tl19700220-000 "Success or failure responsibility of student; positive climate provided Committee offers revised academic standards policy by LARRY FRANK Towson may soon adopt liberal-ized grading procedures if the Aca-demic Standards Committee's new grade proposals are accepted by the College community. A partial Pass/ No Credit grading system is the most dramatic departure from pres-ent grading policies. The Committee, composed of eight members of TSC's faculty and ad-ministration, have been working with the intention of raising aca-demic standards by putting respon-sibility for success or failure on the student. Dean Shaw, Chairman of the Commitee, said that it ""will place standards that will put the responsibility more on the student for his success or failure. ""It is more concerned with cur-rent mastery, not with past per-formance, and I view it as a posi-tive step in improving the intellec-tual climate."" This climate will be improved in several ways: Punitive grades will no longer be recorded. A student failing a course under the A,B,C,D,X. (no credit) system will have neither the course nor ""No credit"" entered on his permanent record. The ""F"" grade will be eliminated, and cred-its earned toward a degree will be tabulated into the Grand Point Average. Any course may be repeated. On the first repetition of a course, the higher of the two grades will be recorded. On the second repetition, the average of the two highest grades will be recorded. Requirements for credits passed after a particular number of se-mesters will be lowered, so that students who take longer to earn their degree will not be penalized. Also, for 1-63 credits passed, the minimum Grade Point Average re-quirements have been lowered. A pass/no credit option will be adopted. A student may elect to take up to 12 credits toward his degree, with only ""Pass"" or ""No Credit"" being recorded. The option cannot be exercised in courses per-taining to a major. A student may drop a course prior to examination week, with only ""W"" recorded. The implication of a ""W F"" grade, that a student would have failed had he not dropped the course, is eliminated from the transcript. While the Academic Standards Committee was working on its pro-posals, the SGA's Academic Re-form Committee was formulating its own proposals. Tom Walkiewicz, SGA vice president, reported that the SGA's intentions ""were first to make known the need for change in the grading system, and second-ly, to present a proposal which the administration could use as a basis for their own investigation."" Vol. XXII, No. 17 TOWSON STATE COLLEGE, BALTIMORE, MARYLAND 21204 February 20, 1970 Johnson tags Senate 'unresponsive' by RON DE ABREU For the second successive ses-sion, the SGA senate met without a quorum on Tuesday, February 17, 1970. As a result, the fifteen Senators present voted the Senate into an emergency session in order to con-sider several important pieces of business. It was also decided that those Senators who have been absent consistently would be requested either to attend Senate meetings or to submit resignations. A record of the Senators' absences is on Page 8. ""Unresponsive"" Senate 1SGA President Charles John-son indicated he could not operate properly with an unresponsive 'Senate, and he expressed the hope that the situation would 'be cor-rected next week. Mr. Johnson then reported to the Senate on four issues. He announced that President Fisher had established a Committee for Administrative Selection that had two student representatives. Its first duty will be to select a new Dean of Students to replace the retiring Dean Murphy. Johnson also announced that a Committee on College Fees had been appointed to review all stu-dent fees and their administration. Curriculum Committee Tht SGA President also voiced concern over the new guidelines suggested by the Curriculum Com-mittee for the general education requirements, which, he felt, could nullify the new requirements ap-proved by the College Senate last year. Johnson then went on to outline his plan, drawn up after consulta-tion with a local law firm, for the establishment of a corporation to be known as the Towson Student Association, Inc. SGA to be incorporated The TSA, Inc., would assume the financial responsibilities of the SGA budgetary procedures. Since it would be an independent, non-profit corporation, it would have no stock and pay no sales tax. The Board of Directors would be the 32 senators and the president, vice president, and treasurer of the SGA. The three SGA officers would also act as the officers of the cor-poration. In essence, the corpora-tion would administer funds re-ceived from ""Federal, state, and private sources"" and would be drawn up after a series of hear-ings planned for early March. Sug-gestions from the student body would be considered at the hearings. $35 fee The Senate then allocated, sub-ject to reconsideration at next week's Senate meeting, $35 which is the fee assessed for corporation's registration by the State. The Senate ended its session by approving a change in the finan-cial by-laws requiring that gate receipts from social events spon-sored by the classes to be split on a 50-50 basis between the class and the SGA social fund. $4000 for June Week The Senate will meet again matching grant of $4,000 for the Senior Class June week. The al-location is, of course, subject to approval by the SGA President who said that he ""will review the financial situation of the SGA be-fore he approves the allocation."" The Senate will meet again on February 24 to reconsider today's Senate action. Also to be consid-ered will be the election and fin-ancial policies of the SGA. The two committees had one meeting together in which an ex-change of ideas on the grade pro-posals took place. The newly re-leased proposals are partially the result of this meeting, and contains points made by both commmittes. Speaking for the SGA and the Reform Committee, Walkiewicz added, ""From the outset we have been very pleased with the think-ing of Dr. Shaw and the Stand-ards Committee, and we offer our whole hearted support to the pro-posal that we have produced. Although the Committees have disagreed about some details, the philosophies underlying the pro-posals are quite similar."" The Academic Standards Com-mittee's proposal will be discussed at the next College Senate meeting, although a vote on the proposals is not guaranteed. If the proposals pass the Senate, they will next go to President Fisher, and then to the Board of Trustees. If the grade proposals pass these stages, they will go into effect September 1970. They will be effective for all stu-dents. Along with the grade proposals, a two-page evaluation form has been distributed to the faculty. The SGA Academic Reform Com-mittee has urged that students air their views to their instructors. Ar open hearing on the proposals wi' be held February 26-27 in Stephen Auditorium. Again speaking for the SGA, Walkiewicz mentioned two impor-tant facets of the ASC's proposals. First, the new grading system will give new students more time to adjust to the college environment, since G.P.A. requirements will be lower for the first several semest-ers. However, at the junior credit level GPA requirements are high-er than under the present system. Secondly, the new system will encourage students to experiment with courses in various fields which' they would otherwise fear. The fear of taking an ""F"" in an un-familiar course would be eliminated by the Pass/No credit option. Increase of $40-$50 expected Dorm fee hike proposed A proposal to hike dormitory rates up $40450 per year per resident is presently before the BOard of Trustees, who will make a decision to pass or veto it at their next meeting in the first week in March. Operating expenses increase Mr. Wayne Schelle, director of business and finance, says the rea-son for the increase is the rising cost of operating expenses, due to increased salaries of employees working in the residence halls, normal inflationary increases in equipment and contractual serv-ices, and the additional money al-located for housekeeping purposes. Variety of activities set for Special Events Series by DONNA Towson State's Special Events Series will highlight such features as a symposium, literature festi-val, and art exhibits. The symposium, ""United States Policy in Asia: Challenge of the 1970's,"" is the second annual Earle T. Hawkins Lectures in In-ternational Affairs, and will be held in March. Featured speakers will be Richard A. Falk, Charles H. Heimsath, and A. Doak Barnett. Top lecturers slated The Children's Literature Fes-tival will bring to the campus George Latshaw, puppeteer; Spen-cer Shaw, storyteller; Ellen Ras-kin, illustrator of children's books; Joanna Foster, filmmaker; Marie Winn Miller and Alan Miller, mu-sicians. The two-day festival will be held in April. Three top lectures will include ""Alaska Today"", by Dr. John C. Reed of the Artie Institute of QUANTE North America; ""Faith and the Problem of Evil,"" by Dr. Marvin Fox, professor of philosophy, Ohio State University; and ""The Na-ture of Love,"" by primate psychol-ogist Harry Harlow. Opera to be in English For the opera enthusiast, the Turnau Opera Players will per-form in English ""Die Fledermaus."" Other events to come this se-mester include a ""Drawings '70"" regional art exhibition, oral inter-pretation and readers' theatre in-stitute, a British debate, and over thirty movies. Tickets for the above events may be obtained from the College Box Office in Room 6 of Stephen's Hall. Events are free to Towson's students, faculty and staff. For more information contact Susan Stecker, Co-ordinator of Student Activities. At its last session, the State Legislature 'allocated 12 million from the Capital Budget for con-struction of the three new resi-dence buildings that are sheduled to open in the fall of 1972. This rise in rates is contin-gent upon the State of Maryland assuming the operating expenses of the new residence halls and not passing them on to the students. Mr. Schelle has the assurance of the Board of Trustees through its director, that the Board will back this plan. It will result in the in-creased fee of $40 to $50 per year as opposed to the eariler $80 in-crease. More manpower needed Mr. Jim Woods, housekeeping supervisor, says he simply does not have enough people to maintain proper housekeeping, and that more manpower is needed, which would be an increase in the operating budget Asked if the increase was fair to the men on the fourth floor sleep-ing room in Richmond, Mr. Schelle replied, ""There's no sense putting people into a pressure cooker where they're going to be unhappy. We know its the most inferior of all the arrangements we have here. My recommendation would be to leave the sleeping porch vacant."" Fee higher to establish base The next three years is a tran-sitional period for the residence hall program, Schelle indicated, and the end of this period the State will have about 6,000 living units. Out of the satisfactory revenue base of those 6,000 beds, the State College System will hopefully build their ov.-n residence halls which would be self-supporting. Natur-ally, the fee will be higher at first to establish a base for future years. Hopefully, after this period has passed, such large fee increases will not be necessary. "
