that I would
consider it a success” Gould said.
Gamering a higher voter turnout
will require educating students about
Utyr Doily Sor MM
ated in order to make money for
the University,” he said. “That was
not the primary goal. This is seen
as an initiative to curb the need for
single-occupancy vehicles.”
There are many advantages to
incorporating Zipcar on college
campuses, including decreased
emissions, Laurence said.
“It will definitely help with con
gestion,” she said. “If someone joins
and gives up their car that’ll be one
more private car off the road.”
Zipcar at UNC has been particu
larly helpful for faculty and staff in
departments registered with the pro
gram, she said.
Laurence said she hopes
Carolina’s Zipcar program will
grow by leaps and bounds.
“We look forward to a long rela
tionship and one that continues to
develop.”
Contact the University Editor
at udesk@unc.edu.
their stake in the election, he said.
Ingalls said the group currently is
not endorsing any candidates in the
Chapel Hill Town Council election.
Whilden said the main focus this
fall will be voter turnout.
“In general, it is important to
raise awareness and emphasize the
importance to vote locally,” she said.
While the organization might
seem less visible this year, it’s only
in comparison to the widespread
interest the national campaigns
garnered last fall, Gould said.
“We’re obviously not as active as
we were last year,” he said. “I don’t
think it’s feasible for us to be as
active.”
In the coming weeks, members
hope to confirm a more high-pro
file speaker.
N.C. Rep. Grier Martin, D-Wake,
and U.S. Rep. David Price, D-N.C.,
are scheduled to speak Sept. 12 and
Sept. 19, respectively.
Contact the University Editor
at tidesk@unc.edu.
Expires 12/31/05
Ip faun
Due to building renovations,
we’ve relocated to the Tart
Your Hide 1 at 15-501 S.
& Smith Level Rd.
$lO OFF any package
with Student ID
Serving the
UNC Community!
Carrboro Plaza Shopping Center
104 R Hwy 54 West
Carrboro, NC 27510
Tel (919) 918-7161
Mon-Fri 8-6:30, Sat 10-4
• International Shipping
• Secure Mailbox Services
• Color/BW Print fc Copy Services
• Lamlnatlng/Blndlng
• Passport Photos
• Fax/Business Cards/Notary
• Custom Packaging Services
• Moving It Packaging Supplies
• Pick up Service Available
©2003 United Postal Service, Inc.