The Brigham Young University Hawaii President's Council question and answer forum discussed security issues at Temple View Apartments (TVA) during the first part of the November 18 meeting in the Little Theater. Other questions included online courses, changes in the International Work Experience Scholarship [IWES], recruiting in Asia, and the new academic calendar.
President Steven C. Wheelwright [pictured above at right] noted a recent rash of nighttime security problems focused on the TVA parking lot, and BYUH Vice President for Administrative Services, Michael B. Bliss, explained several cars had been broken into and four were reported stolen.
"What's happened in the past is we'll have somebody, from the community, who was in prison get out and all of a sudden thefts go up. He gets caught, sent back to prison, and the crimes go down. Apparently, one of those characters is out right now," Bliss said.
He added that Housing has sent a warning around TVA, "and we have encouraged TVA residents to organize a neighborhood watch. If there are hundreds of eyes all watching that area, it will be a lot better than if we send by a Security officer occasionally. We would encourage everybody to participate in that, and notify Security if they see someone who's not supposed to be there."
Bliss also said Security plans to dedicate a nighttime officer to TVA and install wireless cameras that have helped other universities identify and apprehend thieves. "One of the other things we're going to try to do is put back the arm on the TVA parking lot gate, but every time we put that arm on, somebody breaks it off." He added the new cameras might also identify those culprits.
Several TVA residents in the audience, including one whose car had been stolen twice over the past couple of years, asked for more vigilance and better Security response time.
"We clearly need more cameras," President Wheelwright said, "because that's one of the best preventatives. It's also the way you catch people; but until we have those operating, we will provide more constant security."
Asked if BYU Provo's online courses are accepted at BYUH, and if so, are BYU-Hawaii's online efforts duplicating those, Dr. Max L. Checketts, Vice President for Academics, confirmed we have an agreement to buy and use Provo courses, "but we can't change them appreciably. In part, that's because most of their courses are copyrighted by their own faculty." He added students have to motivate themselves with those courses: "They're set up to work over a full year, and the failure rate is very, very high."
Checketts explained BYUH is trying to develop its courses closer to the BYU-Idaho model which are taken "in a semester time frame: They have scheduled things that are due every week, and they have peer-to-peer processes built into them." He also said some BYU-Hawaii online courses will incorporate EIL [English as an International language] components.
"We're working hard to make sure we have the right kind of courses for the age and maturity of our students."
Asked if IWES restrictions about owning cars applies to married student participants, or if they can travel to Kona when the Laie Hawaii Temple closes, Bliss replied, We don't have any plans to increase the amount of amenities in the IWES or future programs." He also stressed that "IWES students are on a budget that is very tight," and increased transportation expenses "would have to be covered from somewhere...or for a period of time they just do without, and get the free education."
Asked if recruiting efforts in Asia would reduce the number of students from Hawaii and the South Pacific, President Wheelwright replied no, and said, "In fact, our 10-year goal has us almost doubling the number of Hawaii students. We are putting together the marketing and admissions programs for all of our target areas." He added BYUH is working with Church Educational System schools in the South Pacific to encourage senior students to use our distance learning courses. "That's a great way for them to get some credits, and see if they're up to the standards of university-level work. All of the CES campuses in the Pacific have computer labs, so it's simply a matter of a group of students being enrolled in one of our courses at a certain time."
President Wheelwright explained the situation in the Far East is "quite different." In India, for example, he said in discussions with the two mission presidents there most of the potential students already speak English and have the equivalent of a two-or three-year degree when they go on their missions.
"We're developing a plan to treat that as an associate's degree, and bring them here for two years. The typical result would be they could double their salaries and get into the management ranks, simply by getting that two years worth of study here and a U.S. degree."
He added, "We currently have about 30% of our students coming from the Far East," which will increase to approximately 35%. "There's certainly going to be some growth in our student body from that part of the world."
In reference to whether the new academic calendar would increase costs, President Wheelwright explained that BYU-Hawaii tuition is set by the Board of Trustees at the rate of approximately $2,000 for a semester and $1,000 for a term, while the cost of attending two semesters and two terms in 2009 will be higher than the usual two semester, one term norm in 2008 and earlier, "you're still much better off to go to school for three years under the new calendar than four years under the previous one."
Other questions and answers included:
- How can students complete their finals with only one day set aside in the new calendar? Checketts replied, "We're not mandating how faculty administer their finals. They have until the end of the semester to give their tests." He added they need to consider what the best form of evaluation might be, which might mean breaking longer tests into two-or-more classes, have more assessments scattered throughout the semester, and/or make more use of the Testing Center.
- Will shorter semesters but longer classes affect students' ability to prepare? "We really need to make sure the faculty realize that 14 weeks is not 15 weeks," Checketts responded. "They can't keep doing the same thing...and then get to about week-12 and all of a sudden say I've got a bunch of stuff still to do." He also said students should expect to start learning from the first day of class, perhaps even before as faculty might email them assignments and syllabi.
- With the departure of an OB-GYN physician from the community, what is the school doing to ensure proper care is available for married students? President Wheelwright noted that our Health Services has met with nearby Kahuku Medical Center, which has arranged for two separate groups to each provide one day of coverage each week there; "so there will actually be more coverage on this end of the island than there has been, and they will take each other's patients."
- Would successful utilities conservation methods reduce TVA rents? "Yes," President Wheelwright said, explaining that Housing and Food Services are run on a break-even basis. For example, he said solar water heating — which would require capital expenditures to install — "will save money in the long term." He added, however, "we don't have any control over the rates the electric company charges."
The next question-and-answer forum will be held January 13, 2009 (the December forum has been cancelled) from 5 to 6 p.m. in Aloha Center 155/165. Questions may be submitted online at mailto:presidentsqanda@byuh.edu.