TL20050926_001 "Curious George, Winnie the Pooh along with collection of authors jump from pages of books to streets of Mt. Vernon for Book Fest Arts, page 15 'We don't want your dirty war' News, page 9 Published by and for the students of Towson and Baltimore -- twice weekly Monday, 9/26/05 Provost declares halt for C minus Brian Stelter Editor in Chief The C minus grade is being eliminated for almost two years, beginning this winter, after Provost James Brennan reversed a decision made by the University Senate. Brennan plans to bring the C minus issue back to the Senate's table in fall 2007. In the meantime, the Office of Institutional Research will analyze the grading scale. At the end of the fall semester, the University will remove C minus from the list of grading options in PeopleSoft. Faculty members will be asked to update their syllabi to reflect the change. The earliest the grade could return is the fall 2008 - but that's only if the Senate doesn't vote to eliminate the grade permanently. The C minus grade currently counts as failing for classes that count toward a student's major or minor. The grade counts as 1.67 quality points per credit hour. The Student Government Association began campaigning for the elimination of the grade two years ago. David Butler, the SGA's director of academic affairs, said the decision was an affirmation of his organization's efforts to eliminate the grade. """"I think that without the student argument last year, the Provost wouldn't have been inclined to make the decision that he made,"""" Butler said. """"The students brought up this whole situation, this whole argument."""" In April, the Senate approved a resolution that allowed the C minus to count in majors in situations where accreditation bodies allow it. See GRADE, page 11 Day, Carlile rock out in Towson Center Derrek Windsor/ The Towerlight Although ticket sales did not meet the Campus Activities Board's expectations, Howie Day and Brandi Carlile's concert was well received by fans at their concert Sunday night. Day played at the Towson Center in 2002 with Vanessa Carlton, but 2005 marks Carlile's first appearance there. Carlile performed a cover of """"Landslide,"""" which she said she doesn't perform often. Online degrees in TU's digital dreams With conversion of entire majors into online format, Provost hopes to offer greater selection, increased enrollment as TU shifts to new server for online programs Kristi Funderburk News Editor Next summer, Towson's going technical. With the implementation of entirely online programs, Provost James Brennan said the University could reach its enrollment projections in part by offering whole majors via the Web. In other words, in the near future, Towson students may be able to complete a degree without ever step ping into a classroom. """"Over the next five to 10 years as the University grows, enrollment will be [partially] in online students,"""" Brennan said. """"We'll keep adding online programs and some students will be entirely online."""" The idea has been in the works since before Brennan became Provost last year, but as a result of a recent price increase with Blackboard, plans are in the works to switch platforms. """"Blackboard is a public program and is raising its usage rates rapidly,"""" Brennan said. """"We're migrating to another program on the University platform where there's better support services, and it's cheaper because it's in-house."""" Current scheduling plans have five pilot programs operating by June with WebTycho through the University of Maryland University College, the state's online higher education institution that offers sev eral distance learning programs. """"UMUC offers basically online courses for students around the world,"""" Brennan said. """"They're experts in this field. Courses online could make learning easier and better for students. [The online programs] will help us increase options for students to obtain educational experience."""" Four of the programs will be set at the master's level and one is See SELECTIVE, page 8 INSIDE: Coming In Thursday's Towerlight-. Perspectives....2 News..... 7 Beyond Arts 9 15 Music Classifieds.. 17 ,19 Sports 24 Arts: 'Monet, Monet, Monet, Monet...Monet' exhibit comes to B-more Museum of Art Sports: Tigers vs. Blue Hens Homecoming preview"
