Texas A&M
Serving the University community
/ol. 76 No. 179 USPS 045360 10 Pages
College Station, Texas
Thursday, July 28, 1983
Graduate admission
proposal approved
by Karen Schrimsher
Battalion Staff
The Academic Council approved a
proposal Wednesday to upgrade re
quirements for admission to the Gra
duate College. The proposal focuses
on increasing the grade-point ratio
requirement.
Under the new requirements an
applicant with a GPR of 2.0 must have
a Graduate Record Examination
score of at least 1400 to be allowed
admission to the Graduate College.
Under the existing requirements,
a student who has a GPR of 2.0 need
only score 800 on the GRE to be
admitted.
The current admissions require
ments have been in effect for 15
years, despite two efforts to upgrade
them, one in 1974 and another in
1980.
Students who have completed an
advanced degree or have completed a
significant number of hours toward
an advanced degree will be required
to have a minimum grade-point ratio
of 3.0 for postbaccalaureate course
work completed, regardless of GRE
score, to be considered for full admis
sion to the Graduate College.
The proposal encourages all de
partments to establish admission re
quirements above the minimum, par
ticularly for doctoral applicants.
The council also approved curricu
lum changes in biomedical science, in
dustrial engineering, and recreation
and parks degree plans Wednesday.
The changes in the biomedical sci
ence degree program include:
• An addition ol three credit hours
in chemistry, with a change to chemis
try courses that will be less biologically
oriented.
• A change in required biochemis
try courses to provide greater biolo
gical orientation and biochemistry
competency.
• Elimination of English 203, In
troduction to Literature, from the de
gree plan, and addition of English
301, Technical Writing.
• A choice between Business
Analysis 217 — Business Data Proces
sing Concepts, and Statistics 302 —
Statistical Methods, because of the in
creasing need for college students to
learn to use computers effectively.
• A new orientation course to be
added to the first semester of the
program to inform new students of
the vocational opportunities offered
in the field of biomedical science.
The changes in the degree require
ments for a bachelor of science de
gree in safety engineering include:
• The addition of English 203, In
troduction to Literature.
• The addition of Computing Sci
ence 202 — Introduction to Compu
ter Programming, which will replace
Computing Science 203 — Introduc
tion to Computing.
• Six revised descriptions of de
partmental courses.
• The addition of three new
courses: Safety Engineering 311 —
Scientific Principles of Industrial
Hygiene, Safety Engineering 412 —
Evaluation of Industrial Environ
ments and Safety Engineering 420 —
Industrial Ventilation.
The council also approved the
change in status of Recreation and
Parks 305 — Management of Urban
Parks, from a required course to an
elective course.
The group approved changes in
the professional curriculum and pre
professional requirements in veterin
ary medicine. The changes are the
first in ten years, and are said to
address the issues and educational re
quirements of the 1980s.
The new professional curriculum
plan would have a coordinated disci
pline area approach to the first two
years, an innovative organ system
approach to the third year and a mod
ified block system for the fourth, or
clinical year.
The minimal preprofessional re
quirements will increase by 17 semes
ter credit hours — from 66 to 83 — to
include biochemistry, microbiology,
entomology, feeds and feeding,
speech and computer science.
In other action the council:
• Approved 34 new courses.
• Approved the withdrawal of 43
courses.
• Approved two new degree prog
rams: A doctor of philosophy degree
and a master of science degree in
medical sciences.
• Approved the change of the
name of the Department of Building
Construction to the Department of
Construction Science.
• Approved the proposed 1984-85
academic calendar.
• Approved the candidates for gra
duate and undergraduate degrees,
which will be awarded Aug. 13.
Skills tests ‘not valid’
nan at
southern
3 ole, situa«
Mountai The University police have begun
,e John Pa [ticketing bicyclists who don’t obey stop
t least K*. signs. Patrolman Gene Wilganowski spent
1. None" 1 Wednesday morning writing tickets for
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awaiting
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be ruled i r;
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violators who ran stop signs at the
intersection of Ireland and Ross streets.
The fine for each ticket is $4. Police
ticketed 25 bicyclists Wednesday.
by Karen Schrimsher
Battalion Staff
Texas education majors didn’t per
form too well on a basic skills test,
according to an article published in
the Houston Chronicle. However,
that’s not so, says Dean C. Corrigan,
dean of the College of Education.
The mean scores from an ex
perimental test given to 1,269 Texas
education majors in April were pub
lished earlier this month. The stu
dents represented 59 of the 64 college
and university education programs in
Texas.
Sixty-three Texas A&M education
majors participated in the experi
ment.
It was reported that both students
and Houston school teachers per
formed poorly on the test.
“The newspaper reports were
ccreditation
College of Education receives high marks for programs
worthless,” Corrigan says.
He says the test scores say nothing
about the performance of the partici
pants or the efficiency of the college
because the number of students tak
ing the test from each university dif
fered so greatly.
For example, 60 of Texas A&M’s
400 education juniors took the test,
while 14 of Rice University’s 212 edu
cation majors participated.
By the Houston Independent
School District’s standards, 62 per
cent of the Houston teachers failed
the reading portion of the test, 46
percent failed the mathematics test,
and 26 percent failed the writing test.
The maximum score on each test
was 190. The HISD failing mark for
its teachers was 178 on the reading
test. Texas A&M mean score on the
reading test was 177.4, while the Rice
University mean was 179.
According to HISD standards 59
percent of all the students failed the
reading test, 44.4 failed the mathema
tics test and 26 failed the writing test.
However, no pass or fail mark has
been set for students.
Corrigan said the test will not give
valid results until it has been deemed
a valid test. He said that in 1986,
teachers will be tested not only on
basic skills, but also on their major
teaching field.
The basic skills test was given to aid
in the development of a standard test
that will be administered statewide.
By 1984 sophomores who wish to
study education must pass the test be
fore they can enroll in education
courses.
The purpose of preliminary test
ing is to develop a fair test. The writ
ten portion of the test will have to be
completely revised because of the
findings of the April testing, Corri
gan says.
by Karen Schrimsher
Battalion Staff
he College of Education was
nister jranted full accreditation and given
lastw^ iigh marks for all of its programs by
nimoti National Council for Accredita-
)ned'f° r, :ion of Teacher Education,
j” und et |r
the Poll^S NCATE representatives evaluated
, (aruzf' Texas A&M’s education programs on
« J , ,.pe basis of an extensive three volume
nine J^nstitutional se if study and numerous
repo rtei:1 acuity interviews. The programs are
a, th e 1 ested according to a number of stan-
, a lmines jards set by NCATE.
ie Solid Jl lL .
. e( j jtiD® The council’s Accreditation Action
J 0 -' oU tlafftort, issued last month with the
v ' ,ts innouncement of accreditation, gives
sons, College of Education high marks
unced 2 * nail categories for all programs. The
?gime | 1
tial law . • |
inside
risen
DC*
council representatives found that
the college had met all its standards,
and in many cases exceeded them
substantially. NCATE could find no
weaknesses in any of the programs.
The council was particularly im
pressed with the college’s “Centers of
Inquiry” learning and research
method — a means of grouping stu
dents and faculty together for the in
tense study of educational problems
and innovations in teaching method.
Currently inquiry groups are
studying such subjects as computer
technology, reading, test psychomet
rics, improving college teaching and
the educational problems of the aged.
One group designed a microcompu
ter teaching lab.
The report states, “The ‘Centers of
Inquiry’ concept is a model that might
well be replicated in institutions of
higher education throughout the Un
ited States.”
The report praises the College
Committee on Graduate Instruction,
calling its control of advanced prog
rams “exemplary.” NCATE gave spe
cial commendation for “the employ
ment and support of highly qualified
and effective faculty.”
The college also was commended
for its careful and systematic program
of self-evaluation. Education students
played an important part in the self
study. During a survey research class,
students surveyed 40 Texas A&M
education graduates.
The report states, “Texas A&M has
achieved unprecedented goals in the
evaluation of the professional per
formance of graduates and in the de
velopment of exceptional long range
plans for teacher preparation.”
Dean of Education Dean C. Corri
gan says it is important to be accre
dited by NCATE because graduates
from an accredited program will be
accepted by employers in 39 other
states.
An undergraduate program in
elementary and secondary teaching
in art, music and physical education
was given initial accreditation, along
with graduate programs in reading
and in school psychology. The
elementary and secondary education
degree programs were reaccredited,
as well as the previously accredited
graduate programs.
The college was granted seven
years of accreditation, the maximum
authorization period.
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clear skies and warm today
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»njail e °' of 10 to 15 mph. The low tonight
| a fiftl’ f near 73. Mainly clear skies Friday
yearsfr'Kith a high of 93 and winds re-
.g wlii |e i ibaining southerly near 10 mph.
U.S. flotilla overshadows
talks in Central America
United Press International
Presidential envoys from Latin
America’s Contadora Group and
American troubleshooter Richard
Stone shuttled through Central
America on separate peace missions
as a U.S. Navy flotilla neared the coast
of the troubled region.
Stone, President Reagan’s special
envoy to Central America, met in San
Salvador Wednesday with presidents
Alvaro Magana of El Salvador, Be-
lisario Betancur of Colombia and
Ricardo de la Espriella of Panama.
Betancur and de la Espriella, rep
resenting the Contadora Group, also
traveled to Honduras and Guatemala
for separate talks with the leaders of
those countries.
“We have revitalized our faith that
there is willingness,” de la Espriella
said before he and Betancur left
Guatemala for Panama Wednesday
night. “There will be peace in Central
America.”
But that sentiment was apparently
not shared by leftist Nicaragua, whose
foreign ministry released a statement
Wednesday night by the Coordinat
ing Bureau of the Movement of Non-
Aligned Nations demanding that
scheduled U.S. naval maneuvers in
the region be canceled.
The maneuvers are “contrary to
the spirit of the peace efforts of the
region’s countries,” said the state
ment, which endorsed separate, but
similar peace proposals issued by the
Contadora Group and Nicaragua.
Stone flew to Honduras Wednes
day after a meeting with Salvadoran
legislators, where reporters listening
through the door quoted him as
saying that the U.S. flotilla headed for
waters off both coasts of Central
America could “serve for an attack.”
Stone’s remark was confirmed by
two Salvadoran legislators present at
the meeting, but was flatly denied by
Stone’s spokesman and the U.S.
Embassy in El Salvador, which had
two people at the meeting.
staff photo by Mike Davis
‘Bearly movin’
Leigh Forrest, a junior journalism major from Houston,
took her three bears Bob, Brutwurst and Buford for a
moped ride Wednesday on campus.