Curriculum planned for nonhonors students

By Emily Martin - Public Affairs Reporter

Next semester offers a new twist to the Cap Scholars program - it will now be split into an honors and nonhonors curriculum, allowing a more general admittance policy at UIS.
 The university plans to admit 180 students to the new general education program in addition to 100 Cap Scholar honors students this fall, said the Interim Associate Vice Chancellor Karen Moranski. General education freshmen will be admitted on a more expansive basis, said Moranski last Wednesday.
“We are using a broad-based set of criteria,” she said, explaining the entrance guidelines of new non-honors freshmen.
Moranski said not all students have traditional schooling or backgrounds and the program will be flexible to their needs. “Some of them may have 15 years work experience before their first year of college,” she said of the diverse group of undergrads. Although ACT scores and high school grades will still be considered, Moranski said new general education requirements would take into consideration many other accomplishments and skills as well.
The new curriculum has two parts: lower division coursework and UIS specific courses. Lower division “discipline areas,” said Moranski, are comprised of general requirements that students can take at most four-year universities. Oral/written communication, math and sciences and humanities are among some of the lower division courses students take in their first years of study and will now be offered at UIS as part of the new curriculum.
Some existing 300 and 400 level university courses will be moved to the 100 and 200 level discipline areas to suffice the change, says Moranski. Other courses in the lower level discipline areas are still being created for new freshmen.
UIS-specific courses, the second part of the new curriculum, closely resemble the LSC and PAC courses now in place. The “Engaged Citizenship Common Experience”- ECCE- courses will use interdisciplinary qualities to expose first and second-year undergrads to cultural diversity. ECCE (pronounced “eh-chey”) is the Latin term for “behold.”
Moranski said the curriculum was designed to challenge and enlighten new undergrads. She said “Art and Identity” and “Comparative Politics” are among some of the 200 - 400 level classes added to the new curriculum.
  Both honors and non-honors students can choose from the ECCE curriculum, while the lower division coursework is designated for nonhonors students. Moranski said roughly 40-50 percent of the new ECCE courses would be available for freshmen in 2006, and more would be offered in the semesters to follow.
Chancellor Ringeisen said in a campus-wide e-mail last week UIS will hire 12 new faculty to meet the new curriculum’s needs. But Karen Moranski said 14-15 new faculty members would be hired for the recently created coursework; not all of them will cover only general education. She said some faculty would work in other areas as well.

City snuffs out smoking

By Emily MArtin - Public Affairs Reporter

Due to the efforts and commitment of several student organizations, the Fair Trade movement has gained momentum this year. However, the availability of Fair Trade coffee in Capitol Perks is only the start of measures that will make UIS a more socially conscious and environmentally friendly campus.

For the past two years, several UIS students have tried to raise awareness of Fair Trade by setting up information tables, having taste tests of Fair Trade products and collecting signatures from students to show support.  However, the initiative to bring Fair Trade coffee to UIS was officially brought to the attention of SGA by Students Allied for a Greener Earth (SAGE) members Vera Leopold and Mike Mikulski last October and quickly gained campus-wide attention and the support of students, faculty members and student groups such as United Students Against Sweatshops and College Democrats.

SGA played a pivotal part in making Fair Trade coffee a reality by speaking with administrators and drawing up a resolution on Fair Trade coffee. Students urged the administration to evaluate Fair Trade coffee pricing and through meetings with Steve Chrans, assistant vice-chancellor for student affairs, the SGA discovered that bringing the product to campus would be cost-effective for the university. 

By late November, Fair Trade coffee was available at Capitol Perks. The coffee, which is the same price as regular coffee, is purchased from the Bean Counter in Petersburg. 

“We are so excited about this because not only do you help global causes by buying Fair Trade coffee, you’re also supporting local business,” said Vera Leopold.

The overwhelming success of the resolution ensures that coffee will not be the only Fair Trade product offered at UIS.  Fair Trade decaf coffee, due to demand from faculty members, will arrive this semester and the SGA resolution recommends the implementation of a full line of Fair Trade coffee, including espresso and flavored coffee. 

Involved students are also in support of making other Fair Trade products such as bananas, sugar, tea and chocolate available and offering whole-bean coffee for campus offices.

In the resolution, SGA asks the administration to revisit the initiative at the end of the Spring 2006 semester to analyze its profits and losses in order to come up with the best strategic plan for Fair Trade at UIS and then work with the SGA president to make decisions that will benefit students in the area of Fair Trade coffee.

SGA has also formed an Ad-Hoc committee of the SGA that will focus on environmental issues in an attempt to address related issues. Comprised of various UIS students, the committee is eager to hear from the student body on issues of environmental concern.

“SGA supports all initiatives that can realistically benefit the students and we are eager to work towards a more environmentally friendly campus,” said SGA President Samantha Drews.  “SGA advocates for a campus that listens and acts on the concerns of the students and we are pleased to see such an immediate and cooperative response from the division of Student Affairs.”

Curriculum planned for nonhonors students

City snuffs out smoking