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Show Reutzel named to SU's top academic post and "frame the beginnings for a strategic plan for the university." An important issue for Reutzel is using ideas that will affect the economy of SUU witho ut being destructive. "I want to create a vision for the future of this institution and ho w we'll get there. That's basically the job of the provost- making it happen. " he said. New provost D. Ray Reutzel is already working on ways to improve SUU. What Reutzel will help make decis ions in the new land purc hase pro ject for the is a provost? ·Don't ask me. I've asked a number of people." Reutzel said. Reutzel (pronounced rite-zul) explained his new position as a combination future growth ofSUU. The growth rate ofSUU is 7.5 percent e ach year, and he said that expansion will be necessary for between the vice president and the associate president. the years to co me. The job includes everything that has to The projec t is planned for the block of do with academic affairs of SUU, which is land north of campus where a middle school and field arc c urrc mly loc~ncd . quite a bit. While Reutzel is still learning all the aspects of his job, he is responsible for Although the full-scale project is no t yet 1hc academic programs. degrees, approved in terms of funding, the plan is departments, budgets and the faculty of to remodel the middle school into a home suu. for the College.: of Education and, as a Reutzel also reviews the c urriculum and priority, erect a Physical Education files reports on enrollments. As part of his Building on the field. supervisory responsibility, Reutzel is in Reutzel says the plan is projected to take · charge of revising and updating school place in the next three years. policies. A major concern of Reutzel is the The principal attraction that brought faculty. He believes they arc underpaid, Reutzel to SUU was the institution's small, and, as a result, some.: leave SUU. Only 85 intimate, and personal nature. He said that, percent of the faculty is full-time, anu to him, it 's just a better lifestyle. Reutzel thinks this should concern Another factor was the ~fabulously students as well. dedicated faculty.· Reutzel said that he was ~ "I want the students to continue to love drawn to the personal c harisma of SUU !z SUU as the school grows and the faculty President Steven D. Bennion and can't ~ to love SUU because they are treated imagine working with a finer group of " well," Reutzel s:tiu. "The faculty arc like people. i the buildings of the university. They arc For the first few months of his job, ~ its on-going strength ." Reutzel said he wants to focus on listening ~ Before coming to SUU , Reutzel worked and learning about some problems that ~ in the David 0. McKay School of occur on campus. · -----ir.~-----1==,Education at Brigham Young University, Reutzel s:iid that he wants to talk with D. Ray Reutzel begins his first year as the SUV provost /11 a role lie d escribes Weber State University, and Tarleton State student focus grou ps, the community, the as somewhere between the vice president and the associate president. University in Texas. deans, the faculty and even the Board of Reutzel is a Mo11tcma native, but considers Utah his home. The Montana native h:ts lived in sever:il Trustees to understand where he can beg.in different places, but now considers Utah his work. his home. He received his bachelor of arts and doctorate of philosophy at the As he learns the issues and collects da ta, he said he'd figure out 1he priorities University of Wyoming, and his master of arts at Utah State University. By RHIANNON BENT JOURNAL STAFF WRITER I Independent study offered su By LISA DAWN PERRY JOURNAL STAFF WRJTER per credit basis at a rate of $74 per c redit hour. There is no additional charge for student fees and payment must be submitted at the time of Through the Independent Study Program offered at registration . SUU, students can pursue academic course work on Hill said students enrolled in the independent their own time and at their own pace. According to study p rogram arc allowed to take only two classes Direccor of Distance Learning Jac k Hill, !he per semeste r because "the best way to take courses independent study program represents the next is by attending c lass and learning directly from a generation of correspondence courses designed for professor." o n or off campus students. Some students do not agree with Hill. Sophomore Hill said any class offered o n campus is available to and Cedar resident Ruth Fryer claimed to have the student through this program , as long as students experienced difficulty with a class she took on get the.: necessary instructor permission . Also campus. She fo und the self-paced style of the a,·ailable through the program arc graduate courses independent study program hclpcded improve her uesigned for teacher recertification . grade in t hat class. The program was started four years ago LO target The program offers a longer time frame to the nee.us of non-traditional students who were complete course work. Students have nine months unable to attend traditional schools because of to complete all assignments and exams , a feature family responsibilities, work situations, or w ho have that benefited Fryer. re-entcred school at a later age to pursue a degree or Frycr said that although she completed the course expand their knowledge. work with in four months, due to health concerns, Hill said th;lt non-t raditional students, in the she was unable to take the final exam until the end United States, are the fastest growing segment of any of the nine-month time frame . student body. He went on to say that there is a The focus of the independent study program is ~to critical need for a degree program designed for this offer a w ide variety of courses in as many formats as student demographic. Hill also said that 1he possible to the nontraditional stuuent , • said Hill. secondary aim of the program is to serve students o n Hill also said he felt t hat this program is one of t he campus who can't get the courses they need. finest new developments in higher education . The According to Hill, during the past four years the prog ram gives all potential students the opportunity program has improved greatly. In addition to being to educate themselves. able to track students better, with 29 courses offered SUU allows a maximum of 45 credit hours of on-line, the program has become more diverse. independent study to be applied toward a degree. Students can access the program through the Currently, SUU does not offer external degrees internet at http://www.suu.edu/ced/ distance, o r by through independent study. Hill said t hat in o rder ~o contacting Hill at the R. Haze Hunter Conference fully meet the nee ds of the non-traditional student, a Cente r. degree program through indepe ndent study is The cost for courses is charged to the student on a necessary. enrollment gro\Nth sloYls By JARED ROBBINS JOURNAL STAFF \X'RITER SUU has experienced cnonnous growth throughout the last few years. On average, according to Assistant Vice President of Swdcnt Services Mark D. Barton, SUU's enrollment has increased yearly by about 200 tO 300 new sn1dcnts. Howe,·cr, this year the growth appears to be slowing. For the 1998·99 school year, SUU is expecting ~tn increase of less than I00 students. · L-is1 year, the University seemed to hit a peak in growth. Barton said that SUU "g.raduatc<l more seniors [last year) than in any othcr inglc )'Car in the hjstory of the institution." In aduitio n. last year the trend of dramatic growth continucd among all student demographic groups. This fall, however, marks a change for the SUU and other schools in the state. The semester conversion is causing many students to make major adjustments in their class and work schedules. The most obvious changes affecting enrollment this year are the early registration and first day of classes. In previous years, the first day of c lass was scheduled for late in September. This year, in contrast, the first day of class begins today, about a month earlier than usual. It is too early to tell how the semester conversation will affect othe r schools in the state. Preliminary reports suggest that the University of Utah and Utah State University may also experience decreases in enrollment. |