Eastern Illinois University - Warbler Yearbook (Charleston, IL)

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Can Eastern host the hoards? but exactly how practical is it? No good aIternatives - Quivey Dr. James Quivey of the English Department views larger class sizes in particular disciplines as extremely impractical. In English Composition, for example, a low student-teacher ratio is needed to insure that stu- dents attain as much practice and individual attention as is necessary. Although adjustments can be made simply by increasing class sizes, Quivey believes this will be done at the expense of an enriched cu rricu- lum. Because of the lack of funds, new faculty members cannot be hired to accommodate the increas- ing number of students. Larger class sizes seem to be the only altemative. There are, at present, no good alter- natives, some are simply less unde- sirable than others, Quivey said. The administration's primary con- cern is money, whereas, mine is the quality of education. In addition to small classes getting larger, the lecture halls have begun to fill to capacity this year. Ronald Wohlstein of the Sociology Depart- ment believes that the lecture system can work effectively. He added, how- ever, that without the aid of grad- uate assistants, lecture sections are a bit more difficult to handle. There are disadvantages to the sy- stem, Wohlstein notes. The teacher stands in a vacuum without any feed- back because students seem to feel more constrained in lecture classes. Scheduling problems on the rise Another problem that might arise is in scheduling. lt is more convenient for students to work schedules around several different sectionsg while, if only a few large sections are offered, a student might find difficulty taking the courses he needs. One such student has always had difficulty getting the classes she needed, but this last semester was ridiculous. Despite the fact that she was registered early in Decem- ber 1975, she was only given four hours. I thought it was a joke, l really didn't believe that they lRegis trationl only gave me two classes. Fortunately, she added enough courses to remain full time, but not the classes she really needed. The Student Senate is also con- cerned with the changes brought about by the increasing number of students. They are looking into the possibility of a room in the library being opened past hours and reser- ved for studying because of the crowded conditions in dormitory lounges. The Housing Committee of the Senate is also going to take a study of off-campus housing. Jean Galovich, executive vice-president, added that the Senate will encour- age Admissions to continue its re- cruiting program. Departments that must teach gen- Not only are classes a little larger but registration lines are a little longer and courses a little harder to get.

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-'bd Y w 1 kb-03 A , .. '15 2 l-ag lil Q- T' ' o -, , .1 5.1 , I' , 1 f' V!! F vi s' at 3 f dk Ill 1,3 ff mlllllllll G G 'fix 'T 'X 3 G N 1 P ' Q fy? 1 , , I ' f ,A viz 3 ev f . uf , gg., -5. A l f . . E . x + ' - O 249 X 1 -L Q T' T. l . ' Q es T l W Q. T l l Q f 94 - , 4 U .1 '3 Dil X., I , W ,AQ . I If I U 0- mx ye i V lf, , 7 5 Y 2 V f xy ,f Y I L A J 1 1 X ' ' E k MRL I x X In O A ' ' i 'X 1' -ff Q A ' ' af. :Lu , 1. A- ' ' '- , gg ' - Q, 1 'fl is T-I . i . XI! K , g F QL - -l it P li J El ' z tl - l Vi x 7 E' V -X ' 6 E xc . A fr f ii., t l f f , , S.. ,f , Nfl ga... r ft Overcrowding: by Leesa L. Willis A man of small stature paced ner- vously across the front of the room, wiping his wet brow with an already saturated handkerchief. Over eighty students listened attentively--fifty sandwiched between four walls and the remainder filed down the hall. Those words paint a picture of a situation old to many institutions, yet new to Eastern---overc rowding. Nlost of the criticisms and com- plaints ofthe effects of this new wave of students Eastern is accom- modating are coming from students who have been here for two or more years. They have witnessed the change, remembering when Eastern was still recognized as a small school and most classes, except lectures, only had fifteen students. Students more independent Deb Hofstetter a junior from Springfield, recalls when not only were classes smaller but also, when I lived in a quad, there were three of us, not four or five and nobody lived in the lounges. However, students do not seem to be hurting from the housing shortage as much as they might from overcrowded classes. Teachers may be limited as to what they can offer a class in subject mat- ter. This lessens the in-class experience that the individual might greatly bene fit from. lt appears, at least for the near future, that large classes will be a nec- essity. lf students need extra help, they will have to do more on their own to seek it out. Jeane Gunkel a senior from Elk Grove Village, ap- proves ofthe larger classes. Although less attention might be given to stu- dents--it might help them to gain in- dependence and learn responsibility. Gunkel also notes, however, that large classes for some courses are an unreasonable solution to the over- crowding problem. An example she gave was her Advanced Public Speak- ing class. An hour speech is required to be given by each student, so the last ten weeks of the semester will be devoted solely to those speeches. This will obviously be informative,

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STUD NIT NAME SOC SEC O DATE M 'YEAR CLASS 49-38-7240 11124175 SPRING 1976 1 OF ill I EASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITYTTUDENT CLASS SCHEDULE i L- Ei I . .N. TQ ,I I E 1 1 DEPT COURSE SECT COURSE DESCRIPTIO MEETING TIME swat END M QAYQFYEQK S CR., BLDGXROOM PLS 3733 001 SPE 14001001 INTEREST GRGUPS 11001150 X PARLIAMENT LAN 16001740 X TOTAL CPFDIT HRS COIIQSE VL-USED .Inu E102 COURSE CLOSED Ispc i330LIf ,CULIRSE cL0sE0 sec ,540I C-Q1LL'? X X 0.3 1.5201 01 Ci-4116 04 A SPC 020 X REMARKS: THIS CARD MUST BE PRESENTED TO OBTAIN TEXTBOOKS This schedule shows the problems some students face with the increase In enrollment. eral education requirements are really feeling the increase. The Speech- Communications Department with its introductory course lSpeech 1310l handled more students this year than ever before. Dr. Robert Morlan, de- partment chainnan, predicts that they will have to accommodate 300 more students next fall without an additional staff member. The number of students that the Speech Depart- ment handles has increased nearly 50 per cent since 1970. At that time there were 1200 students enrolled in speech courses, while there are pre- sently 1900 enrolled. Since 1970, they have been coping with that in- crease without the addition of any new positions on the staff. The pro- blem, Dr. Morlan explained, seems to lie at a higher level. We are being forced by the Board of Higher Ed- ucation lBHEl to accept more stu- dents, but we're not getting any financial support. The Speech De- partment is viewing overcrowding as a temporary condition and not pro- posing any long-range plans. For the next few years, Morlan conclu- ded, we'll have to make some unde- sirable alterations and just hope that we'll soon return to normal. Equipment, uneven distribution pose more problems Equipment and repairs also seem to pose a severe problem . More equipment is needed in laborator- ies to accommodate the increasing number of students, but the abil- ity to purchase is simply nonexis- tent. Dr. Terry Weidner, Botany, explained that his department has S 500 of equipment stored be- cause they do not have S 50 to repair it. Weidner believes that in many cases Eastern has a facilities pro- blem. lt is physically impossible to put more students in some rooms. ln the laboratory sections, for instance, there is an obvious equipment limitation, we could handle more students if we could get S 10,000 to buy more micro- scopes, Weidner added. One of the giggest problems, as Weidner explained, is in distribution. While some departments are over flowing, many areas could accom- modate more students. There are too many students in certain areas. lf they were better distributed, we could handle a great deal more. The problem of overcrowding appears to be a many facted one. The difficulties lie in facilities, equip- ment, faculty and money. There can be no single solution. An answer to one aspect of the problem could leave all others unanswered and unsolved. Moody: possible solutions Vice-President of Academic Af- fairs Peter Moody has proposed six possible solutions to the overcrowd- ing that Eastern presently faces. One proposal is concerned with distribu-