Questions and Answers:
Q: What is the plan for a Business Center in the Don Taft University Center? When might that be available?
A: At this stage we are only in an exploratory phase, examining space needs and early budget forecast for the project. In short, the business center would offer: public copiers, printers, fax, mail and FedEx shipping, and act as a storefront for the copy center’s many high end services: Banners, posters, binding, reports, high volume color, laminating, etc….
–answered by Marc Crocquet, VP of Business Services:
Q: Will we consider valet parking for students?
A: We will do a survey to determine if there is student interest and that they would be willing to pay for this service.
–answered by Dr. Brad Williams, VP of Student Affairs and Dean of the College of Undergraduate Studies
Q: Credit cards for clubs – organizations…. what is the timeline and could you provide some specifics of how this will work?
A: “P-cards”, which are purchasing cards whereby students can come to the student accounts office and order supplies online, are in the process of implementation. The university cannot issue credit cards to clubs due to fraud liability.
–answered by Dr. Brad Williams, VP of Student Affairs and Dean of the College of Undergraduate Studies
Q: What is the plan to provide space to fraternity/sorority functions where a room seating 60-70 students might be available?
A: Greek Life dedicated space is important and currently does not exist. An alternative would be to create next residence hall with ‘Greek style suites’ which serve in place of fraternity/sorority housing. This will be driven by enrollment demands.
–answered by Dr. Brad Williams, VP of Student Affairs and Dean of the College of Undergraduate Studies
Q: What is the system to obtain keys for rooms reserved by students? And, once reserved, how can we ensure that students do not get “bumped” from rooms by faculty/staff?
A: I am meeting with my team this morning to discuss this to make certain it does not happen again. We are, indeed, ‘student-centered.’
–answered by Dr. Brad Williams, VP of Student Affairs and Dean of the College of Undergraduate Studies
Q: In the future, will NSU respond to any cyber bullying taking place involving NSU students? (Concerns expressed by a veteran who was a victim of cyber bullying.)
A: At NSU, the term “harassment” would be used in place of “social bullying”. The university currently consistently responds to and investigates all reports of harassing (bullying) behavior made involving students that take place on or off campus, person to person, or through social media sites, web pages, email, texting, or phone conversations.
The NSU Student Handbook 2013-2014 contains a policy that prohibits harassing behaviors and prohibits the use of cellular phones and other electronic devices to post photos, videos, voice recordings, etc. on web pages without the expressed consent of the subject(s) being photographed or recorded. In addition if students are using the nova.edu website or their NSU email to engage in prohibitive behavior, they could be in violation of the NSU Acceptable Use of Computing Resources policies. The specific policies prohibiting Harassment and the use of Cellular Phones can be found in the NSU Student Handbook on the university web page at https://www.nova.edu/publications/ustudenthandbook/.
All reports of harassing behavior should be made to the Associate Dean of Student Affairs through email at gayhol@nova.edu or by calling 954-262-7281.
–answered by Dr. Gay Holliday, Associate Dean of Administration, Division of Student Affairs and College of Undergraduate Studies
Q: We need more fieldwork opportunities in the Oceanographic Center (at the undergraduate and graduate level) so that we are even more marketable and ready to hit the ground running upon graduation. What is being considered and/or implemented to expand the field opportunities?
A: Fieldwork opportunities are offered as part of many Oceanographic Center (OC) graduate courses in the MS, MA, and PhD programs. Undergraduate courses are not offered by the Oceanographic Center. However, we are indeed expanding undergraduate courses at the OC with shuttles. We are currently examining options to increase field opportunities for graduate students in the mix of providing a balanced curriculum. We are also mindful that there is an increase in student costs that usually accompany increased field courses. We have added and continue to add field and laboratory courses in response to both student requests and faculty determined need relative to the curriculum. Field courses per se are not designed to enhance the immediate marketability of the graduate or to provide job training. Rather, field courses in the marine sciences are a component to educate the student in specific and diverse subjects. We are also seeking to grow the number of our faculty and researchers, within budget constraints, at the OC to be able to increase both field and laboratory research opportunities for students.
–answered by Dr. Richard Dodge, Dean of the Oceanographic Center
Q: In SHSS, when PhD students are combined with MS students in the same class, there is a tuition differential. Why? Shouldn’t the cost be the same?
A: In the Dept. of Conflict Analysis & Resolution (DCAR) at SHSS, there are courses that include both masters and doctoral students. In addition to the differences between the graduate degrees, there are also different learning outcomes and course assignments (e.g., number, length and depth of requirements; more rigorous assessments…). Faculty are expected to provide clear indication in the syllabi, with regard to the doctoral-level learning outcomes and related assignments. I’ll follow up more with DCAR to ensure the consistency and clarity of such distinctive details.
–answered by Dr. Honggang Yang, Dean of SHSS
Q: What are the plans to provide certain electives more frequently than once per year or sometimes once every two years?
A: College faculty and program leadership have been asked to review the schedules of course offerings and take the following actions:
- In addition to the published listing of course frequency, a description of frequency will be included in the course description in the catalog;
- Infrequently offered courses will be reviewed by faculty and, in some cases, will be removed from the catalog. In light of lower enrollments, it may be necessary to reduce variety of offerings.
Low enrollment degree programs will be reviewed for discontinuation.
–answered by Dr. Rosenblum, Dean of Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences
Q: In follow up to (a), how can we work toward raising certain course “caps” so that students are not “closed out.”
A: Course caps are placed reflecting classroom capacity, lab safety protocols, and appropriate instructional (teaching and learning) conditions. There are limits on available classroom spaces (and available qualified instructors). When demand exceeds supply, program directors may add an additional section (subject to space and instructor availability). Priority is usually placed on required classes, not electives.
Program directors will evaluate petitions from students who must have a specific class in order to graduate. With assistance from academic advising, this review may result in raising a cap if the student has been responsible in timely action on course request and has followed a reasonable course plan.
Adding more faculty and more classroom space will be a long term strategy to reduce students from being “closed out.” Reducing curriculum variation may also support this concern (although may result in less attractive options for students).
–answered by Dr. Rosenblum, Dean of Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences
Q: When there is insufficient enrollment in some courses in specific majors (Art, for one), the course is canceled. Is there anything we can do about this?
A: A course may be cancelled if demand is very low. Courses will always run with 10 or more students. Required courses will often run with five or more students. Courses will rarely run with fewer than five students.
When a course is cancelled, the student is notified and offered alternatives to the course. Academic advising staff is involved to help the student revise a curriculum plan to fulfill degree requirements within a normal time frame. Program directors may also consider course substitutions and curriculum waivers – satisfying program outcomes – to facilitate student progress to degree.
–answered by Dr. Rosenblum, Dean of Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences
Q: Would NSU consider looking at changes to our current registration system, whereby all schools register at the same time? As a follow up, might we consider a priority system of sorts? If so, what will be the timeline?
A: Yes, the Registrar’s Office will look into expanding the Time Ticketing (priority) Registration system. Generally, registration opens approximately two months before the start of the semester or term with the exception of the fall semester for undergraduate and law students which open in March/April. Currently, several academic programs use time ticketing registration.
The academic and administrative calendars are scheduled and made available to the deans and administrators for planning purposes through the 2014-2015 academic year. As the Registrar’s Office begins scheduling the academic and administrative calendars for 2015-2016 and beyond, they will discuss time ticketing registration with those academic programs that do not currently use this system.
–answered by Dr. Stephanie Brown, VP of Enrollment and Student Services
Q: For veterans who take courses in a part-of-term semester (such as CJI – with two, eight week semesters) will NSU consider a different reporting structure to the VA so that they qualify for benefits while maintaining compliance with federal rules and regulations?
A: Veteran students are advised by the Sr. Financial Aid Counselor/Veteran Benefits Administrator regarding their benefits, registration, and financial aid. In order to receive the full Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) each month, undergraduate students must be enrolled in 12 (or more) credits per semester/term. This enrollment must include at least one ground-based class. The full BAH is $1,950 per full month (otherwise prorated if not a full month). If all classes are online, the full BAH is $750.
The certification of enrollment for BAH can be done in various scenarios as follows:
16-week semester – 100% of BAH
- The undergraduate student is enrolled in 12 credits the entire 16-week semester (August – December). He or she would receive 100% of BAH for the fall semester.
Two 8-week parts-of-term (POT) – 100% of BAH
- The undergraduate student is enrolled in 6 credits the first POT (August – October) and 6 credits the second POT (October – December). He or she would receive 100% of BAH for the first POT and 100% of BAH for the second POT.
- The undergraduate student is enrolled in 9 credits the first POT (August – October) and 6 credits the second POT (October – December). He or she would receive 100% of BAH for the first POT and 100% of BAH for the second POT.
- The undergraduate student is enrolled in 6 credits the first POT (August – October) and 9 credits the second POT (October – December). He or she would receive 100% of BAH for the first POT and 100% of BAH for the second POT.
Two 8-week parts-of-term (POT) – Less than 100% of BAH
- The undergraduate student is enrolled in 9 credits the first POT (August – October) and 3 credits the second POT (October – December). He or she will receive 100% of BAH during the first POT and 60% of BAH during the second POT.
- The undergraduate student is enrolled in 3 credits the first POT (August – October) and 9 credits the second POT (October – December). He or she would receive 60%of BAH during the first POT and 100% of BAH during the second POT.
- The undergraduate student is enrolled in 6 credits the first POT (August – October) and 3 credits the second POT (October – December). He or she will receive 100% of BAH during the first POT and 60% of BAH during the second POT.
- The undergraduate student is enrolled in 3 credits the first POT (August – October) and 6 credits the second POT (October – December). He or she will receive 60% of BAH during the first POT and 100% of BAH during the second POT.
Note: Online only students are subject to the same 100%/60% split as described above.
–answered by Dr. Stephanie Brown, VP of Enrollment and Student Services
Q: Would NSU consider community service or work on campus in lieu of paying for parking?
A: NSU does not currently charge for parking on campus. NSU does, however, enforce parking rules and regulations on campus which are posted on the NSU website for the safety and equity of all NSU community members and guests. The idea of exchanging service for monetary amounts owed will be examined further under the lens of human resources, tax, and student financial aid implications. Please see following link for parking and traffic policy: www.nova.edu/publicsafety/parking/.
–answered by Peter Witschen, VP for Facilities and Public Safety