Undergraduates, that is
Credit exams allow students to skip class
By JOYCE BRIDGES
Of the Emerald
Credit exams allow students to skip
class.
Students interested in speeding their
way through college or gaining more
flexibility in their programs now have a
tool for doing so: credit by examination.
The new system involves two methods of
obtaining credit by exam.
The first is an internal University plan
by which undergraduates may acquire
course credit by passing exams
established by the department or school
offering the course. Any University course
numbered 100 to 499, with the exception of
401 to 410, may be passed by exam, unless
the department or school has specifically
exempted the course.
The second method involves the use of
nationally standardized exams developed
by experts in several fields. These College
Level Examination Program (CLEP)
exams cover general and specific subject
areas.
The University’s internal credit-by
exam system has been in operation since
1956. but it has not been used extensively.
Barry Siegel, Associate Dean of the
College of Liberal Arts, believes this may
have resulted from students not being
aware of the possibilities for obtaining
credit in this manner.
“We have now added the possibility of
CLEP exams. Students can consult with
departments about appropriate ways to
study for the exams during vacations and,
through their independent study, acquire a
significant amount of credit.”
CLEP general exams in social science,
history, the natural sciences and
humanities have been approved by the
University to carry nine hours credit each
toward the University’s general group
requirements. Students who have com
pleted 90 hours or six quarter terms of
college work, however, are not eligible for
the CLEP general exams.
CLEP subject exams are in American
history, analysis and interpretation of
literature, biology, college algebra,
trigonometry, introductory calculus,
English literature, general chemistry,
geology, introductory business law, in
troductory economics, money and banking
and sociology.
“There is an obvious economic savings if
students take advantage of the system,”
Siegel says. A student who passes the three
general exams gets 27 hours of credit—
that’s close to two terms of work.
“We have also simplified the rules a
little for the internal credit examinations.
For example, a student who has failed a
course can now obtain credit for it by
passing the exam. This wasn’t possible
before”
Only one attempt to acquire credit by
exam in each course is allowed. Exams not
passed will not be recorded on a student's
academic record.
Siegel says the system does not allow for
duplication of credit. Students can not gain
credit again for courses already passed or
for courses more elementary than those
for which the student has already been
given credit. “The test requires students to
deal with new situations using old data
they have learned elsewhere.”
A great potential value of the CLEP
exams, Siegel says, is for persons not yet
enrolled in the University. “Since the
exams are available to anyone, high school
students or older persons can combine
independent study and CLEP^acquired
credit later with work at the University,”
The University charges $5 per credit
hour for the internal credit examinations.
CLEP exam fees are $15 for one generai
exam and $25 for two or more. The fee for
CLEP subject exams is $15 each.
The Counseling Center will administer
the CLEP tests the third week of each
month beginning in February.
Arrangements for the test must be made
and approved by the Registrar one month
in advance.
Examination by individual faculty
members or departments must be ap
proved by the department and the
Registrar’s office one month in advance of
the exam date.
Ecology
info
center
opens
The University Environmental
Studies Center, now manned and
open for business in 636 PLC,
hopes to offer dual service to
citizens and students—service as
a resource center for needed
information and service as a
depository center for already
researched information, ac
cording to director Stanton Cook.
Cook.
The Center was established last
October upon University
President Robert Clark’s ap
proval of a committee recom
mendation. Clark named Cook,
associate professor of biology,
director at that time but the
Center was only open during
Cook’s office hours because no
secretary had been hired.
Sandy Herbert, who holds a BA
from Antioch College in
Yellowsprings, Ohio, was hired
in December for the secretarial
position so the Center is now open
Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to
noon and 1 to 5 p.m.
Cook said the Center will now
begin accumulating reference
materials and will again serve as
a resource center for students in
his “Man and His Environment”
class as well as other ecology
classes on campus.
He wants to encourage people
who write ecology papers and
assemble bibliographies to
donate them to the Center upon
completion. The term projects
done by his students are kept on
file at the Center.
Ms. Herbert sees a similar
“coordinating” role for the
Center. She has already begun
collecting bibliographies from
the various libraries on campus.
As well as being equipped with
bibliographical information the
office also has various pamphlets
from ecology groups. She said
the library has some of the same
material but that it is often hard
to find there.
Ms. Herbert is also assembling
lists of books, periodicals,
pamphlets and catalogs for use
by public school teachers in
terested in teaching ecology to
their classes.
Other goals for the Center
include a calendar with the
various events, meetings and
hearings of environmental
groups, an “expertise file” with
names of experts available as
speakers and researchers, and
the offering of pre-degree jobs for
students interested in en
vironmental studies.
Ultimately Cook sees the
Center staffed with three full
time people: director, assistant
director and information officer.
Along with these three he
suggested there could be people
who would take a year off from
other work to do research for
ecology.
Both Cook and Ms. Herbert,
however, have reservations
about how quickly such plans can
be implemented.
Cook seems pleased with the
response so far and said they
were getting “a lot of
collaboration from depart
ments.”
The Center is refraining from
using dittos and campus mail to
get out information and requests.
Instead “we are getting word out
through people,” he concluded.
f acuity Senate^.
By their 28-0 vote, the body voted to recommend
continuance of the present policy governing con
ditions of faculty meetings. The motion came as a
result of a committee report by an ad hoc Faculty
Senate committee.
Speech professor Bower Aly, who introduced
the motion prompting the committee’s study last
June, said the faculty has an obligation to maintain
decorum in their meetings. He cited instances
during controversial meetings, attended by many
students, when faculty members have been spat
upon and the meetings “degenerated.”
“Some of the bad actors are not students on this
campus but regardless this has to be remedied,”
Aly said.
Aly said he would accept the committee’s
report, which reinforces present policy, but warned
that there may be trouble in the future when con
troversial issues come up.
Most of the 3'i hour meeting was concerned
with a policy on end-of-term variable credit.
Beverly Fagot, chairman of the Academic
Requirements Committee, reported that it is the
policy of some professors to reduce or increase
credit hours for their courses after the eight week
deadline for doing so. She said this policy, which is
not University-wide, is practiced in the depart
ments of fine arts, landscape architecture and
architecture.
Ms. Fagot said her committee has prepared a
report recommending the discontinuance of end-of
term variable credit for the following reasons:
It creates a problem in reporting hours to
outside agencies such as Veteran* A^'ilrs and draft
boards. (For example, if a student registers for 12
hours, full-time status, but a professor drops one
hour, he falls below full time status, thereby losing
half of veterans payments, for example or a
scholarship. Ms Fagot said also, there have been
two cases where students did not graduate on time
because of the policy.)
—The system is contrary to State Board of
Higher Education policy which says a partial
refund for lost hours will not be given unless the
situation is beyond the students control. (The
policy says persons taking less than 12 hours pay
less fees.)
—It creates extensive paper work-in two years
the number of students with these changes rose
from 77 to 188.
Several persons from the Architecture and
Allied Arts School testified in favor of end-of term
variable credit.
Robert Harris, dean of the school, said the
policy is used on creative work done by students. He
said a student may elect to put in more studio work
on one project than others and the school must have
some record of where the student is putting his
energies.
Bob Kruger, a student in the school, added that
often a student may find he will have to do more
creative work on a project than he originaly
thought
After more discussion, the Senate voted to
accept a committee proposal maintaining end-of
term variable credit in the three departments, with
the condition professors inform students of possible
credit hour changes
Faculty files issue
stymies State Board
A committee of the State Board of Higher Education ended its
discussion on faculty records in a deadlock Wednesday morning in
Portland.
The board’s Academic Affairs Committee, at a one-day meeting at
Portland State University, experienced several differences of opinion
on whether certain file material should be closed to faculty members.
The proposed rules are being considered in order to standardize
faculty record keeping procedures at state system campuses.
It was recommended that a proposed “confidential” file of
solicited statements on the job performance and academic ability of
faculty members remain optional.
Conflicting opinions immediately arose with several opponents
feeling each faculty member should be allowed access to his own file.
The confidential file would include statements obtained from
supervisors, colleagues on and off their respective campuses
Possibly, students might also be asked to contribute to the files.
The substance, though not the source, of the statements would
have to be provided upon request of the faculty member involved.
In addition, if an immediate superior administrative officer was
evaluating the faculty member, the completed evauluation would
have to be fully discussed with the faculty member at the time of the
evaluation.
The full State Board of Higher Education is scheduled to act on the
proposed rules at its next meeting ,7an. 24 in Portland.
Fact deficit restricts
ASUO Senate action
Though a financial guillotine hangs over the neck of the ASUO
budget, lack of concrete information prevented the ASUO Senate from
anything but routine action in its final meeting of 1971.
Underrealized incidental fees from smaller than expected
enrollment in the fall quarter cast doubt upon the accuracy of the
ASUO budget agreed upon last, spring. According to Iain More, the
ASUO Executive branch is waiting for the winter enrollment figures
before considering any alteration in the budget.
Also, an expected decision from the Office of Emergency
Preparedness (OEP) on the University's Athletic Department funding
has not yet come through. If the decision goes against the University,
it must refund all money paid by students for game attendance this
year, and the ASUO will have to cut its budget on all programs. Ac
cording to More, the University will appeal such a decision through
district court but is currently engaged in working out a program of
compliance to price-freeze standards.
In other business, the Inter-Institutional Union of Students of the
State System of Higher Education (IUSOSSHE) changed its name by
constitutional revision to the Inter-institutional Union of Students
(IUS). According to Vice President Larry Salmony, the organization
no longer attempts to speak for all state system students but has
become a source of information about what the State Board of Higher
Education is doing. It will also serve as a mechanism for the selection
of students for state committees and councils.
Students interested in serving in an advisory position on the State
Board of Higher Education should see Rod Chandler, head of IUS at
the University.
The Senate also voted against funding an International Seminar
Coalition, and voted to oppose the federal government’s proposed
welfare bill.
A change in line itemization for the Migrant Labor Project,
changing the director’s salary to matching funds for six work-study
positions, was also approved by the Senate.