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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
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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."
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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
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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.