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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 24, 1983)
0q||0y.0 Continued from Page 1 sity had discussed purchasing the System 38, which costs ap proximately $200,000, Provost Dick Hill says he is unsure how seriously the University is considering it. "We certainly don’t rule out the possibility of a database system,” Hill says. Hill says the University's computer registration pro gram must be compatible with financial aid and billing. "What does go on line shouldn’t complicate your cur rent existence," he says. “If you’re ever going to have com puter preregistration, you can't develop a program that is incompatible with financial aid and the billing process." The University also is look ing into purchasing an ex isting software program from another university and adap ting the system to fit the University’s registration needs, but Hill says that plan is costly. "Other state institutions have had serious problems with doing that — the cost in volved in using an outside company probably inhibits that alternative," he says. In 1978 the University was given the preregistraton pro grams, software documenta tion and summary of the University of Texas at Austin’s system. The program was developed on an IBM 360/50, the same computer the Univer sity was using at the time. The software was incom patible and could not be adapted to the University’s computer. The University has come a long way towards developing a common understanding of what computers can do and how they can serve ad ministrative needs, Hill says. Two main stumbling blocks in the preregistration process are the lack of a machine readable time schedule and an outdated student information file, says University Registrar Wanda Johnson. Johnson says no money and no manpower are preventing work on these projects. She says the University tried to implement a demand analysis in 1968 similar to one scheduled to take place spring term. It failed due to lack of student participation and good information. "It left a bad taste in peo ple's mouths," says Johnson. The demand analysis is designed to provide informa tion on how many students want to take each class but won't schedule the students into their preferred classes. That experience has con tributed to the University's reluctance to implement a pro gram stage by stage. Johnson said. General scholarship award aid available for qualified students By Aleta Zak Of ttw» Emantd More than 300 University students were $200 to $1,200 richer this academic year through general scholarships awarded to help pay for their college education. And any undergraduate or graduate University student has a chance at these general scholarships for next year, says associate financial aid director Carol Richard. Completed applications for next year's awards, including faculty recommendations and transcripts of grades from other col leges, are due in the financial aid office by March 1. The awards, which totaled more than $200,000 this year, came mostly from funds established in the name of individuals or companies who have donated money to the University. Richard and a special scholarship selection committee, which is composed of about a dozen faculty members and two students, will decide who gets the awards. After the deadline, the committee begins sorting through the hundreds of ap plications to determine which students are most qualified to receive the awards. “It’s a hard-working committee from anyone's standpoint," says Richard. “They really have to make some difficult decisions. I mean, how are you going to draw the line in borderline cases?” After reviewing all the documents, the committee assigns a rating to each appli cant based on academic merit and returns the applications to the financial aid office. Richard determines exactly how much money is available for the coming year, noting which scholarships are based on financial need as well as merit. She then makes specific awards to the highest-rating students. Out of 651 students who applied last year, 318 received scholarships. This year's lucky few will receive money from 34 different funds ranging from the Coca-Cola Scholarship to the Joseph Kinsman Starr Scholarship. Much of the award money comes from investments earned from the original cash donation, says Richard. The Starr and Leon Culbertson Scholarships are the University’s two most profitable funds. Awards based only on academic achievement vary from $200 to $500, while those based on achievement as well as financial need can range from $600 to $1,200, Richard says She says more scholar ships specify financial need than academic merit alone. Many departments and professional schools offer their own scholarships, Richard adds Students must apply separate ly to their individual major departments for these awards, which may be based on more specific criteria. About 120 department scholarships are available for the 1983-84 academic year, and a few more will be awarded to students from specific geographic areas. For more information on these scholar ships, contact your major department or consult the University scholarship and award folder available in the financial aid office. AT THE BOOKSTORE: COME IN SOON FOR YOUR HOME COMPUTER The LOWEST PRICES EVER OFFERED ON HOME COMPUTERS! SALE ENDS JAN.29, 1983 The Commodore VIC-64 computer reg. $595.00 now s48495 The Commodore VIC-20 computer reg *299.00 NOW 156 50 Texas Instruments Home Computer TI 99-4A NOW s29500 reg. $339.95 less $100 factory your cost $195°° Moniter not included Timex Sinclair 1000 reg. s99.95 NOW 79 50 • PLUS 10% OFF ALL ACCESSORIES • EASY INSTALLMENT PAYMENT PLANS • COMPUTER RENTAL PROGRAMS 13th & Kincaid Mon-Fri 7:30-5:30 Sat 10:00-3:00 BOOKSTORE supplies <88-4331 Oregon daily , emerald ^ere s to a new beginning — Hello 8400, you're an answer to many prayers (we hope). ®°od-bye TXT (hathanlel), noisy tape-punch, plnh tape and pesky little dots, wish we could say we were going to miss you — but we can't. May you rest In peace. X
