This Week @Metro | Metro State

Wednesday
August 6, 2003
Vol 1, No 5

Inside Today's Issue

1. Auraria Moves To Ban Weapons On Campus
2. Board of Trustees Tentatively Set To Discuss President Search
3. Boiler Room Closed
4. Do You Know Greg Sullivan?
5. UCD Proposes New Tuition Structure

1. Auraria Moves To Ban Weapons On Campus

Despite a new state law that allows Colorado residents who qualify to obtain permits for carrying concealed handguns, the Auraria campus will be able to ban firearms on campus.

Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar has indicated that the Auraria Board has the authority to set its own weapons policy. "We don't want guns on campus," said Dean Wolf, AHEC executive vice president of administration. The Auraria Board will vote on a resolution to ban weapons on campus at its regular meeting Aug. 20.

Under the resolution, possession of firearms, explosives or other weapons on the Auraria campus, would be prohibited, except for peace officers. Any one in violation of the policy would be banned from the campus.

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2. Board of Trustees Tentatively Set To Discuss President Search

A discussion of interviews of presidential search firms by the Board of Trustees is tentatively scheduled for Wed., Aug. 6, during the BOT's regular monthly meeting. Also on the agenda is approval of a new institutional fee plan. The proposed plan modifies the timeline for changing courses fees and clarifies language in the previous student fee plan. The meeting is scheduled from 8 a.m. to noon in room 320 of the Tivoli Student Union. To view the agenda, go to http://www.mscd.edu/welcomectr/trustees/index.htm

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3. Boiler Room Closed

After 16 years on the Auraria campus, The Boiler Room has been closed, leaving the campus dry, at least for now.

The doors have been chained shut and legal notices posted on the doors indicating that the State of Colorado has seized the operation for non-payment of taxes.

Cindy De Larber, marketing manager for the Tivoli, said any move to find a new tenant for the space is on hold pending a resolution of the notices. "We have to wait until the matter is totally settled with the courts before we can move forward," she said.

Once the matter is resolved, Tivoli management will issue a request for proposals from prospective tenants. The Student Advisory Committee to the Auraria Board will review bids and make recommendations to the Tivoli management.
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4. Do You Know Greg Sullivan?

How does one go from a food service career at a New Jersey college to directing a program that counsels disabled individuals at a Colorado college?
For Greg Sullivan, interim director of the Disability Services Office, it was a two-step process. To read more go to http://www.mscd.edu/%7Ecollcom/@metro/tw@metro_vol1/sullivan_twv1080603.htm

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5. UCD Proposes New Tuition Structure

Borrowing a page from Metro State's tuition schedule in which students pay for each credit hour they take, CU-Denver is proposing "Access to Excellence," a tuition initiative in which students would pay the same per-credit hour rate regardless of the number of hours they take. The new tuition structure, if approved, would generate an additional $4.3 million in tuition. Pending approval by CU President Betsy Hoffman, the CU Board of Regents may consider the proposal at its August meeting.

Currently, UCD students pay a base per-credit hour rate for the first nine credit hours. Students who take 10-12 credit hours are charged a decreasing rate for those hours and students who take 13-15 credit hours are charged the same amount as those who take 12 credit hours.

Metro students are charged a base per-credit hour rate for up to 12 credit hours. Students who take 13-18 credit hours are charged a decreasing rate for those additional hours. Students are charged the base per-credit-hour fee for additional hours over 18.

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@Metro is an electronic news bulletin distributed every Wednesday to all faculty, staff and administrators at Metropolitan State College of Denver.
Copyright 2002-2003 Metropolitan State College of Denver

Feature Story

Opinions Vary On Mandatory ACT

Colorado's high school class of 2004 scored an average of 19 on the 36-point ACT, statewide test results released last week show. The national average is 21, but Colorado is one of only two states (along with Illinois) to require all high school juniors to take the test. In most states, only college-bound students take the test.

The American College Test measures English, math, reading and scientific reasoning. Before 2001, only students who wanted to take the test took it and Colorado scores were consistently higher than other states'. Requiring all juniors to take the test is part of Gov. Bill Owens' push for education reform, with the idea to measure high school performance and to expose more students to the possibility of college.

Opinions vary on whether the test does in fact encourage more high school students to continue on to college.

Metro State admissions officers believe the ACT requirement has made a difference. For Metro State applicants 19 years old and under with a high school diploma, ACT or SAT test scores are required. "High school students who want to attend are definitely more prepared to submit their applications," observed Associate Director of Recruitment Services Miriam Tapia.

Change is also evident in the Excel Program, Tapia said, in which the admissions office dispatches student ambassadors to area high schools to assist seniors in applying for college "Our ambassadors report that they have a much easier time helping students complete their college applications because they already have the test scores."

"I don't see it as a motivator with the students," said Elementary Education Professor Leslie Swetnam, adding that she dislikes that Colorado is compared to states where only college-bound students take the test. "It can have bad public relations repercussions - people will think that we're not preparing our students for college."

The test does have merit, believes Kathleen Milligan, a secondary education professor and former principal of the University of Northern Colorado Lab School. "I think it is a useful tool, although more support for schools is need to help align their curriculum with the test."

Luis Torres, chair of the Chicano Studies Department, does consulting work for the Educational Testing Service, which develops and administers the SAT exam. He discounts the idea that requiring the ACT will encourage more students to attend college. "Students go to college for a whole bunch of reasons, but that's not one of them." Torres also questions whether the test can be used to evaluate high schools. "It really just illustrates whether a student is adept at taking tests."

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