University awards more degrees than before
The number of bachelor
of fine arts recipients has
increased in recent years
By Teri Meeuwsen
Oregon Daily Emerald
Movies like “Antz” and “A
Bug's Life” that use computer ani
mation to pull audiences into the
theaters are crawling all over the
movie screens. To accommodate
the popular growth, more and
more graduates are earning a
bachelor’s degree of fine arts to
work behind the scenes.
“We have become an incredi
bly visual culture,” said Laura
Alpert, associate professor and di
rector of the Department of Fine
and Applied Arts.
The number of BFA recipients
has grown— slowly and steadily
— alongside the total number of
degrees awarded at the Universi
ty since 1993, according to the
1998 University of Oregon Profile.
The total number of bachelor’s
degrees has grown from 2,875 in
1993-94 to last year’s 3,047.
Society’s changes are just one
part of the slow increase in the
number. Enrollment, transfer stu
dents, retention and tuition costs
also play a role in the number of
degrees awarded.
Mike Clark, administrative as
sistant for curriculum in architec
ture and interior architecture, said
when the number of students en
rolled in the architecture program
fell this past year, the number of
degrees fell respectively.
“Inevitably, there are links be
tween everything in life,” he said.
The same changes can be said
for any other department at the
University, he said. If the Univer
sity increases its enrollment, it
can produce more graduates and
vice versa.
Total enrollment at the Univer
sity has remained somewhat
steady since 1990, according to the
November 1998 Profile of Students
at the University of Oregon re
leased by the Office of the Regis
trar.
Retaining students and increas
ing the number of transfer stu
dents at the University help keep
enrollment steady and growing in
most departments, said Jim Buch,
associate vice president for stu
dent academic affairs.
In any given year, there are
about the same number of transfer
students coming into the Univer
sity as enrolling freshmen, he
said.
High school students who
have taken college credit courses
are counted as transfer students at
enrollment.
The average time it takes to
complete degree requirements
must also be taken into considera
tion, he said. It takes about five to
six years on average to complete
the necessary classes for a degree,
but that is changing.
“Students are taking full advan
tage from their classes,” he said.
“They are carrying a slightly high
er load than usual so they can try
to finish up on time. I think in
structors are doing a better job at
making courses available to stu
dents.”
In the meantime, tuition has
gone up — another factor in the
number of degrees awarded, Clark
said.
Tuition has risen 91.91 percent
for undergraduate residents since
1990. For non-resident under
graduates, there was a 119.34 per
cent increase.
However, while tuition increas
es, students are thinking more
about the job market and its re
quirements, Buch said.
"Employers are eager for em
ployees that can write well, speak
well, can do data analysis and
think critically,” he said. “I think
the University trains people well
in these areas.”
To improve graduation rates,
The Board of Higher Education
established four goals for the
state’s university system for the
next biennium: increasing quality
and student access, employabili
ty and cost-effectiveness of stu
dents and their educations.
“We will improve graduation
rates of entering freshmen and
community college transfers by 2
percent ... adding some 13,450
qualified graduates to the work
force,” said Oregon University
System Chancellor Joe Cox in a
speech on Friday.
Todays Events
Tuesday, March 9
■ A rally to urge legislators to
support a Pell Grant increase will
be held at 10:30 a.m. in the EMU
Breezeway. ASUO and OSPIRG
are coming together to protest the
decreasing number of grants
available for students.
■ Seminar: 'Babies' Brain
Growth: The New Research —
Part B.” Noon-1:30 p.m. in the
EMU Ben Linder Room. Dennis
Reynolds, from the EMU Child
Care and Development Centers,
will be speaking. For information,
visit darkwing.uoregon.edu/
~humanres/train98.htm, or call
346-3159.
Oregon
Daily
Emerald
Enrolling in degrees
The enrollment numbers at the University directly effect the number of de
grees awarded.
Students enrolled In the various schools in Fall 1997
Degrees awarded in 1998
SOURCE: University of Oregon 'Profife of Students* Fall 1997 and Fall 1998
Katie Nesse/Emerald
fvww.dailyemerald.coiri
Graduating? Read the Oregon Daily |
Emerald online and keep up with UO news, jjj
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