Wintermester Accelerated Course FAQ s

Transcription

1 Wintermester Accelerated Course FAQ s A) How does this course offering impact Financial Aid? It will be part of the Spring 2013 disbursement. B) Will Financial Aid cover the course? Per the Interim Director of Financial Assistance, On the financial aid end of things we pay all financial aid 10 days before the first day of class as long as the student has completed all financial aid processes. This payment, keep in mind, is prior to the traditional Spring semester beginning, NOT prior to wintermester. Furthermore, because the enrollment software used throughout the NSHE (of which WNC is a member institution) is not particularly end-user friendly, per the Director of Admissions and Records, The creation of a new semester such as a "wintermester" would require extensive set-up. If WNC decides to create such a semester and offer multiple classes, it is possible. Discussions would need to take place regarding all the implications. It is not feasible to do such a set up for one class and not possible to do this in a few weeks time. Hence, WNC is unable to separate out BIOL 251 (or its payment) into its own semester. See also part E, below C) Will it lower Financial Aid disbursing for Spring 2013? No you will, however, have to pay for BIOL 251 up front and reimburse yourself when you receive your Spring financial aid disbursement. That said, IF you are purged because of financial aid issues, only, Dr. Carman will sign a permission to enroll form for you to be re-instated on 7 January 2013 it s up to each individual student to follow up on financial aid matters and stay abreast of the purge date, as well as non-financial aid-receiving students to make sure you re paid in full so as to not be purged. D) How much will the course cost? It looks like $ including the $50 lab fee and the tech fee per Page 1 of 5

2 E) When does the course have to be paid for? By the day before it starts (14 Dec 2012). In addition, per the Director of Admissions and Records: If we determine that a student has paid for this class the day prior, and then let's say the student signs up for two additional classes but does not pay for the other two classes - the student will be dropped from all classes, including Biology 251, during our January 4 purge. The system does not recognize the bill according to some money applying to a certain class or classes - it simply will drop a student who has a balance from all classes for the one term. This means that if you don t pay for ALL of your Spring classes (and BIOL 251 by the day before it starts) before January 4 th, 2013, you ll be dropped from ALL of your Spring 2013 classes INCLUDING BIOL 251. This includes paying for BIOL 251 up front per the Interim Director of Financial Assistance: [All] students will need to pay for this class up front [, whether they receive financial aid or not.] Do keep in mind that the agreement between WNC administration and Dr. Carman is that there MUST be six (6) enrolled AND paid students to allow the course to be taught over wintermester. F) I ve never taken an accelerated course before (including summer courses). What are they like? Accelerated courses cover the same material as a traditional course in a much shorter timespan. At present, Dr. Carman is offering two accelerated courses (BIOL 223 and 224) that run for 8 weeks apiece. That means that students enrolled in these courses attend class and lab in half the regular semester time, for twice the classroom/lab periods per week, e.g., rather than 6 hours a week, they attend for 12 hours a week. It does require doubling the required study time each day outside of class. This course, BIOL 251 over Wintermester (to borrow a term from UNR), meets for five (5) full weekends over Christmas Break to meet the 4 credit requirement: 10 hours a day for the 5 weekends. That increases the minimum required study time, as well, to be academically successful. As of this writing, data shows that there is no overall statistically significant difference in student performance as measured by grades between traditional and accelerated courses. Indeed, while there was no statistical difference, there was a practical difference (improvement!): students who completed the accelerated BIOL 223 in Fall 2012 showed Page 2 of 5

3 higher overall performance, less attrition (and, hence higher course completion), higher lowest grades and no failures. That said, these courses are for stronger academically prepared students who are willing to buckle down and do the work and not for those who need more time to digest the material. There is another benefit: these accelerated courses provide the student with an idea of the intensity and labor involved in nursing (or allied health care) programs without actually being in a nursing (or allied health care) program. Furthermore for students who complete all three (3) of these courses, they will have completed three (3) pre-nursing prerequisites in about one (1) semester instead of two (two). Bear in mind that these courses are NOT watered-down Dr. Carman uses the same information, format and presentation style in his traditional courses. G) Will the bookstore be open over break so we can get our lab coats and goggles? No the bookstore will be closed over break. If you have already taken one of Dr. Carman s courses and have kept your lab coat and goggles, you re good to go. If you have not taken one of Dr. Carman s courses in the past, contact Dr. Carman well in advance of the end of the semester and he ll purchase the lab coats and goggles ahead of time and students may pay him back in cash (same price as in the book store) the first day of class for the items (or go to the bookstore well in advance of the end of the semester and obtain the required goggles and lab coat). The total cost of the lab coats and goggles is $ H) I work for the State of Nevada and have heard that WNC turns the heat off in their buildings over winter break. Will the classrooms be warm enough? All WNC facilities fall under the State Administrative Manual, Energy Conservation criteria that requires maximum building temperature in the winter of 68 degrees, and that the summer minimum temperature will be 78 degrees. It also states that portable space heaters are not permitted. The actual verbiage is: The division has an energy conservation program involving state-owned and leased buildings. Buildings temperatures will be kept at a maximum of 68 degrees F. in the winter and a minimum of 78 degrees F. in the summer. In addition general office lighting levels will be kept between 50 and 70 candle power. Page 3 of 5

4 Buildings will not be heated or cooled during weekends and after regular office hours unless specifically approved by the administrator of the buildings and grounds division. Space heaters will not be allowed unless authorized by the division. Thank you for your understanding of the limits imposed by the State of Nevada. We will have heat in both the classroom and the lab however your idea of being warm may be different from mine. In the past, students have brought layers to class to change into and out of to be warm; there was even a student who brought a quilt one year. I have no problem with you doing that Coleman makes a nice sleeping bag for under $30 at Walmart in Carson City ( Bag/ ) that is quite comfy and will keep you toasty in lecture. A stocking cap will keep your feet warm, too. In lab, it s another story: the lab is cool to begin with. We need that coolness for the media you ll be using. Comfortable clothing (and the proper footgear) with long johns and a sweat shirt and a stocking cap will keep you comfy in there as you move around, you may have to take layers off beware. I) I don t see any time for eating lunch or snacks. How do we handle that? In several ways: 1) There will be times that you will complete your lab experiments well in advance for the allotted time. Since Lifted won t be open, you can run down to Save-Mart or 7/11 or Starbucks or Burger King or McDonald s for a bite. 2) Brown bag it Dr. Carman brown bags exclusively and has the same time issues. Microwaves are available in BRIS and in CED. There is no microwave in ASP. Please remember that if you do brown bag, to clean up after yourself in the classroom: Dr. Carman may be a mother, he is, however, not YOUR mother :-) We will take periodic breaks for the restroom and to stretch. J) How did you establish the class-room, lab and teaching schedule? First, I had to make sure we had 45 clock hours of instruction and 45 hours of lab times scheduled. Secondly, I wanted to capitalize on optimal attention spans and time of the day so you would be able to stay along with the information as we progress. Page 4 of 5

5 Thirdly, jumping back-n-forth between buildings from class to lab will give your legs a stretch and help keep you focused and sharp. Fourth, the final exam was scheduled so as to give you optimal time for comprehensive study. K) Where s lecture meeting? REYN 103. Where are we meeting for lab? 201 ASP. This Page Designed, Updated and Uploaded 2 December 2012, 1324 hours, PST Page 5 of 5