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Show Forum Page 2 February 14, 1986 news k Westminster Offers Honors Program in Fall of 86 by - Students go Hawaiian at Beach Party held on Jan. 31. State Legislature Considers Bill to Ease CPA Requirements by Dave Pinnick Senate Bill 84, which would strike down the Public Accountants Licensing Act of 1981, which will not be effective until this June, is gaining support among students and some faculty at Westminster college. The Public Accountants Licensing Act of 1981, requires those accounting major who have completed their Bachelor's degree in accounting or business to take an additional 30 hours (which amounts to a Masters degree) in accounting in order to sit for their Certified Public Accountant exam. According toNaoma W abel, president of the business club and Phi Delta Lambda, bill 84 would be a great relief and lifting of a burden ' on students. She said, Students with their Bachelors degree can sit for their C.P.A. exam right after graduation, but cannot get their certificate until they have interned with a C.P.A. firm for two years. Adding an extra year of school to that will just drive students to other state which dont require that. Professor Alan Rogers of the school of business also wants the 1381 bill struck down. I can see their point about wanting to have even more qualified students coming out of college, but most C.P.A. interns will tell you, as will their firms, that the best training, indeed, in some cases the only way to learn some things is by experiencing them in the field. Rogers further explained he had heard of proposed amendments to bill 84 which offer students an alternative. Its already been hinted at to me that if this bill, (the one bill 84 will change), sticks, then the nursing and other professions will be next. Then a bachelors degree wont mean a thing, I believe this is worth fighting for. five-yea- rs ar Phase One of the Westminster College honors program will begin in the fall of 1986 according to Michael Popich, program designer and assistant professor of philosophy. This first phase of the honors program will include: Honors Humanities one and two, taught by Professors Susan Cottier and Popich; Honors Social Sciences, taught by Professors Charles Tripp and John Watkins; Honors Fine Arts, a seminar in the spring taught by Gail McCullouch, head of the theater department, and by another person not yet selected. Students who are participants in the program will be selected by a combination of what Popich describes as hard and soft criteria. High school GPA, or GED, and ACT scores are inclusive of what Popich calls hard criteria. Recommendations from high school teachers or counselors, a personal statement from the student, and interviews with faculty on the Honors Advisory Council are some of the soft criteria. The Honors Program is not limited to incoming freshmen at the college, said Popich. students who meet the prowill also be allowed to entrance criteria grams participate. The program is being instituted as part of the effort to meet President Charles H. Dicks announced goal of continued academic excellence for the college. He instigated the program here and is in full support of it. Dick said, The students and faculty involved and the course content will make the Westminster Honors Program unique. Non-tradition- al Craig Green, Vice President for Enrollment Management and College Relations expressed his belief that the existence of an honor program would benefit the college in recruiting and retaining honors quality students. Popich feels the institution of an honors program at the college is important He said, Students who have the ability to work in greater depth deserve the opportunity to do so. Popich added, We owe it to students to facilitate their moving ahead as much as we make it possible for less well prepared students to receive the necessary preparation." He feels the availability of an honors program on campus may be a stimulus to other students to excel. The program is being funded through several sources. Popich said that some of the funds are being budgeted for in the schools regular budget. Ginger Gtovale (daughter of William Gore) has donated about $10,000 specifically for the implementation of Phase One. Also, several private and public funding sources will be applied for including National Endowment for the Arts, for the humanities portions; Exxon, for the math and science portion; and Kelloggs, because of the inclusion of students in the program. According to Popich, there are two committees that will oversee the program. An administrative council consisting of: Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, Stephen Barr; Academic Allen A. Kuusisto; Popich, will oversee scheduling faculty and budget. The Honors Advisory Council, set up to advise on the programs academic criteria, consists of: Cottier, Popich, Tripp, Carolyn Tucker and Chris Johnson. well-prepar- non-traditio- Vice-Preside- Proposed Remodeling to Cost $600,000 by Bill Godwin The administration and board of trustees of Westminster College are considering remodeling Walker Hall and the Robinson Room at an estimated cost of $600,000, to provide more classroom space for the school. According to President Charles Dick Westminster cant really expand any of its programs right now because of a lack of space. Remodeling Walker Hall and the Robinson Room would provide the school with some of the additional classroom space that it needs to grow. The message that a project such as the remodeling of Walker Hall sends to the community is another benefit. The construction on the campus will tell the community that this is an alive and vital campus, Dick said. Although Pres. Dick is excited about the proposed remodeling he is approaching the project with some caution. Dick said that his recommendation to the board of trustees will be to wait a while to see what effects the Gramm-Rudma- n bill will have on WestminsThe proposed amendment would give the ter before a final decision to go ahead students a choice between attending college for with the making project four years and interning for five years with a Dick pointed out that although the necessary firm to get their C.P.A. or taking the extra year (30 hours, masters equivalent) and one to two donor could probably be found to fund the Walker Hall project the school may need the years internship. more for scholarships than for facilities. Thats not really a fair or equitable choice," money Richard Brockmeyer, director of plantand Rogers said, so Im drafting a letter to the facilities to bill amend the Senate suggesting that they operations said that the remodeling of four-yeHall and the Robinson room is more Walker a with the for degree allqw accepting three-yea- r a matter of sectioning the two on than for simply auditing, internship of schooling with a one-yeinternship large rooms into smaller classrooms. He said that before actual work could even begin archifor tax specialists. tectural plans, engineering tests, and contracDave Goularte, president of ASWC has been tor bidding for the job would all have to be making trips to the capital and working with completed. Brockmeyer estimated that if the those trying to push bill 84. decision to go ahead came soon and everything ar Tammy Amiantrout went right the remodeling would not be completed until at least early 1987. The preliminary architectural drawings of the proposed remodeling show that Walker Hall and the Robinson Room would be divided into eight classrooms and a media room. The landscaping around Walker Hall would be altered to provide easy access to both levels of the building. A section of the basement would be exposed on the western side of the building so a sloping walkway could lead directly to the lower level. Pres. Dick said that Westminster has other options for increasing classroom space if they decide not to remodel Walker Hall at this time. He noted that if the dorms were consolidated the school would have room in Carlson Hail for faculty offices and that Foster Hall could then be used for additional classroom space. Walker Hall originally served as the dining room for the womens dormitory. The entire building consisting of both Walker and Hogle Halls was built in 1959-6- 0 at a cost of approximately half a million dollars. College Purchases Media Equipment by Armen Dilanchian Westminster was waiting for a media room and this semester it got one. According to Steve Morgan, executive vice president for administrative services and treasurer, in the past, instructors who wished to lecture their classes by using audio-visuequipment, had to carry a projector all over al campus to classrooms. The media room now allows professors to hold lectures in the media room and show films at the same time. Having a media room was really Steve Baars idea, said Morgan. The board of trustees took a look at his proposal last year and decided that Westminster could use a media room. The equipment cost around $5,000 and includes a video screen with a VCR attached as welt as a portable video camera. According to Morgan, Hie camera is available for instructors who wish to record lectures. 46-in- ch This will be especially useful for classes such as drama and speech. We are going to attach cable T.V. to Hie VCR, said Morgan. By having cable T.V., we can record programs that will be educational for students, as well as professors, at Westminster. According to Morgan, Dave Brown, a Social Science student here at Westminster, had a great deal to do with this project Dave works at Stokes Brothers, and we got a great deal from him, said Morgan. Morgan said that Dave told us that he can help with this project and we are glad that he became involved; he really helped us out we sure appreciated the work he has done. In the future, Westminster hopes to obtain a satellite dish. This is not definite yet, according to Morgan, but he said, We are looking at the advantages of having one. The media room is located in Hie Robinson room in Walker Hall, available to all Westminster students, staff, and faculty. . I i t I I |