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Pasadena City College
Thursday, September 23, 1999
Volume 85, Number 4
Board of Trustees Adopt
1 999-2000 Budget
A $1 30 million budget for
fiscal year 1999-2000 was
adopted at the board of
trustees' Sept. 1 meeting.
Included in the budget are
$9.1 in financial aid funds,
$1.1 million for the child
development fund and $9
million in capital outlay to
fund construction costs.
Nominations for Top
PCC Alumni Underway
The alumni office is asking for
nominations for recognition of
distinguished alumni.
Nominees must have attend¬
ed PCC and attained promi¬
nence in his/her career or
made a significant contribu¬
tion to the world, nation or
community. Forms are avail¬
able in the alumni office.
Today:
Partly Sunny.
High: 85 degrees
Low: 63 degrees
Tom morrow:
Isolated T- Storms.
High: 85 degrees
Low: 61 degrees
Saturday:
Partly Sunny.
High: 87 degrees
Low: 58 degrees
Sunday
Partly Sunny.
High: 90 degrees
Low: 60 degrees
Anniversary Coverage
The entire Diamond
Anniversary insert will be
reproduced faithfully on our
web site, as well as up-to-
date information on the
weekend's festivities.
Updated Calendar of
Events
Check out the newly
revamped calendar section to
find out what's going on
around campus.
Inside This Issue
The presidents of
the college, from
Harbeson to
Kossler.
Insert, Pg.
В
College pledges
to keep interns
at radio station
By Tim Alves
Staff Writer
The college’s board of trustees
has vowed to make continued stu¬
dent involvement at KPCC a top
priority in the partnership negotia¬
tions with Minnesota Public Radio
(MPR).
Board members have made stu¬
dent involvement a centerpiece of
the talks. “We want to maximize
the potential of the new station to
the community and the students.
MPR seems committed to that as
well,” said Warren Weber, board
member.
If negotiations are successful,
MPR and PCC representatives will
make up the governing body for the
station called Southern California
Public Radio (SCPR), with PCC
having one extra member. The
extra member could become useful
when SCPR’s board votes on
changes for the station.
“Keeping the license, having thd
extra member, and keeping the sta¬
tion a learning facility for students
were all part of the board’s list of
requirements from a potential part¬
ner,” said Weber.
MPR has said it would like to
upgrade the station’s facilities to
include the latest in digital technol¬
ogy that is fast becoming an indus¬
try staple. MPR has also proposed
setting up a program that will
Daniel Archuleta
/
Courier
Gianna Suter, a sophomore intern at KPCC, grooves to some tunes while at work. Some folks have all the luck.
expose telecommunications majors
to the latest in industry advances.
James Kossler, college president
thinks the idea of establishing a
technological “academy” will boost
the opportunities for not only stu¬
dents, but professionals as well.
“This academy proposal could
put PCC on the map as a prime
retraining facility. I think this could
become our natural niche,” said
Kossler.
Another aspect of the deal calls
for creating a news bureau with as
many as 10 reporters. Kossler said
that translates to increased opportu¬
nities for students to intern along¬
side working professionals.
“I think the station in the last
several years has accommodated
KPCC, Pg. C
Financial aid department audited
Federal and independent probes target non-compliance while problems mount for students in need of monetary aid
By Tim Alves
Staff Writer
Preliminary findings from a rou¬
tine audit by federal investigators
has found the college’s financial aid
department is not compliant with
federal guidelines for some pro¬
grams.
In this “program audit” the
Department of Education’s investi¬
gators turned up a couple of areas
where financial aid was not adhering
to proscribed federal rules about dis¬
bursement. Investigators found fault
with overcompensation for some
students participating in the
International Student
/
Travel
Abroad program and the way the
financial aid office monitored stu¬
dent enrollment status.
“This was a routine audit. It was¬
n’t triggered by anything, but it was
good because it shows us what needs
to be fixed, and it’s something we
can correct,” said James Kossler,
college president.
The federal auditors selected a
Ester Gonzalez /Courier
Students line up outside financial aid. Problems have plagued the department
small number of financial aid pro¬
grams to spot check and became
concerned with how Stafford Loans
were applied to the travel abroad stu¬
dents. The office was distributing
aid to “independent” students for
food and lodging, however, auditors
concluded that financial aid allocat¬
ed additional funds for this “cost of
living” stipend that was already
included in the price of the trip. In
essence, investigators concluded that
students were paid twice.
“The college will be contacting
some students in an effort to reclaim
some of the overpaid funds. If some
cannot repay the money, then the
college will have to absorb the loans
it can’t recover. Weill lose the
money,” said Kossler. Students who
received the additional funds will be
contacted by the college within the
next few months.
The investigators also found fault
with the way financial aid monitored
the enrollment status of students. Aid
is dispensed based not only on need,
but also on how many units the stu¬
dent is taking. Full-time students are
defined as taking 12 units or more
per semester for six semesters, while
part-time carries a load of 6 to 8.5
units per semester for 12 semesters.
Students are given different levels of
funding depending on full or part-
time classification.
Auditors found that financial aid
was disbursing checks without con¬
firming a student’s enrollment status.
A number of cases were found where
“This was a routine
audit It wasn’t trig¬
gered by anything,
but it was good
because it showed us
what needs to be
fixed, and it’s some¬
thing we can correct”
-James P. Kossler,
College President
students would begin the semester
with a full-time designation and
funding reflected that, however,
once aid had been approved and the
checks sent out, students would
already have dropped to a part-time
status with no reduction in benefits.
“Students are supposed to inform
us of any status changes,” said Kim
Miles, assistant dean of financial aid
services. According to Miles, before
the process of handing out aid even
starts, students are required to fill out
a standard “rights and responsibili¬
ties” form. Obligation number four
states that a student must “report
accurate admission enrollment infor¬
mation.” The “contract” must be
filled out before financial aid will
release any funds.
However, auditors indicated the
department must do a better job of
verifying a student’s actual number
of units before the aid checks are
handed out.
“The auditors say we have made
errors, and if that’s the case in the
final report then we’re going to cor¬
rect them. We’re going to identify
and rectify that through retraining,”
said Rod Fleeman, vice president of
administrative services.
“Sometimes students drop classes
and financial aid has to go back and
make sure the right amounts are
going out,” said Kossler.
Retraining has been underway in
the financial aid office for almost a
month, with the last session sched-
Audit, Pg. 7
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Accreditation of Nursing program imminent
By Gia Scafidi
Staff Writer
The PCC nursing division, sitting at
the top of the ranks in state board exams
again this year, is confident that it is
deserving of national accreditation. So
certain, in fact, that the division dean
has requested the National League for
Nursing Accreditation Commission
(NLNAC), the leading accrediting body
for all types of nursing education pro¬
grams, to come in and assess their reg¬
istered nursing (RN) program. PCC is
not required by law to be accredited, but
the college feels that this “voluntary
accreditation” benefits the students.
Mary Wynn, division dean of nursing,
said, “With national accreditation, our
students are recognized all over the
world.”
The PCC nursing program, estab¬
lished in 1953, received its first national
accreditation in 1958, and has been
accredited every year since. Lillian
Vosloh, PCC’s first nursing chair, col¬
laborated with the National League for
Nursing (NLN) in the ‘50s to establish
its standards. According to Wynn,
Vosloh also advocated the State of
California to change the three-year RN
program to a two-year program. This
made PCC one of only six community
colleges in the United States willing to
serve "as, a pilot school for a college-
based, two-year associate’s degree,
nursing program after 1956.
Having always been in the forefront,
the nursing division has established a
strong reputation for offering its stu¬
dents a solid foundation.
PCC’s RN program is unique from
most other West Coast programs in that
the faculty approaches the curriculum
differently. Nursing students are edu¬
cated in an integrated manner. In every
course, they cover the spectrum from
pediatrics, the study of children and
their diseases, to geriatrics, the study of
the biological processes and diseases of
old age.
This integrated approach, however,
isn’t the only special feature of the nurs¬
ing division. Its main focus of “health
promotion” also adds to the breadth of
knowledge and experience of the stu¬
dents. Wynn explained how this is
incorporated into the two-year RN pro¬
gram.
In the first semester, students leam
about the well person. They visit com¬
munity centers and events, which help
put their new knowledge into perspec¬
tive and provide them with real life
examples. The second semester deals
with chronic diseases and ways to help
one stay as healthy and independent as
Nursing, Pg. 7
Special Section
Diamond Anniversary Edition
Our four-page insert features every¬
thing you ever wanted to know about
Pasadena City College.
Then and Now
A photo essay
that showcases
the changes over
the years. Pg. D
