News

Study raises concerns over preparedness

A nationwide survey conducted by the University of California, Los Angeles, found that professors raised concerns regarding the level of academic preparedness of undergraduate students. The study, The American College Teacher: National Norms for the 2004-2005 Higher Education Research Institute Faculty Survey, found that, of the professors polled, overall only 36 percent think most students are sufficiently prepared for collegiate work. The report, which was originally administered in 1989, has been reissued every three years.

Rainey to spearhead Capital Campaign

As part of an approach to make the University one of America's best educational institutions, former University Rector Gordon F.

Remembering 9-11

Last night approximately 150 University students came together in the amphitheater to hold a memorial for those who lost their lives in the Sept.

Honor approves funding for faculty survey after debate

The Honor Committee voted unanimously last night to move forward with a faculty survey regarding the honor system and appropriate up to $23,000 to complete it. The survey will poll faculty members and teaching assistants on their knowledge, practice and opinion of the honor system as well as their thoughts on the effectiveness of the system. At the advice of the Faculty Senate, the survey will be conducted by Center for Survey Research Director Tom Guterbock. The vote also created an ad hoc committee to aid Guterbock in the creation of the survey.

Beta Bridge vandals issue apology letter

Three University students responsible for the graffiti on Beta Bridge, reported to Charlottesville and University Police Aug.

Mathematics scores have reached a record high, the College Board announced in late August in the release of their annual report, 2005 College Bound Seniors. This year's 1.5 million test takers scored an average of 520 on the mathematics section of the test, up two points from last year and 14 in the past 10 years. The average verbal scores have risen much more slowly, with an increase of four points over the past 10 years.

Hundreds seek Madison House opportunity

Strong interest in the Medical Services Program at Madison House left prospective volunteers in lines lasting longer then two hours and stretching from the doors of Madison House to the Mad Bowl yesterday. While the doors to sign up officially opened at noon, students arrived as early as 9 a.m.

Poppin' the question

City man cleared in sexual assault investigation

Christopher Lynn Matthew, charged on Saturday with sexually assaulting a University graduate student, was released from jail Wednesday evening after forensic evidence found him innocent, Commonwealth Attorney David Chapman said. According to a press release issued by the Charlottesville Police Department, DNA test results, which came late Wednesday afternoon, cleared Matthew of all charges and proved that he was not involved in the incident. "Mr. Matthew thankfully has been excluded as a suspect," Chapman said.

War of the worlds

The vernacular of the medical doctor is rife with words of conflict. Diseases are incursions by alien forces which must be fought off and destroyed by the benevolent immune system.

University expands January Term offerings

Promotion for a significantly expanded January Term began this week with a flurry of e-mails and advertisements after last January's successful pilot program. January Term 2006 will offer more than 400 students the opportunity to study on Grounds and provide study abroad student spots to another 110.

U.Va. outlines concert parking plan

On top of ticketing, lodging and travel, visitors for the Rolling Stones concert have one more logistic to figure out: parking. With 52,000 total tickets, the number of ticket holders from out-of-town may surpass that of a regular home football game. "It's a different crowd from football games because there's not going to be as many students," said Rebecca White, director of the University Department of Parking and Transportation. White said the department is offering different parking options, ranging from free to $15-20. In a recent release, the department reported that 1,500 "premium" parking spaces directly next to the stadium are available for $15 apiece through a lottery which began yesterday.

Study reports job growth in Charlottesville

The Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce released a study Aug. 31 showing overall job growth in the Charlottesville region over the past 10 years.

Football ticket demand high

The line stretched from Bryant Hall, through the parking lot and toward the Engineering School. Students pitched tents the night before in order to get the best tickets.

Beta Bridge investigation

A University press release yesterday announced that FBI investigators have determined the graffiti on Beta Bridge reported to Charlottesville and University Police Aug.

College Science Scholars

The University is known for many things, such as being Thomas Jefferson's most prized invention, girls with pearls, a "Sea of Orange" and a complicated system of abbreviations and acronyms that make up a large part of the vernacular on Grounds.

MAKING SOME NOISE AT hooFEST

Architecture faculty express discontent with buildings

Twenty-four professors from the Architecture School issued an open letter yesterday addressed to the Board of Visitors, the administration and the University community at large accusing the University of mimicking the Jeffersonian architectural style rather than constructing buildings in the spirit of the University's founder. The professors claimed in the letter that by merely copying the architecture it serves to belittle the legacy of Jefferson's original "Academical Village." "There is a growing and fundamental break between what we value and what we teach in the School of Architecture and how architectural themes are trivialized on Grounds," Architecture Prof.

Bill could lower rates on loans

The Education Committee of the United States Senate introduced its version of the Higher Education Act this week, an act which will determine federal education policy for the next six years. The Senate's bill differs from the corresponding legislation passed by the House of Representatives in July of this year on multiple points, including interest rates for federal student loans, college reporting requirements and the recommended maximum Pell Grant. The Senate Committee's bill seeks to lower the interest rate on student federal loans to a fixed rate of 6.8 percent from the current variable rate of 8.25 percent. The Senate legislation also includes numerous reporting requirements for colleges, requiring that they report the costs of tuition and attendance, the amount of financial aid awarded to students and teacher training, among other things.

Politics concepts may need links to reality

Political scientists from all over the world met in Washington, D.C. this week to discuss whether college students taking political science courses are able to take the concepts learned in the classroom and apply them to real-world situations. At the Annual American Political Science Association Meeting entitled "Mobilizing Democracy," some professors said they would characterize their students as generally apathetic and unaware of the current events that are relevant to their course of study, according to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Members of the APSA panel found they could better engage their students civically and intellectually by integrating articles from The New York Times into their classroom discussions, The Chronicle reported. "We professors have a duty to teach the academic literature and its reasonable applications in the world of politics," University Politics Prof.