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Pasadena Orty College
Features
Using
yoga
to relax
Page
4»
Volume 101, Issue 8
"The Independent Student Voice of
РСС,
Serving Pasadena Since 1915.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Revised
policy on
cheating
weighed
Academic Senate
takes lead on plan
Raffi Bezdikian
Contributing Writer
The Academic Senate is devel¬
oping a new policy on academic
honesty to be ratified by the Board
of Trustees to formalize the
process of reporting cheating and
plagiarism.
"The senate has taken the initia¬
tive to promote a new policy to
strengthen academic integrity,"
said Academic Senate President
James Bickley. The Academic
Integrity Policy, still in its draft
form, is a much more comprehen¬
sive record of what is expected of
students, faculty and administra¬
tors than the current policy. In
addition, it mandates that all
instances of academic dishonesty
are reported using a standardized
report form.
The draft policy is pending
approval from campus institutions
including the Associated Students,
Faculty Associations, Division
Deans and the Classified Senate
before being finalized by the Board
of Trustees. Bickley expects that
the policy should be approved for
the coming Fall Semester.
Under the current system,
reporting academic dishonesty to
administration officials is optional
and often inconsistent.
According to Bickley, many
instances of academic dishonesty
are dealt with in class without
being reported. This makes track¬
ing trends and, ultimately, reduc¬
ing the rate of cheating at PCC, a
difficult endeavor.
Stuart Wilcox, interim vice pres¬
ident of Student and Learning
Services, said instances of academ¬
ic dishonesty have been increas¬
ing. "It seems that the reports are
going up," he noted.
Wilcox's administrative assis¬
tant, Susan Miller, estimated that
recent trends show about 40 stu¬
dents per semester face a student
discipline process.
"We want to make sure profes¬
sors have the ability to control
their own classroom," said Scott
Thayer Assistant Dean in the
Office of Student Affairs.
Due to this classroom autonomy
Continued on page 7
Wandering wirelessly
Brian Warouw/Courier
Pasadena City College student Aaron B. Srithongkham doing research for his homework
inside the WiFi Lounge in the Campus Center.
WiFi provides easy distractions
Thomas Poole
Contributing Writer
The PCC wireless network provides stu¬
dents with access to the web nearly every¬
where on campus. This doesn't mean that
their Internet habits have become any more
productive.
"I don't really use the internet for study¬
ing when I'm at school," said Carol Solis, a
theater major. "I'd say it's mostly Facebook
and blogs."
"Between me and the front of class there
is always a handful of students on
Facebook. I'm surrounded by white screens
with blue bars/' said John Nguyen, English
major.
Completed in fall of 2008, PCC's wireless
network covers nearly the entire 53-acre
campus and consists of over 400 wireless
access points (WAP), according to Robert
Cody, assistant dean of computing services.
Daily, 300 to 500 students access the net¬
work at any given time. In areas of high
usage, the speed and concentration of avail¬
able wireless networks is higher.
One such region of campus, according to
Continued on page 7
Six finalists
picked for
top PCC post
Board to interview
candidates in private
Raffi Bezdikian
and Catherine Sum
The screening committee has chosen six applicants
from an original field of 45 for the Board of Trustees
to interview in its search for a new PCC
president/ superintendent.
The six will meet with members of the board for
interviews during a closed meeting on May 8, which
will be held at Caltech's Athenaeum.
From there, the board will choose three to four final
candidates to participate in campus visits and open
community forums in late May, while the new presi¬
dent/superintendent is expected to take office in
August.
Interviews are traditionally held off-site due to the
sensitivity of the application process, as well as to
protect the privacy of the individuals, administrators
said. The meeting will be held in closed session as the
interviews are seen as part of a hiring process, which
is exempt under the Brown Act, California's open
meetings law.
Despite vigorous debates, screening committee
chairman Richard Garcia remarked that the group
worked well together regardless of disagreements,
and solved issues through procedure.
At the April 21 board meeting Trustee Geoffrey
Baum asked how the committee was reaching deci¬
sions on the candidates, to which the chairman
replied that debate was at times spirited and collegial-
ly divisive.
"The members [of the committee] are not shy,"
Garcia said. "They will openly discuss and share
opinions on the candidates."
In past meetings, the committee went through a
number of steps to evaluate and trim the number of
applicants. First, it reviewed all 45 candidates and
chose 15 based solely on their applications.
Continued on page 7
Transfer inquiries spike in spring
Catherine Sum
Staff Writer
Though the Degree and Transfer
Center sees an influx of student
inquiry from the months of March
to May, when applicants typically
receive admissions decisions from
universities, year-round support
and guidance is always offered.
There are various services stu¬
dents can utilize at any step of
their academic career, said
Transfer Center Director Dina
Chase.
Information concerning col¬
leges, the application review
process, decision notification and
re-applying or redirecting applica¬
tions are just some of the topics the
transfer center is well versed in.
"There's a lot of stuff to think
about," John Mariano, an English
major, said. "Even with the
Internet, getting all the informa¬
tion I need is hard."
For students who have not yet
applied, the center will also pre¬
screen transcripts to show degree
and transfer status progress.
"It takes a lot off my mind," said
liberal arts major Daniel Gonzalez,
who will begin applying for trans¬
fer in the fall. "I was able to get a
Continued on page 7
Ryan Lam/Courier
Marco Valadez and Judith Puente from CLAVE Club explain the Special
Transfer Programs to a student on University Night on April 7.
Entertainment
Jazz recital
has audience
tapping its
feet.
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