ENROLLMENT SOARS TO NEW HEIGHTS FALL 2007 SETS THE RECORD FOR THE HIGHEST ENROLLMENT IN SCHOOL HISTORY.
By Shane Trejo, Ferris State Torch
Graphic By Paul Jarema, Production Manager
The numbers are in and enrollment has hit a record high.
An Aug. 31 Ferris press release said, “School officials report more students can be filling classroom seats as 13,087 students are attending classes system wide - a record for the university.”
The total is up from the 12,575 students who were enrolled in Fall 2006. On-campus students account for 10,860 of the University total which is up 292 from the year before.
The overall increase is much larger than last year’s increase. The increase of 512 students from Fall 2006 to Fall 2007 is up from the increase of 31 from Fall 2005 to Fall 2006. Before 2005, Ferris had not had enrollment numbers higher than 12,000 since 1992.
“These are overwhelmingly positive results for the University,” Ferris Vice Presidnt for Student Affairs Daniel Burcham said. “We are very pleased with our gains in both new and continuing students.”
“The increase in enrollment is being credited to better communications with prospective students, more funding for financial aid and scholarships, and a changing university culture, according to Burcham and Kristen Salomonson, interim dean of Enrollment Services,” stated the press release.
Every college experienced an increase in enrollment except for the College of Education which lost 109 students bringing the total to 2,122 students. The largest college on campus, the College of Technology, actually had the smallest enrollment increase of only one student. The college now consists of 2,264 total students.
The largest increases came in the College of Allied Health and the College of Business. The College of Allied Health grew by 204 and now consists of 1,756 students. The College of Business grew by 159 and now stands at 2,205 students.
The Fall 2007 FSU Enrollment Summary also reported an increase in students of different races. Every race listed had increases with the exception of “Foreign.” The biggest increase came from African-American people with an increase of 163 to 677 students, now representing 6 percent of the student population.
There also was an increase in white students. The statistics show an increase of 1,196 white people to a total of 10,879. Also, unreported students have decreased by 927 down to 582.
“The quality of our students has never been better,” Salomonson said. “It is a domino effect. When the students are better prepared, you see better classroom discussions and more engaged and involved students.”
The mean ACT and high school grade point averages of students coming to Ferris stayed at relatively the same level. The mean ACT composite was up slightly from 21.3 to 21.4. The high school GPA mean decreased from 3.18 to 3.17.
“We’re very pleased with the continued growth of enrollment and retention levels at Ferris,” Ferris State University President David Eisler said. “This reflects strong demand on the part of students for the high-quality education we provide.”
FERRIS TO TURN OFF TURNITIN.COM UNIVERSITY TO SWITCH SERVICES IN DECEMBER DUE TO MOUNTING LEGAL ISSUES.
By Megan Coady, Ferris State Torch
Recently, concerns have arisen regarding the legality of plagiarism detection services such as Turnitin.com. Specifically, concerns regarding copyright laws and their adherence to Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) have been called into question.
A form of intellectual property ownership on any original authorship is automatic upon the completion of any work in a tangible medium and need not be applied for or granted by any government office. Student works are protected under these laws which give the author sole rights to manuscript including all aspects of reproduction, distribution, sales, public display, and public performance of the piece.
Furthermore, FERPA guidelines stipulate that a student has the right to consent to the distribution of his/her educational records. Educational records are defined by the FSU Governmental and General Council as, “Records, files, documents, and other materials containing information directly related to a student and maintained by the University or a Party acting for the University.”
Student compositions are included and are protected under FERPA.
The way plagiarism detection works is by comparing the sentence structure and word choice of the selected manuscript to those of a massive archive of certified original works. Usually a report is given displaying, in percentage form, the portion of the submission which is allegedly plagiarized. This software cannot account for in-manuscript quotations however, so a high plagiarism percentage is not indicative of illegitimacy.
The potential violation to FERPA comes into play during submission in that a student must consent to the release of the document to the service. This problem can be avoided by having the students submit their work themselves.
However, many plagiarism detection services archive all uploaded material to broaden their database and make it more inclusive. This use of student material without explicit consent is the source of the problem. Some services require membership fees from universities or teachers and this could be viewed as the illegal use of copywriting material for private gain.
The services themselves defend the legitimacy of their practices citing that the documents submitted are not saved in their entirety, but are rather marked with a “digital fingerprint” which aids in further plagiarism detection. Despite this, many sites simultaneously offer complete copies of a submitted document upon request and identification confirmation.
Since a case law has yet to be issued addressing this problem, many universities are opting to switch services, and Ferris is no exception.
After the conclusion of the license agreement with Turnitin.com in December 2007, the University plans to switch to a free service provided by Banner. This new service will require student consent upon submission, avoiding potential legal problems.
During the spring semester, 64 different faculty members elected to use Turnitin.com via Ferris’ agreement. Although the software is still currently available for faculty use, teachers are encouraged to gain students’ consent upon submission and to inform them of their rights as authors.
According to Ferris’s policy of use for Turnitin.com if a student objects to submitting his/her work to the site this decision can not affect his/her grade. Instead, “If a student objects to submitting their paper to the service he or she must notify the instructor, and the instructor and the student should negotiate an acceptable alternative to use of the service."
GET INSPIRED TO BE EMPOWERED AT THE HOLIDAY INN THIS WEEKEND A WEEKEND ABOUT WOMEN, FOR WOMEN, CREATED BY WOMEN.
By Jalena Strayer, News Editor
It’s a weekend for women to gain empowerment in the critical aspects of their life, with life coaches, speakers and workshops.
Beginning on Friday Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. until Sunday Sept. 17 the event will be held at the Holiday Inn. If participants pre-register the cost for students will be $25 and for non-student $35. To register at the door the cost becomes $35 for students and $45 for non-students. To stay the weekend at the hotel the cost is only $65 a night.
The money paid will go to the cost of workshops, materials and meals. Participants can come for the whole time, one day, or even for a few hours.
“This event is a program about women, for women and created by women. The empowerment of a woman is the essence of the family, the community, the city, the region, the nation and the world,” an overview given in a packet for the event stated.
The weekend is open to women from immediate areas of Big Rapids, Grand Rapids, Mt. Pleasant, Muskegon and Kalamazoo.
The workshop titles that will be held over the duration of the weekend include but are not limited to, Mind Your Own Business, Credit 101, How to make your Booty Burn, Overcoming Obstacles and Healing from Setbacks, How to tell if he’s really into you and A Woman’s worth from a Man’s perspective.
“It’s beyond class, race, denomination and religion; it’s an inspiration, something inside so strong,” Minister LaMira A. King, Ferris alumni.
A few of the presenters for the weekend include but are not limited to Tarsha Weary, business entrepreneur, Krissy Workman, Fifth Third Bank employee, Liberty Gray, National Fitness Guru, and Germaine Wyrick, attorney.
Also making guest appearances are former Ferris employee Raymond Gant, a Bariatric and Plastic Surgeon and former Mr. Michigan and Host Glen Mcintosh.
There will be a relationship panel open to mature adults. The panel will include a few men answering any question a woman may have.
“There is no profit at all, my desire is bigger than me,” King said.
King the first African-American woman to graduate from Ferris State University is hosting the event.
Over her years she has been faith-based, a former on-are radio personality, public relations practitioner and a self-employed marketing consultant. She is a mother of three and now the owner of LAC consulting. “LAC is bridging-the-gap between faith-based organizations and Corporate America with their advertising departments and agencies by creating win-win relationships,” reads Kings autobiography.
The event is sponsored in part by the American Laser Center.
The event is open to help empower women, “We wear a mask and no one knows were hurting on the inside,” King said regarding women's struggles.
With workshops to enjoy and speakers to listen to, the weekend is jam packed with events to help women.
For more information or to reserve your spot today call 313-258-2560. To reserve a room for the night call 1-800-999-9069.
DIDN'T GET YOUR FINANCIAL AID WHEN YOU THOUGHT YOU WOULD? STUDENTS STILL GOT THEIR MONEY EARLY.
By Jalena Strayer, News Editor
Ears were listening and mouths were moving when word got out that students' refunds were not received and bank accounts were still empty.
On Sept. 7 the word was out about refunds. The rumors ranged from missing papers, to wrong numbers, to computer glitches. Everyone was in an uproar when they realized that they weren’t going to receive their money on the date they had originally planned.
After I spoke with student workers on a personal level, I began asking questions to clarify what was happening. Their response was, they couldn’t give me certain information or they would give my number to their boss who may or may not call me back. In turn I did a little research to find out what was really happening.
Sharon Richards, director of accounting services, clarified and reassured me that students would still have their refunds before the actual date they are supposed to be received.
“When we do our checks we are giving students their money early,” Richards said. She means that students aren’t actually supposed to get their money until Sept. 14.
Richards mentioned that there was a mistake made, but it was an internal mistake due mostly to using a new system.
After speaking with her, Richards said that the Huntington account holders would receive their money first. Hence they received theirs Thursday night or early Friday morning. For others they received their money on Monday
According to Richards, they had to go through and manually send out the money for direct deposit.
I was assured that students having money sent home would still receive their money by Sept. 14., and that the problem was going to be looked at for future reference; Hence a backup plan.
EDUN LIVE AVAILABLE AT CAMPUS BOOKSTORE SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS CLOTHING LINE PROMISES TO TREAT WORKERS FAIRLY.
By Shane Trejo, Ferris State Torch
The Barnes and Noble College Bookstore located in the Rankin Center is starting to sell clothing from edun LIVE, a company that employs people in sub-Saharan Africa.
“The edun LIVE clothing sold at campus bookstores will typically feature emblematic imprints of the school’s logo/design,” a press release about the Barnes and Noble and edun LIVE partnership said. “Student groups and associataions interested in having their own logos and messages printed on edun LIVE t-shirts can arrange for custom orders by contacting the bookstore’s manager.”
“The facilities [edun LIVE] uses are located in countries such as Madagascar, Lesotho, Kenya and Uganda, to name a few,” the company’s website said. “We use organic materials whenever possible and constantly offer encouragement and support to farmers and our other partners in the local communities to transition from conventional to organic production.”
“We ensure that every individual involved in the value chain benefits from the purchase of each edun LIVE [item],” the website said. “That’s why we say at Edun that we carry the story of the people who make our clothes around with us. This means that everyone from the farmer to the factory worker is given fair pay for his or her contribution.
“The aim of edun LIVE is to support factories in impoverished regions of Africa with orders for t-shirts. In the last year, edun has had over 1.5 million t-shirts produced under its brand and is continuing to grow production every day.”
“We are thrilled to have partnered with the edun LIVE management team in this joint effort of a socially positive business initiative,” Joel Friedman said. Friedman serves as vice president of general merchandising for Barnes and Noble College Booksellers.
For more information, visit edun LIVE on the internet at www.edun-live.com and the Ferris College Bookstore website at ferris.bkstore.com.
