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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 9, 1998)
WEfiTHER Today IQH OW 94 74 Tomobrow ■aiiiiQh Low 95 74 ^ I n — Aggielife see Page 3 II > I 1/ C Opinion ... see Page S on. 3\v av 104 3n [ heart JH (tremej as asfj onalAf n anil ;store •nt Clii TH YEAR • ISSUE 149 • 6 PAGES TOMORROW Front Page Story: Charitable organizations lose manpower as a result of Aggies leaving for the summer. TUESDAY • JUNE 9 • 1998 {Sharing the wealth iiition reciprocity waives out-of-state fees for students attending Texas universities By Sarah Goldston le fils| Sta« Writer d from ! me i ie Texarkana, Ark., resident Jessica Mc- 2 said lor Y she wanted a career in marine Count iol °gy' jchasl l Unfortunately, the degree program wa , b rea( ] ot offered in any of her home state's uni- nce ."| ersities. McClory applied to Texas A&M lonevit Galveston to pursue her degree, despite nvest >e cost of out-of-state tuition. "It was close to home, and it had the pro- ibilitv ram Jessica wanted. It has cost us $5,000 : 18a$i tore a semester for her to attend than a provi igular resident," Charlotte McClory, Jessi- le welja's mother said. But her mother remembered a better way. "I went to college at Southern Arkansas, 'lewYindl remember Texas residents attending le university for in-state tuition." McClory's memory served her well. A nil be Iminii estoral ,52,00 Texas, assista s after ritizem Texas state law has long made it possible for residents of Texarkana, Ark., to attend Texas state universities for in-state tuition, and vice versa. More recently, A&M-Galveston has made an agreement with out-of-state uni versities allowing students from counties adjacent to the Texas border to attend Texas public universities at in-state tuition. Texas will waive out-of-state fees if a corresponding university grants the same privileges for students from Texas. Armed with this knowledge, the Mc- Clorys set out to pay less. The family has been pursuing the in state tuition since McClory's freshman year, 1995. In February 1997, the Texas A&M Board of Regents authorized A&M-Galveston to enter into tuition reciprocity agreements because of the special nature of the marine and maritime programs in Galveston. A&M-Galveston has reciprocity agree ments with Louisiana and Arkansas and is exploring agreements with Oklahoma and New Mexico. W. Michael Kemp, vice president and CEO of A&M-Galveston, said there is pro posed legislation that will allow students from states not adjacent to Texas to access the maritime programs in Galveston. "We want to encourage students to come to Texas and take advantage of these programs," Kemp said. McNeese State University in Lake Charles, La., is also getting in on the op portunity. Cheryl Grefenstette-Moon, director of admissions at A&M-Galveston, said Mc Neese State University President Dr. Robert Herbert signed a letter in August 1997 honoring the recipritory program be tween McNeese and A&M-Galveston. "We have a two-year agreement allow ing the recipritory program between A&M- Galveston and McNeese, which means it is good until Fall 1999," Grefenstette-Moon said. "After the fall, we will renegotiate the agreement and work to renew the program with McNeese. "By allowing these out-of-state stu dents to attend A&M-Galveston, we gain students who are interested in the pro grams we have to offer, and, of course, we add diversity to our campus. One-third of our student body is out-of-state students, and we are expecting an increase as more and more students become aware of this opportunity." With only six-maritime accredited insti tutions in the United States, this reciprito ry program benefits students in this region of the country whose state may not offer the marine or maritime programs A&M- Galveston offers. This is similar to the academic common market available to graduate students who want to pursue a program not available at a particular university in their state. The benefits for students receiving this reciprocity waiver include a tuition re duction. Students involved in this pro gram will pay $36 per semester hour in stead of the standard out-of-state $249 per semester hour. The McClorys are looking forward to seeing the benefits of their research. "Since there is a law on the books cov ering Arkansas, we are hoping for a re fund. We will have ended up paying about $30,000 extra for Jessica's school," said McClory. "We are middle class peo ple, and if we do get a refund, we would use it to pay for Jessica's master's or Ph.D. degree." ie fani d ofa isimf ding, )ine a hasd: ourt. know tores MATTHEW CRAWLEY/The Battalion Linda Nunez of Marfa, Texas, designs a table arrangement in the floriculture lab Monday. Nunez is attending the Benz School of Floral Design’s two-week long summer program to learn how to become a commercial florist. Checklist released for graduation in August By Shatera Kennedy Staff Writer Graduation is a time for tears of joy and cel ebration. But those tears easily can change to tears of frustration if students learn they can not receive their diploma. The following are checklists for August graduates compiled from the Office of Honors Programs and Academic Scholarship and the Degree Audit Office in Heaton Hall. HONOR STUDENTS • For students graduating with University or Foundation Honors, they must make an ap pointment with Academic Services Coordina tor Don Curtis by June 30. Curtis' office is lo cated in Academic Building Room 101. • A checklist of courses taken should be on file for students to review with Curtis during your visit. FOR ALL GRADUATING SENIORS • Students must fill out degree applications in Room 105 of Heaton Hall. These forms en able the computer to flag names to receive all graduation information. • A diploma fee of $20, if not paid, also can be handled at that time. • A packet with the degree audit and the cer emony times, location, speakers and attire will be mailed out at the end of June. • The next stop is a student's adviser's office to double check course requirements, class sub stitutions and transferred credit hours. • The student should review their degree audits to make sure classes were properly ap plied and all necessary paperwork was com pleted by both the student —^ • To receive a dip transcripts and othe turned in to Heaton • The final degree graduating senior is 1 Heaton Hall on August • Although students 1 diploma at graduation wl they have until the first mester to complete everything and get their diploma. • Any student graduating with summa cum laude, magna cum laude or cum laude honors will be contacted. • All students after such time will be canceled from the computer and will have to reapply for Fall '98 graduation. FINANCIAL AID RECIPIENTS • Exit debriefing packets will be mailed out in mid-July with dates, times and locations. • All financial aid recipients are required to attend an exit debriefing which will cover re payment plans, consolidations and answer questions, ANNOUNCEMENTS • Official, personalized A&M graduation announcements can be ordered on the Internet at: http:/ /graduation.tamu.edu until June 19. AGGIE RING ORDERS • Today is the last day to order Aggie rings at the Clayton Williams Alumni Center, and they will be delivered September 17, 1998. '■^^^CKETS t be given for August G RAD U ATI Of • Tickets will graduation. GRADUATION ACCOMMODATIONS • Make reservations for restaurants and ho tels as soon as possible. Graduation screams chaos but the early preparation and double checking can ensure less frustration and forgotten details later. jne2i id Hal Faculty Senate reviews curriculum proposal ethel linap is setti By Amber Benson City Editor The Faculty Senate received infor mation Monday from an ad hoc com mittee concerning proposed changes in the statewide curriculum proposed by the Texas Higher Education Coordi nating Board. The Senate accepted the report from the committee, which expressed con cern with several points of the pro posed changes, including a 45-hour cap on the number of hours a universi ty can require in its core curriculum. The current Texas A&M core cur riculum contains 48 credits. The com mittee would like to see the require ments remain. "We're concerned that these changes will mark a lowering of aca demic standards," Thomas Wehrly, a professor of statistics and chair of the committee, said. "We want to make sure a degree from Texas A&M means something." Another concern of the committee is that the proposed curriculum requires only 3 credit hours of college algebra. A&M requires finite math or calculus to fulfill the mathematics requirement. Although the coordinating board al ready has voted down a proposal to upgrade the math component, the committee suggested rewording Chart II, which comprises the six hours of courses A&M requires beyond the 36 mandated by the state, to include "fi nite math, calculus, logic or above." An amendment to the original re port added logic to the choices stu dents have to fulfill their Chart II math ematics requirements. "Over 1,100 students each year use the logic option," Deputy Speaker Arthur Hobbs said. "We want to keep that open." Other points of contention involve the transfer of credits to the University. The proposal would allow students to transfer complete blocks of lower- level requirements, regardless of whether they differ from A&M's core curriculum. The committee wants to ensure that the integrity of both lower- and upper- level courses offered at A&M are main tained by restricting the amount of substitutions that can be made in a de gree program. Speaker of the Senate Diane Ka plan said that the concerns embodied in the report will be relayed to the administration. The Faculty Senate also plans to join the Faculty Council at The University of Texas to provide a united front of four-year universities on the subject of the core curriculum when the Coordi nating Board meets in July. In other business, the Senate: • Approved by consent various changes in curriculum in the College of Science. • Passed a resolution supporting the rerouting of the railroad tracks that bisect the University, citing problems with safety and proposed increases in rail traffic.