The Brigham Young University Hawaii President's Council replied to queries in the Question and Answer Forum on March 6 in Aloha Center 155/165 about academics, financial aid and scholarships, facilities, long-range planning, other initiatives and opportunities.
For example, asked if the annual BYU-Hawaii Business Conference and Business Plan Competition could be rescheduled "to allow other majors to participate," President Steven C. Wheelwright [pictured at upper right] said the Willes Center for International Entrepreneurship tried to spread the event activities around, "but it turns out many of them were in prime time and other students couldn't go." He added classes might be scheduled after 5 p.m. during future conferences.
A suggestion was also made to videotape the sessions for live web-streaming and future broadcast on the new 24-hour KBYU-TV channel now showing on Oahu on Oceanic Cablevision Channel 409. "I should mention in that regard that we've also received many new donors as a result of that programming," President Wheelwright said.
Asked if BYUH would consider fewer freshmen in favor of more juniors and seniors, or sending domestic freshmen to BYU-Idaho, President Wheelwright explained "most schools desperately want to hold on to their students who start as freshman, and Idaho is the same way. We imagine that we're still going to have a mix, and we'll look for ways to improve the quality of the students we're getting."
For example, Admissions is now proposing that Pacific students attend local colleges for their first year. "That would allow young men to go on missions, and then they could come here. That was well received."
"With that and distance learning, we are trying to get more students who are better prepared when they come here; and they'll probably need seven-or-eight semesters to graduate rather than eight-or-nine," he continued. He also said a new India initiative will bring students from there who already have two or three years of school before they arrive.
Next, a faculty member asked if it wouldn't be better for business majors to take another upper-level course instead of an introductory one. "The trade-off is that a lot of students take that introductory course to decide two things: Do I belong in business at all, which could be true of any introductory course; and even if I know I want to study business, I'm not sure what major within business is right for me" (i.e., accounting, management, hotel/tourism, information technology, etc.).
President Wheelwright added that he personally thinks such an introductory course with its multiple purposes and benefits would be very helpful at BYU-Hawaii, but "I would look to the Academic V.P., the Dean and the faculty to guide the development and pursuit of such a course."
The next question focused on why the landscaping in some areas is inconsistent with others, to which Michael B. Bliss, Vice President for Administrative Services, said the intent is to "give just as good of attention as we can to the beauty of every area on campus."
Asked if another cafeteria could be put closer to the library, Bliss said that's not feasible, but he noted that additional vending machines will be located on the new General Classroom Building (GCB) lanai when it's completed. President Wheelwright also added that our long-range planning is considering the right mix of food and vending services for the future.
The mention of future planning segued into a question about whether BYU-Hawaii plans to enroll 10,000 students in 10 years and how that would affect Laie, to which President Wheelwright responded that he had not heard such a 10-year goal previously.
"It is true we have a plan that, once we are able to get permits and build new student dorms, would enable us to add about 200-250 students per year. Assuming timelines for zoning and permits, we think we could start having some of those dorms in between a year-and-a-half to three years from now. That means if we started then, and added up to 250 new students a year for, say, the next seven years after that, we would then be at about 4,000 students 10 years from now."
President Wheelwright stressed that the CES Board of Trustees has not approved an expansion at this time, but that those figures "fit the growth of the Church in the Pacific Basin and what Admissions thinks possible, because we know the number of young Church members there in the age group who would consider coming to BYU-Hawaii over the next 10 years. That's basically how we got the 4,000 number." He also said additional classroom space would have to be developed, and better scheduling systems devised to allow any discipline to access any appropriate room anywhere on campus. For example, he said the university could use one or two rooms that would hold about 200 students for various purposes.
Asked how BYUH might raise awareness of energy-saving strategies, Bliss reported the university has formed the Energy Conservation Committee, and that last year "we were able to reduce the usage of electricity by 3 percent. We have every intention to continue to look for ways to save." For example, he said "more efficient light bulbs have been installed, we have encouraged people to turn off computers and lights when they leave the room, and the committee will be producing an energy-savings suggestion booklet."
In reference to the new IWORK program, which will absorb and enhance IWES by the beginning of First Term 2009, President Wheelwright pointed out orientation meetings have been held recently with current international students. During a recent trip to the South Pacific by Dr. Max L. Checketts, Vice President for Academics, and Arapata Meha, Director of Admissions, they reported news of the revisions was "very well received" by Church leaders and prospective students.
"Basically under IWORK, if an international student has [economic] need and is willing to work, we'll provide the rest of the funding so they can get an education. It's designed for members so they can return home to their countries or regions, qualified to provide leadership in building the Kingdom. It's completely consistent with the mission of the university, but it extends the reach of our financial aid."
President Wheelwright explained the "poorest mainland student can get just over $5,000 in a PELL Grant, and just over $5,000 in a Stafford Loan each year. That's about the same amount that will now be available to qualifying international students through IWORK. Think of them as roughly comparable." He added that the funds come from "generous donors who love this idea," and the good work habits the program requires is also an "important part of the students' educational experience at BYU-Hawaii."
Asked why the IWORK program does not cover the costs of textbooks, President Wheelwright said those costs have always been built into the budget, "but we've never given the students a separate check for them."
"We're also very actively looking and working with the other CES [Church Educational System] universities on alternatives to text books. The whole educational world is faced with this. One of the big costs is the distribution and inventorying of all those books," he continued. "I really believe in a couple of years we're going to be in an electronic world and students will print the part of a textbook they need, and pay a royalty for that part. For example, BYU-Idaho has had an agreement for a year-and-a-half with Prentice-Hall Publishers to use any part of their business library online for a fixed fee."
A non-IWORK student asked, "If I can't get the courses I need in my major in my third or fourth year, do I still have to stay over the summer to retain my place in university housing?" Lorraine Matagi of the BYUH Housing Office replied such students can retain their housing "if they attend at least one of the three terms, and they bring a certified MAP [major academic plan] from their advisor" to the Housing Office. She added that students going on a school-sanctioned internship can also retain their housing status.
"This is a transition year for our new academic calendar," added President Wheelwright, "so we're only offering about half the classes students will need this summer; but within a year or two we'll offer all of the classes."
Asked who administers the Interdisciplinary Studies program and if students can apply for IDS scholarships, President Wheelwright answered, "We want our Scholarship and Financial Aid Office administering all scholarships, but in many instances the actual candidates will be selected by a department or a committee." He noted for IDS scholarship consideration that the Faculty Advisory Committee is the "home" or "department."
:: The next President's Council Q&A Forum will be held Monday, April 6, from 12-1 p.m. in Aloha Center 155/165.
:: Queries may be submitted by e-mail to presidentsqanda@byuh.edu