Measuring College Success

VIDEO BY: Ajinur Setiwaldi

Data from Complete College America 

The University of Oklahoma may see a decline in graduation rates as result of the U.S. Department of Education's plan to broaden graduation rate reporting to include students who have previously been factored out of the equation.

Students who are traditionally not included in these measurements are nearly 75 percent of all undergraduates nationally, according to a Washington Post article by higher education reporter ,Daniel de Vise.

Current measurement standards excludes a substantial portion of students by requiring institutions to track graduation rates for full-time, first-time students, according to a press release by the Department of Education. The new measure “Action Plan for Improving Measures of Post-secondary Success” was created to accurately demonstrate how college students are preparing students for success in different ways, according to the press release.

The current system of measurement is problematic because it doesn’t accurately reflect the multiple factors that play into graduation rates, OU political Science professor Alisa Fryar said.

Fryar has been researching student success in higher education with a four year grant she received in 2008. OU's graduation rates is not an accurate measure of college success, Fryar said.

“Any statistic we have using first-time full-time freshmen is likely higher than the truth,” Fryar said.

OU is a four-year public college, yet it uses six year graduation rates to refer to student success, Fryar said. Even if we consider six year graduation rates to be on time, a significant portion of the student population isn't making it into the equation, Fryar said.

OU's six year graduation rates for the first-time full-time degree seeking freshmen cohort of 2005 is 67.8 percent, according to OU's 2012 Factbook. A little over 35 percent of the first-time full-time degree seeking students of 2005 graduated in four years, according to the OU Factbook.

OU's six year graduation rate with the current measurement is the highest in Oklahoma, according to Complete College America. It's higher than the national average rate of 55.5 percent, according to 2009 data from the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems.

According to that report, the state of Oklahoma has a graduation rate of 44 percent. Oklahoma ranks 42nd in the United States in terms of six year graduation rates, according to the NCHEMS.

“Behind the numbers we are masking a lot of other issues,” Fryar said.

Four-year and six-year graduation rates don't carefully consider part time students, transfer students, students who decide to change majors or study abroad and others who face a number of issues moving towards graduation, Fryar said. The numbers don't tell us much in terms of what challenges students face trying to achieve success in college, she said.

“Students have different struggles,” Fryar said.

Galen Buttitta, a astrophysics and linguistics junior, said he had to give up his four year graduation plan after having to change majors. Buttitta said he will graduate in six years because of his major change.

“I'm going to be here for a while,” Buttitta said.

Katie Trivitt, a mathematics freshman, said she has a four year graduation plan. Trivitt said that while she plans to study abroad a semester, she is going to take advantage of all the resources at OU to stay on track.

It's hard to stay on track when you can't control the system of obstacles, mechanical engineering junior, Phillip Baker, said. Baker is graduating a year later than expected because he had to wait a year to take a class offered only once a year, he said.

The new system may be able to better measure the success of students like Buttitta and Baker and still include rates for students like Trivitt who plan to graduate in four-years, Fryar said.

“It's going to be messy,” Fryar said. “But if they are able to do it, it's going to give us a better measure.”

The key to measuring college success and increasing graduation rates is about careful oversight and ongoing communication among policy makers, university officials and students to figure out what needs to happen, Fryar said.

Sources:
Alisa Fryar
Political science professor
(405) 397 7697
ahicklin@ou.edu

Katie Trivitt
OU student
katie.trivitt@ou.edu

Phillip Baker
OU student
Phillip.A.Baker-1@ou.edu

OU Factbook
http://www.ou.edu/provost/ir/Factbook_2012/Factbook12_TofC.htm

National Center for Higher Education Management Systems
HigherEdInfo.org : graduation rates

Complete College America : completecollege.org

U.S. Department of Education Press Release
http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/education-department-releases-action-plan-improve-measures-postsecondary-success

Article by Daniel de Vise
Higher education reporter at Washington Post
Author of College Inc. blog
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/college-inc/post/college-grad-rates-are-bad-data/2012/01/26/gIQAfmdKTQ_blog.html

Dog therapists relieve student stress

"A New Leash on Life" visits the Bizzell Memorial Library with therapy dogs.  PHOTO BY: Ajinur Setiwaldi

Three certified therapists visited the Bizzell Memorial Library Tuesday morning with a mission to spread love and good cheer to the stressed students preparing for finals. But Katie, Sunny and Jack aren't your typical therapists. They are canines certified by New Leash On Life Inc.

The dogs visited the University of Oklahoma on the invitation of Darin Fox, the director of OU's law library. They have visited the law library before, but this is their first time visiting Bizzell Library, Michelle Traw, a member of New Leash on Life Inc.,  said. 

New Leash on Life Inc is an Oklahoma-based organization that works to change people's lives by developing the special ability of service dogs, therapy dogs and rescued pets, according to organization's website. Volunteers and their certified therapy dogs serve as ambassadors of good cheer -- visiting homes, assisted living centers, hospitals and schools, according to the organization's website.

The idea is to get students' minds of their finals and get them to relax by having fun with our therapy dogs, Traw said. 

The friendly canines provide some stress relief to students stressed about their final exams and missing their own pets, Fox said. The therapy dogs are especially beneficial to law students who spend weeks reading thousands of pages to prepare for their final exams, Fox said. 

Fox said he invited several therapy dogs and their owners to the law library during finals week. 

"It's really intense and stressful," Fox said. "The dogs give them a little stress reduction."

 Michelle Traw and her therapy dog, Jack, were among the three teams present at Bizzell Library today. The therapy dog program was added to the organization in 2008 under the direction of Traw, according to organization's website. 

The therapy dogs visit over 22 facilities on a regular basis, Traw said. They visit elementary schools and get kids to read to dogs, she said. 

"We get a lot of positive feedback," Traw said. 

Fox said if student responses continue to be positive, he will invite the therapy dogs back to campus next semester.  

Sources:

Michelle Traw

organization phone: 405-2247715

Darin Fox

Director of Law Library

darinfox@ou.edu

Organization website
newleashinc.org

A Career in Politics

Friday, April 20

Andrew Porwancher moderates political careers forum.    PHOTO BY: Ajinur Setiwaldi

More than 80 people attended an event on Friday at Zarrow Hall featuring five government employees who discussed their political career experiences with students.

The Institute for American Constitutional Heritage, Carl Albert Center and the Political Science Club sponsored the event to get student thinking about careers in politics, IACH professor Andrew Porwancher said. The event is meant to allow students to get different perspectives of what it is like have political career, according to the Department of Political Science.

Porwancher organized and moderated the panel.

The panel included the deputy legal council from the Oklahoma Governor's Office, the director of communications for Lt. Governor Todd Lamb's office, an official from the US Department of Agriculture, a White House Cabinet Affairs employee and the public affairs director for Governor Mary Fallin, according to the event flyer.

Panelist discussed various aspects of their political careers with students and gave them advice on finding opportunities for and establishing careers in the political arena.

Politics isn't very glamorous; it takes a lot of hard work, Kelili McEwen, the public affairs director for Governor Mary Fallin's office, said.

“If you want to work in politics don't be afraid to get into trenches,” McEwen said.

Chad Maisel, a White House Cabinet Affairs employee, discussed the importance of networking in politics. Every office has its politics but conversation and collaboration is important, he said.

“Government workers are some of the hardest worker,” Maisel said.

Those who work in the political arena have a high degree of responsibility and accountability, Ashley Kehl, the director of communications for Governor Mary Fallin's office, said.

“Be politically minded,” Kehl said. “There is going to be a consequence for everything that comes out your mouth.”

After the discussion, there was a speed-networking session for students to discuss their career goals with the panelist.

This is the kind of event that should appeal to graduates interested in politics, Porwancher said.
It's important for students to understand what political careers are available and how they can start planning, he said.

A similar event may be held next year if there is a student interest, Porwancher said.

Sources:
Andrew Porwancher
IACH Professor
porwancher@ou.edu

Event Flyer

Panelists 

The limits of free speech

Wednesday, April 25

Andrew Porwancher discusses Stolen Valor Act.  PHOTO BY: Ajinur Setiwaldi

ROTC students discuss Stolen Valor Act at CSSA event. PHOTO BY: Ajinur Setiwaldi

A student association at the University of Oklahoma hosted their last discussion of the year on Friday at the Memorial Union about the constitutional limits of free speech, focusing on a recent Supreme Court case on the constitutionality of lying about military honors.

Andrew Porwancher, a professor at OU Institute for the American Constitutional Heritage, discussed the various free speech issues concerning the constitutionality of the Stolen valor Act. More than 35 people attended including members of the Constitutional Studies Students Association, the OU Reserve Officers' Training Corps and the OU community attended the event.

The discussion is the last event CSSA will host this academic year, CSSA president, Megan Marks said. The event is about an important part of our civic life, she said.

“Our goal for the event is to gain insights into this tricky area of free speech in order to better understand our right to speech under the First Amendment,” Marks said.

The Stolen Valor Act was introduced in 2005 to enhance protections relating to the reputation and meaning of the Medal of Honor and other military decorations and awards, according to govtrack.us. The bill was signed into law by former President George W. Bush in 2006.

This February, the Supreme Court heard a case concerning the Stolen Valor Act. The case centers around Xavier Alvarez, a former California county water board member who made false claims about having won the Congressional Medal of Honor, according to National Public Radio.

The topic is an interesting one because it questions the extent of the First Amendment, Marks said.

“Most people can agree that we shouldn't lie about topics such as receiving the Medal of Honor, but we can disagree on whether the Stolen Valor Act is constitutionally sound,” Marks said.

Porwancher discussed the differences between protected and unprotected speech and whether lying about military honors is protected under the First Amendment. Lying is usually only criminalized when it damages a specific individual or group, he said.

Free speech is a topic that affects us all an is vital in our democracy, Marks said. Free speech is an end in itself, Porwancher said.

“We have free speech because it's in service of all of Society,” Porwancher said.

There are no specific harms inflicted by Alvarez's false claim, Porwancher said.

“My sense is that they will strike down the law,” Porwancher said.

The United States vs. Alvarez case was last in the Supreme Court on February 22, 2012 , according to the United States Supreme Court Docket.

Sources:
Andrew Porwancher
IACH Professor
porwancher@ou.edu

Megan Marks
President of CSSA
meganmarks@ou.edu
740-417-6901

US Supreme Court Website
NPR

Islam and liberties in the Middle East

Turkish Journalist Mustafa Akyol discusses Islam and opportunities for democracy in the Middle East.  PHOTO BY: Ajinur Setiwaldi

More than a hundred people attended a presentation on Islam and opportunities for democracy and liberties in the Middle East by Turkish journalist and political commentator spoke Friday, April 13 at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Arts.

Mustafa Akyol, an internationally recognized journalist, talked about book, “Islam Without Extremes,” the Middle East and the importance of liberties and democracy in societies.

Akyol writes for one of Turkey's oldest English newspapers and his articles have appeared in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The International Herald Tribune among other widely recognized media, director of the Raindrop Turkish House Orhan Osman said.

The event was hosted by the Center for Middle East Studies, the Raindrop Turkish House and the Interfaith Dialog Student Association, according to the event poster. The Turkish Students Association helped organized the event, Nur Uysal, the spokesperson for the event, said.

Akyol talked about the limits on liberties in some Middle Eastern countries and refereed to Saudi Arabia as an example.

“There is this idea that you should be guarded, watched and monitored by the state to make sure you are a pious Muslim,” Akyol said.

The idea of cohered piety does not work, Akyol said. We need to figure out why some Middle Eastern nations have the idea of forcing religion upon people, he said.

Akyol provided Turkey as an example of a secular state that did the opposite by forcing women to remove their headscarves in public buildings. The problem lies in the authoritarian politics of countries, he said.

“Maybe it is not that the problem is religion or Islam,” Akyol said. “Maybe we should say there is an authoritarian culture in that part of the world and maybe we can detach Islam form the authoritarian political culture.”

Authoritarian Islamic regimes in the Middle East are not the products of their religion alone, Akyol said. When we speak about the history of Islam we aren't just speaking about the divine history of the religion, he said.

“There are many per-existing attitude, traditions and cultures that existed in that part of the world,” Akyol said.

At the end of the presentation, Joshua Landis, the Director of the Center for Middle East Studies, moderated a questions and answers section during which Akyol answered questions about Islam, Turkey and social and political issues in the Middle East.

Sources:
Mustafa Akyol – Speaker at event
Nur Uysal- spokesperson for event
nuysal@ou.edu; 405-606-9623
Orhan Osman – Speaker at event
Event Poster

Hearing Enabled

Commitment Statement: Connor Sullivan wants to spread the joy of hearing.

Twenty year old Connor Sullivan, a communication sciences and disorders sophomore at the University of Oklahoma, is an advocate for hearing after having undergone a procedure that enabled him to hear.

Sullivan wasn’t diagnosed with a hearing impairment until the age of four. He wore a hearing aid until December 2010 when he underwent a procedure that allowed him to experience hearing for the first time in many years.

“It was nerve wrecking,” Sullivan said. “It was the most pain I have ever felt. There were all kinds of risks, but when you get to that point in life, it’s worth the risk.”

Every day Sullivan goes to Starbucks and listens for his name after he orders. It’s really a wonderful feeling being able to hear your name called, he said.

There are 14 students registered with the Disability Resource Center this semester who  have hearing impairments, said Suzette Dyer, director of OU’s Disability Resource Center. But Sullivan is not one of them.

Sullivan said he isn’t registered because he is no longer permanently deaf; his cochlear implant enables him to hear and carry out a normal life.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved cochlear implants for adults in 1985 and five years later for children. Sullivan is among the approximately 67,000 people in the U.S. who have implants, according to the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.

Sullivan said his implant allows him to perform tasks he would not have been able to do before.
Without the implant, Sullivan said he wouldn’t have been able to become a reporter for OU’s student run newspaper.

“I would have never been able to conduct interviews without my implant,” Sullivan said.

Hearing allows individual a sense of independence they might not otherwise have, he said.
Sullivan said he made more friends after the procedure.

Sullivan said he wants to help others realize the world of opportunities he gained after his procedure. He is studying to become an audiologist.

“I want to help deaf people hear like somebody did for me,” he said.

According to the American Speech Language Hearing Association, both children and adults receive extensive rehabilitation services from audiologist after their procedures. Sullivan said he wants to become an audiologists his patients can relate to.

Stephanie Tadajewski is a communication sciences and disorders sophomore like Sullivan.
She recognized Sullivan from fourth grade and became friends with him this semester.

“He feels he has a calling to help other kids who are in his situation,” Tadajewski said.

Tadajewski said she will focus on the verbal communication aspect of communication disorders, and like Connor her goal is to help individuals communicate.

“He’s going to help the kids listen, and I’m going to help them speak,” Tadajewski said.


(VIDEO: Ajinur Setiwaldi, 2:04)




Sullivan's blog about his personal experiences: http://connor56.blogspot.com/
Sullivan's opinion column about hearing: http://oudaily.com/news/2012/mar/01/column-be-thankful-hearing-because-i-certainly-am/

Citation of non-human sources:

Boswell Susan. (2012). American speech-language-hearing association. Retrieved from          http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/Cochlear-Implant/

Fda u.s. food and drug administration. (2009, April 16). Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/ImplantsandProsthetics/CochlearImplants/default.htm

National institute on deafness and other communication disorders. (2011, March). Retrieved from http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/pages/coch.aspx

Women fall through faculty gender gap at OU

Sources:
Nancy Mergler
OU Provost
405-325-3221
nmergler@ou.edu

Micheal Nash
OU Press Secretary
(405) 325-3916
michealnash@ou.edu

Data from 2011 OU Factbook ;Graph by: Ajinur Setiwaldi

The Faculty of the University of Oklahoma is dominated by men with a majority of them occupying the total instructional faculty and deans' offices.

According to the 2011 OU Factbook, more than 80 percent of 391 professors on the Norman campus are men. Women occupied about 24 percent of all full professor positions at four- year colleges and universities in the United States, according to a report by the American Association of University Professors.

It has been forty years since Congress passed a law prohibiting sex discrimination in education. Yet women still struggle to be admitted to the top faculty ranks in colleges and universities, according to the American Association of University Professors.

The Association of University Professors report that in 2003, women occupied 43 percent of all faculty positions. They made up 39 percent of all full-time and 48 percent of part-time faculty.

Women occupy about 34 percent of total full-time faculty at OU, according to the 2011 OU Factbook.

The OU Institutional Equality Office has an affirmative action policy. OU is committed to the continuation and expansion of positive programs which reinforce and strengthen affirmative action policies because of its desire to ensure social justice and promote campus diversity, according to Institutional Equality Office website.

“OU recruits faculty at the national level,” said provost Nancy Mergler.

The percentage of minorities and women in each OU academic unit is compared with the percentage of minorities and women in the national availability pool for that discipline, she said.

Mergler said if the availability percentage within the national pool is greater than the incumbent percentage within the OU academic unit, deans, chairs and directors are informed of the number needed to mirror the national data.

According to the Fall 2010 faculty census and OU's affirmative action plans, the national availability data predicts that 341 of 921 of the regular faculty would be women. OU's actual percentage of women in the regular faculty is four percent lower than the prediction.

OU is constantly working to create and maintain a diversity, OU spokesman Micheal Nash said.
These efforts have created programs like the OU Cousins and Religious Studies Program, Nash said.

“In regard to faculty and staff, OU strives to maintain and further advance the diversity of our campus through each hiring process,” Nash said.

Waiting in the lobby outside The OU Daily

The lobby outside the Oklahoma Daily newsroom is a preculiar place in the evening. Students come in and out, some with smiles on their faces and others rubbing their temples. The custodian fire up her vacuum and greet students over the pleasant vroom of her equipment. Students who arrive too early for the 9 p.m. staff meeting wait in the lobby shifting through newspapers. Then as the meeting time approaches the entrance doors open, and the ID scanner beeps in recognition as students swipe their cards for passage into the newsroom.  VIDEO: Ajinur Setiwaldi Runtime: 00:51

Partisanship and media contribute to political misperceptions

Human Sources

Dr. Elaine Hsieh

(405) 325-3254

ehsieh@ou.edu

Dr. Pat Meirick

(405) 325-1574

meirick@ou.edu

Pat Meirick, a communications professor at OU, talks about the political misperceptions about changes during George W. Bush's term. PHOTO:  Ajinur Setiwaldi

    A communications professor presented his research analysis on political misperceptions Friday, 17 about health care death panels and the Bush era before a group of University of Oklahoma colleagues and students.

    According to the analysis, partisanship, political knowledge and exposure to different types of media are major indicators of political perception or misperception.

    Pat Meirick specializes in political and mass communications in the communication department at OU. His research typically examines media effects focusing on cognition and motivation, according to his profile on the Department of Communication website.

    “Political misperception is the difference between not knowing a political fact and believing in a falsehood,” Meirick said.

    Meirick presented his misperceptions analysis previously to the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication and the Midwest Political Science Association in 2011.

    According to a study published in Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly in 2008, people with more political knowledge and education are less susceptible to misperceptions.

    Meirick analyzed two studies, one about death panels and the other about change in conditions under George W. Bush. Partisanship and exposure to certain kinds of media play a major role in belief in myths like death panels, Meirick said.

   “The myth of death panels was widely repeated and believed by 30 percent of Americans,” Meirick said.    His analysis of death panel misperceptions are based on a 2009 study by the Pew research Center for the People and the Press.

    Biased news media like Fox can contribute to political misperceptions, Meirick said.

    “Fox news is an equal opportunity miss-informer across the parties,” he said.

    Television emerged as the most influential medium of predictor for political perceptions and misperceptions, said Meierick.

   Elaine Hsieh, also a professor in the department of communication, organized the research forum. Events like this is an opportunity for students to get to know their professors and their work better, Hsieh said.

   “A lot of students don't know their faculty members outside of the classroom,” Hsieh said.

   These research forums also allow professors to communicate their ides with colleagues and students, Hsieh said. Professors get to showcase their personal research, why they are reputable, and their scholarship, she said.

   The department will be hosting two more research forums this semester. Claude Miller and Jill Edy, both professors within the department will present their research analysis in March and April.

Searching for Identity

Sources:

Project Website: http://searchforidentitydocumentary.com/about.html

Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo Website: http://www.abuelas.org.ar/english/history.htm   

UNESCO Press: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/plaza_de_mayo_grandmothers_to_receive_felix_houphouet_boigny_peace_prize_at_unesco_headquarters/

John Schmeltzer

Engleman/Livermore Professor in Community Journalism

(405) 325-9020

j.schmeltzer@ou.edu

C.A. Tuggle

Professor of Journalism at the Univerisy of North Carolina

(919) 962-5694

catuggle@unc.edu

C.A. Tuggle answers questions while John Schmeltzer monitors the process. PHOTO BY: Ajinur Setiwaldi

   The Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communications hosted a film Tuesday about a group of Argentinian women's struggle to recover the identities of children stolen or born in captivity during Argentina’s civil war.

     The documentary was created by C.A. Tuggle, a professor of journalism at University of North Carolina. The film unfolds the story by providing historical and political context to the situation.

    John Schmeltzer, a professor in community journalism at the University of Oklahoma and organizer for the event, said Tuggle is a close friend of the Dean of Journalism, Joe Foote, who offered to host the film at OU.

    According to the film at least 10,000 and as many as 30,000 Argentinians were kidnapped, tortured and killed during the Dirty War from 1976-1983. The film documents the efforts of a human rights organization created by women who search for grandchildren they believe were stolen by the government during the war.

    “From the moment that our children disappeared, we visited every court, office, orphanage, daycare center, and so on to locate them,” the Abuelas published on their website.

    In 2011 the organization received the 2010 Felix Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize at UNESCO Headquarters according to the UNESCO Press. They were recognized for more than 30 years of fighting for human rights and recovering over the identities of 105 grandchildren.

    Tuggle's team worked closely with a crew of students the Catholic University in Argentina. It took two successive summers to complete the project, said Tuggle.

    “We were just there to tell a story,” Tuggle said.

    The film has been booked for screenings for over 80 universities and colleges in the United States, according to the documentary's website, searchforidentitydocumentary.com.

OU Women's Outreach to hold Pink and Black Ball for the Cure

 Sources:
K.C. Moore
Susan G. Komen Graduate Assistant
Women's Outreach Center
kcmoore@ou.edu
(405) 325-4929

Women's Outreach Center
Pink and Black Ball website
http://www.ou.edu/pinkandblackball/    





     The University of Oklahoma's Women's Outreach Center will hold a ball Saturday to raise awareness of breast cancer at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Natural History Museum.                     

     The proceeds from the Pink and Black Ball will go to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The organization is dedicated to research, awareness, education and prevention of breast cancer, K.C. Moore,a Komen graduate assistant, said.

    The ball will feature a live jazz band and disc jockey who will provide club tunes during the second half of the evening.

     The event is the eight ball the Women's Outreach Center has organized. Last year over 365 people attended the event, Moore said. Over $9,100 was raised towards Komen.

    Around 50 tickets have been purchased for Saturday's ball as of Monday; Moore anticipates over 350 people to attend the event. The goal is to raise over $10,000 this year, Moore said.

   “I think that everyone should attend the ball because all of the proceeds go to a great cause, and it is great time with your friends,” Moore said.

     Tickets for the events cost $15 each in advance, or $20 at the door. Raffle tickets for prizes including basketballs signed by members of OU's team, personalized training sessions from Huston Huffman, restaurant gift certificates, and a month of free parking at the OU Memorial Union parking garage can be purchased for $1 each.

     The ball will run from 8p.m to midnight.

Welcome to ASetiwaldi's Multimedia Journalism Blog

Greetings!
My name is Ajinur Setiwaldi, and I'm a journalism and political science junior at the University of Oklahoma.

An image of my book shelf.  PHOTO: Ajinur Setiwaldi

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