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Show WESTMINSTERFORUM.NET Enrollment is up, again Students fill classrooms in proportion to growth of school says Bauman Mathew Wennergren Staff Writer r but he believes if campus is growing i 2 o proportionally it wont be much of an issue. He also believes the freshman class should be capped. A cap at 500 would greatly cc affect class sizes, said Hecht. u i Bauman said the fear isnt backed up by evidence. Thats old school thinking said Bauman. The idea that quality of education is only measured by the amount of time spent in a classroom is antiquated. Bauman says the school is growing proportionally to the student body. We are adding facilities to the campus that wall accommodate a larger student body, said Bauman. Our ultimate goal is to provide the ultimate educational experience while keeping our costs down. With this goal in mind, Bauman said, We are committed reaction of hiring to not having a knee-jer- k our class size grows, new faculty every-tim- e simply to keep the classes small. That would add a lot of cost. The class sizes will increase at Westminster as the school grows, but will remain well below the average class size J at the University of Utah or any state run school. We are a tuition and student based school, said Bauman. That means we put our infrastructure, facilities and technology Class sizes are continuing to grow at Westminster and many worry there isnt enough in place before hand to make sure we can room for growth. accommodate those students. Bauman said, We arent at the mercy of the state we are growing to accommodate that, said Bauman, We cant get too big simply because of the size of budget or legislature. We dont have to wait till we are our campus the campus. We have small classrooms and small hurting for more resources to add those-tDespite the fears of what a larger student body buildings. Westminster is meant for a smaller student might do to the quality of education at Westminster, body. Bauman is adamant the increase will not change the Westminster community. Class sizes will be larger, but w Trouble finding a seat in class? The problem could get worse or better, depending on who you talk to. The fall semester began this year with news that Westminster had the largest incoming freshmen class ever. The class has 472 students according to the Registrars Office. Total class size enrollment this year was 3,048 up from last years 2,854. Professors and students alike are nervous about what the increased size of classes at Westminster will mean for the campus reputation of a low faculty to student ratio. Westminster uses the small class sizes as a selling point to prospective students. Westminsters website says, Westminsters small class sizes (average 17 students) will offer you the privilege of working with your professors. The faculty student ratio is 11 to one. You will receive a level of personal attention that is seldom found at other institutions. You are not a number here. Your professors know your name. Joel Bauman, director of Admissions, said, Our student-professratio is about 17 to one right now, which is average for a school like this. Rulon Wood, an assistant professor of Communication said, I think part of the charm of this school is that professors know students, students know professors, and students know each other. That wouldnt be possible with bigger classes. One possible solution is to cap the freshmen class size, an idea Wood supports. A cap would insure that we maintain a stronger teacher student interaction ratio, said Wood. However a cap creates a tricky balancing act between being able to operate and grow from the perspective of the business model while still remaining true to one-on-o- ne or Westminsters core values. The worry is echoed by David Hecht, a junior. Thats why I came here, said Hecht when asked about the small classes on campus. Hecht said larger class sizes could diminish the value of Westminster, o J' From China to Mexico Students from around the globe are at Westminster Brittany Marsden Staff Writer The diversity at Westminster College grows as a new group of international students come to campus this year. For many students it is their first time living away from home, without parental supervision and with new responsibilities. But for Mai Ho, the first week of school is more than buying textbooks and adjusting to new responsibilities. For her, and several other international students, it is a new experience living in a foreign country. Ho is one of 41 international students to come to the Westminster campus this semester. Ho, 17, is from Hochiminh, Vietnam, which she described as similar to New York City, crowded with lots of people, lots of buildings and lots of traffic. Like many other students, Ho came to Westminster because of its reputation and good ranking among other colleges in the U.S. Ho is a business major and is eager for a new challenge in a new environment. I want to test a new life, she said. Im excited to live in a whole new environment. Ho has an attitude of hope and excitement. She said she is looking forward to the chance to mature, solve problems and learn skills to become successful. I have many things to learn here that I would not have a chance to learn back home in Vietnam, Ho said. For other students, coming to Westminster was not part of the plan. Ezequiel Zeke Elias, an aviation student from Mexico City, was not expecting to come to Westminster. He was planning on attending a college in Florida, but the night before the application was due he changed his mind. That night, he said, he conducted online research and found Westminster College. I needed something random, something different, Elias said. I needed something Ive never done before. Elias said he did not come to Utah with many expectations, but a desire to be himself and to experience the real Salt Lake City. Im not trying to pretend to be someone Im not, he said. Im doing my thing and enjoying it. Along with different opportunities, international students also face some unique challenges, such as learning a new language and living in a new culture, along with adjusting to college life and making friends. The Diversity and International Center provides support for the international students and helps them to overcome some challenges by encouraging the students to get involved with programs and activities on campus. Such programs and activities include: international student orientation, clubs that focus on diversity and a transitions class for international students. Sara Demko, director of Student International Services, describes the transition for international students as a mix of excitement, nervousness and curiosity. She said most of the students have never seen the campus until the first day of school. They the students are leaving everything they know and show up, Demko said. Bridget Newell, associate provost for Diversity and Global Learning, believes bringing international students to Westminster creates ah opportunity to diversify the campus. Newell said diversity on campus prepares students for success in a rapidly changing world. We benefit by being Math people and connecting See GLOBE on page 14 |