With 16,200 students enrolled this fall, Eastern Kentucky University’s enrollment is up 2 percent, President Doug Whitlock told the board of regents Saturday.
Freshman enrollment is up 6 percent and transfer enrollment is up 7, the president said. There is a downside to the positive numbers, however.
An overall increase of 2 percent with larger percentages of incoming freshman and transfers indicates the university is not meeting its retention goals, Whitlock said.
“That means we need to do more to help our students be successful,” he said.
Among retention initiatives, planned or under way, is an effort to better prepare high school students for college math courses, Whitlock said.
This fall, seniors at Madison Central, Madison Southern and Berea Community high can take a transitional algebra course that should help them avoid having to take a remedial math course when they get to college, he said.
The course being taught at the three high schools is designed for students who have completed one geometry class and two algebra classes in high school, but have not scored high enough on the ACT college admissions exam to qualify for a college math class.
The classes will benefit the university as well as the students, regardless of where they go to college, the president said. Eastern stands to get better-prepared incoming students, while the students will not have to pay tuition for college courses that will not count toward their graduation requirements.
“The number one indicator of college success is being able to pass college algebra without remediation,” said Dr. Bill Phillips, dean of EKU’s college of education, when the program was announced.
In the past, EKU has not done the job it should of indentifying, early on, students who are struggling, Whitlock said.
Over the past 10 years, about 60 percent of the Madison County students who took a developmental math class at EKU did not go on to earn a college degree, according to statistics released by the university.
The 48 percent of applicants accepted this fall, a high proportion, also indicates that EKU may be accepting too many students who are not fully prepared for college work, Whitlock said. The university also is working on ways to attack that problem, he said.
Other business
Construction of the performing arts center next to the Business and Technology building off the Eastern Bypass between Kit Carson Drive and Lancaster Road is 30 percent complete, the president said. It and the first phase of the new science building near the center of campus should be ready for occupancy when the 2011 fall term begins, he said.
EKU eagerly awaits both facilities, which will add about 400,000 square feet to the campus’ physical plant, Whitlock said. The university also realizes that their operation and maintenance will significantly increase campus expenses, he said, and EKU will include that in its state budget requests.
The university completed the fiscal year with its budget in balance, said Deborah Newsom, vice president for finance, despite a $1.5 million reduction in state funding.
Whitlock said the university had been told to prepare for a 4-percent cut in state funding.
“We were cut only 2 percent, but we still decreased expenses by 4 percent,” he said.
The state funding was cut by the lower amount because it applied $155,000 million in federal economic stimulus funding to education at all levels, Whitlock said. The university went ahead with the 4 percent expense reductions because the economy may not be fully recovered after the federal stimulus is spent, he said, and state funding may not have returned to previous levels.
EKU reduced expenses in part by freezing faculty and staff salaries, and Whitlock said he appreciated the understanding and support of university employees for his efforts.
Their support can be attributed in large part to the transparent manner in which spending cuts were applied, he said.
Work is progressing on the Walters Hall dormitory, said James Street, associate vice president for capital planning and facilities management. Because the structure’s brick façade was not properly installed when originally constructed, he said it must be completely replaced. The project also includes removal of asbestos from the building.
The $10 million cost is being funded from the university’s residence hall reserve fund, he said.
The regents voted to accept a faculty recommendation to eliminate fees when students drop or add courses.
The board welcomed three new members, gubernatorial appointees Nancy Collins of Hazard and David Sloan of northern Kentucky, and student regent Afsi Siahkoohi of Irvine.
Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@ richmondregister.com or at 624-6622.
EKU News
EKU enrollment up by 2 percent
Transfer students increase 7 percent
- EKU News
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EKU professor authors ‘Great Civil War Stories of Kentucky’
A century and a half after the first shots of the Civil War were fired, Dr. Marshall Myers, professor of English at Eastern Kentucky University, reminds readers of the harsh realities of war, and how it affected soldiers and civilians alike in his new book, “Great Civil War Stories of Kentucky.”
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Presidential debate delegation visits EKU
A three-member delegation of the Commission on Presidential Debates visited Eastern Kentucky University on Thursday.
EKU, which submitted a bid earlier this year to host a debate, is one of 12 colleges and universities nationwide competing to host four debates in 2012 — three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate. It is expected that the site selections will be announced this fall. -
EKU co-op program first in state to earn accreditation
Eastern Kentucky University’s Cooperative Education Program has become the first co-op program in the Commonwealth and only the 12th nationally to receive accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Cooperative Education.
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A chance for grads and bands to reunite
Eastern Kentucky University alumni and friends are invited to visit the campus April 29 through May 1 when EKU hosts its annual Alumni Weekend, highlighted this year by performances from former members of bands that played at Speck’s, the legendary nightspot previously in downtown Richmond.
Friday, April 29 will offer an evening of live music from the Speck’s bands, including former members of “The Maroons” and “The Exiles,” from 7 to 10 p.m. in the Perkins Building.The cost of $22 includes beverages, appetizers, the live music and dancing. -
EKU tuition, meals on the rise, again
Eastern Kentucky Univer-sity expects the state’s Council on Post-secondary Education to allow regional universities to raise in-state tuition by 5 percent for the coming academic year, according to EKU President Doug Whitlock.
On Monday, the EKU regents voted to take the maximum the council will allow and delegated its academic affairs committee to impose the increase after the council’s Thursday meeting. -
Spring fling
Morgan Jolly, Miss Kentucky Teen 2011, and an Eastern Kentucky University freshman education major from Versailles, prepares to pop bubbles Monday with Sanjay Blevins, a special education student at Model Laboratory School. Jolly and about 19 others who reside in EKU’s education majors’ Living and Learning Community and 14 Model special-ed students enjoyed an hour of fun at the college students’ invitation. Such events outside of their school setting helps special-needs children developmentally, said Jolly, who planned the event with roommate Amanda Hubler.
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California Schemin’
Amanda West, from left, Micah Daniel Bennett, Alyssa Will, Marshall Manley and Whitlie Rose rehearse a scene from Eastern Kentucky University Theatre’s production of “California Schemin’” Performances continue tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Gifford Theatre of the Jane F. Campbell Building. To reserve or purchase tickets, students and senior citizens are $5 and adults are $6, call the box office at 622-1323.
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EKU to host Science, engineering fair
Eastern Kentucky University will host the 9th annual Kentucky Science and Engineering Fair on Saturday at Alumni Coliseum. This is the state fair in which middle school and high school students from throughout the Commonwealth will be participating.
The event will feature the research of more than 215 students who have advanced through local and regional competitions across the state. They will be competing for ribbons, trophies, scholarships and special awards from corporations and various organizations.
The high school students who are selected as the Best of Fair will be a member of Team Kentucky that will represent the state at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles in May.
The public can view the student’s work from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday inside Alumni Coliseum on EKU’s campus. The awards ceremony will begin at 4 p.m. in Brock Auditorium in the Coates Building. -
‘Brain Rules’ author to speak at EKU
John Medina, author of the New York Times bestseller “Brain Rules,” will present a public lecture Tuesday, March 29 at Eastern Kentucky University.
His talk, “Brain Rules for Teaching,” will begin at 6 p.m. in Walnut Hall of the Keen Johnson Building. There will be a question-and-answer period following the session. -
Environmental ‘Hero’ to speak at EKU
Graciela Chichilnisky, recognized by Time Magazine in 2009 as one of the “Heroes of the Environment,” will speak at Eastern Kentucky University Thursday, March 31.
Her presentation titled “Avoiding Extinction” will begin at 7:30 p.m. in O’Donnell Hall of the Student Success Building. It is part of the University’s year-long Chautauqua lecture series and serves as the sixth-annual Distinguished Lecture in International Studies and keynote address for Women’s History Month. The event is free and open to the public. - More EKU News Headlines
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EKU professor authors ‘Great Civil War Stories of Kentucky’
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