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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 1977)
Federal programs bring heaps of paperwork Required forms are rational, but sometimes suffocating By LORI PETERSON Of the Emerald The federal government has become as common as coffee in offices across America lately, and the scene on this campus Is no different University administrators are literally bombarded with paper work. Federal forms, reports, questionnaires and more forms have to be dealt with daily These are aimed at achieving necessary things, ' says Paul Olum, vice-president for academic affairs and provost, one of many administrators con fronted with federal paperwork While some of the required paperwork "strengthens certain parts of the University and weakens others," according to Olum, it is indeed a time consum ing and tedious task Olum says the various types of reporting required of the Univer sity includes budgetary reporting, reporting for research sponsor ship, reporting status of veteran students on campus and reporting by the financial aid and admis sions offices. Some of these are rational and reasonable, says Olum But he believes it would be easier on many people if the government did not require so many different forms to be filled out Olum says the government's goal "is good, but we drown in the paperwork" In order to obtain federal funds for research, though, both scien tific and financial reports must be submitted to the federal govern ment. Aaron Novick, dean of the graduate school, says this type of reporting is necessary to carry on extensive research, but many of the forms the department receives from the government are de signed for use by industry The federal government also requires formation of a Committee for the Protection of Human Sub jects. This committee is com posed of University personnel and persons from the community and is organized to prevent the abuse of human subjects used in experiments. Another watchdog Committee on Biological Safety is also required by the federal government to guard against the conducting of any hazardous ex periments The committee's job is to make sure the proper facilities are used in any hazardous pro ject , but no one has proposed any such hazardous experiments at the University, according to Novick. Documentation on enrollment for each quarter and the status of veterans on campus is also re quired by the federal government. Assistant registrar Chris Munoz says federal compliance sur veyors require hard data on vete rans, as well as a quarterly report on the status of all veterans enrol led for the term The Registrar's Office is also Hillsdale fights red tape jungle While federal red tape is flooding universities, one small college in Michigan is fighting its own battle against the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Mich , has never accepted federal funds, according to college presi dent George Roche But last year HEW claimed that Hillsdale was accepting federal money because 100 of its 1,000 students were receiving veteran benefits or other federal aid HEW ruled the college had to comply with Title IX regulations prohibiting discnmmation. Roche says the trustees are resisting the government s intrusion into the private college ad ministration, and adds that HEW's reasoning would bring government control into all private enterprise. Hillsdale College has no quarrel with the anti discrimination goals of Title IX, according to Roche, and has always admitted students without regard to race, sex or religion. “HEW takes a paragraph from the Congressional Record and expands it into a telephone book of strangling rules and regulations," he says. And Hillsdale’s campaign against the government has gone national. The college hopes to secure a $29 million endowment to finance operating costs. The college has raised $6 million since November, according to Roche. Roche does not believe the Carter administration will be any easier on Hillsdale He said Joseph Califano, the new HEW secretary, is “one of those social engineers." Roche expects him to be “even more aggressive in interventions on the campuses." Orawvsg by Wanda Fay Scots required to keep current on the daity reports of a veteran's status — whether the veteran adds or drops a class — if the government should request individual records. “We apply for federal monies in October," says Lance Popoff, as sistant director of student financial aid. Popoff reports that money for the National Direct Student Loan and College Work Study Proyam is appropriated by Congress. Once the financial aid department obtains funds from the federal government, a Fiscal Operations Report must be compiled in Au gust of the following year to exp lain how the money was spent. Basic Educational Opportunity Grants (BEOG) entail paperwork also. Quarterly reports must be submitted to the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) on student eligibility. Sup plementary Educational Oppor tunity Grants (SEOG) also require the University to be in dose con tact with the federal government. Funds for these grants are ob tained by applying directly to the federal government, according to Popoff. Affirmative Action on campus used to make annual reports to both the state and federal gov ernment. Director Myra Willard says recent changes mean the report will be submitted once every two years rather than once a year. The federal government re quired the office to keep on file a Self Evaluation for Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education and hir ing. But Affirmative Action now can cut back on paperwork by submitting federal reports to the state and Willard says that the an nual report will be smaller this year. Hours are spent on these re ports, and since the daily prob lems and work in the office take first priority, Willard does most of the report writing after office hours. While much of the federal paperwork that passes through the University may simply be part of what Pres. Jimmy Carter terms “a bureaucratic mess," even Wil lard says “some reports are good. They let you know where you are. " RUPERT COSTO President of the American Indian Historical Society, San Francisco E.M.IJ. Forum from 11:30 to 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22 Mr. Costo will discuss Indian history and its relationship to current Indian issues in the United States. I No admission charge. EVERYBODY WELCOME!!!!! EMU Cultural Forum Presents Husef LaUef The Gentle Giant Wed., March 2 8 o.m. EMU Ballroom S4.50 U of 0 Students Tickets Available: Main Desk, and Everybody's Records
