Headlines/Oct. 5, 1994

Spring semester receives high ratings, but most would like
to see regular fees charged

All things, considered, the cost-recovery
spring semester experiment appears to
have gone well, according to a report
compiled by coordinators Darryl Plecas
and Doug King.

UCFV ran 29 sections in the
May-June intensive semester, attracting
530 students for a total of 649
enrolments, and concluded with a
$25,646 deficit. A survey of faculty and
students suggests that nearly everyone
involved was pleased they participated.

Most of the students enrolled in the
spring semester also attended during the
normal academic year. On average, they
had completed a year of studies. 60% of
them are now attending full-term, while
28% are attending part-time. 41% are
currently enrolled in a specific program.

72% described the course(s) they
took in the spring as “required” for their
studies, 22% took an elective course,
and 15% took a course for general
interest. |

36% were employed full-time while
attending the spring semester. 39% were
employed part-time, and 24% were not
employed.

On average, they were 26.5 years old,
and 57% of those surveyed were
women.

71% of respondents said they
would attend a seven-week
spring semester again; 61% said
they’d like to attend a 14-week
summer semester.

The initial timetable offered 64
courses, but those that did not draw at
least 20 students were dropped. Plecas
and King guess that enrolments could be
higher in future if the course fees were
lowered to regular levels, instead of the
higher than normal rate that was charged
this year. A total of 41% of students
listed the high fees as a reason for not
taking more spring semester courses.

Offering a 14-week summer semester
(May—August) may also make for more
course enrolments. While 71% of
respondents said they would attend a
seven-week spring semester again, 61%

said they’d like to attend a 14-week
summer semester.

A quarter of the students surveyed
implied that they would have taken
more courses if the policy restricting
them to two courses was not in place.
This policy would not be in place in a
full summer semester. 24% of students
surveyed said they would have taken
more courses, but that the academic
workload in the seven-week semester
was perceived as too difficult.

Also, students attending a full
summer semester would be eligible for
student loans.

With the exception of library hours,
very few students were dissatisfied with
the availability of services during the
spring semester. However, 40% of
students were dissatisfied with library
hours.

Eighteen of 22 faculty
surveyed said they’d like
to teach in a seven-week

spring semester again.

Faculty members who chose to teach
in the spring semester were also
surveyed. Of the 22 responses, only
three indicated that they reduced the
amount of material covered because of
the condensed duration. Most did not
see a change in their students’
performance, compared to that of
students in an ordinary semester.

Eighteen of 22 surveyed said they’d
like to teach in a seven-week spring
semester again, but 12 expressed
reservations about teaching in a 14-week
summer semester.

Plecas and King identified three
major concerns that they anticipate if
either a spring or summer semester (or
both) was recommended for 1995.

Course fees: the vast majority of
faculty that they spoke to in the
development phase of this year’s spring
semester made it clear that they were
against running a spring-semester on a
cost-recovery basis, and that the initial
pilot cost-recovery semester was
tolerable only as a test of student
demand. Plecas and King anticipate very

strong opposition to another semester in
which higher-than-normal fees are
charged.

Seven vs. 14 weeks: most faculty
would prefer to teach a seven-week
spring semester, and it would likely be
less expensive to operate. However, a
longer semester would be more suitable
to students needing financial assistance
and would likely generate more
enrollments.

Plecas and King anticipate
very strong opposition
to another semester in which
higher-than-normal fees
are charged.

Range of course offerings: while a
large number of departments are willing
to offer courses during a spring
semester, it is much more difficult to
secure a wide range within departments.

The UCFV Board recently approved a
motion to apply to the Ministry of Skills,
Training and Labour to fund a spring
semester at normal tuition rates under
the Skills Now initiative.

Responding to Student
Writing — a workshop
for faculty

The Writing Across the Curriculum
program is sponsoring a Responding to
Student Writing workshop for all faculty.
Presented by English instructor Virginia
Cooke and Media and Communication
instructor Cheryl Dahl, the workshop
will focus on techniques for responding
to students’ written assignments in ways
that are efficient, pain-free (for both
instructors and students), and valuable in
helping students to develop their written
communication skills.

The workshop will be held on
Wednesday, October 12, in Abby B223.
All faculty, especially new faculty, are

~ welcome.