Megaphone (Georgetown, Tex.), Vol. 90, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 21, 1995 Page: 1 of 12
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: The Megaphone and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Southwestern University.
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Southwestern University
'Die best newspaper on campus"
\ olumc 90 September 21. 1995 Issue 4
SU leaps forward
in U.S. News ranks
Chloe Puett
Megaphone staff
In the recent US News
and World Report, SU
strengthened its new
foundations of initially high
rankings in the National Liberal
Arts College category.
According
to Eric Van
D a n e n ,
Director of
Public
Relations,
S U
improved
“across
the board”
in every
area that
US News
rates its schools by.
John Lind, Vice
President for Enrollment
Management and Director of
Financial Aid, credits the
Carnegie Foundation with
“develop[ing a] methodology
for classifying students,” which
US News and World Reports
incorporates in their rankings.
This classification is upgraded
periodically.
“Since the last change
in the system, we’ve become a
more selective place
academically,” Lind said.
The complex,
mathematical
system in
which the
report
“basically
turns out all
these
numbers
and makes
their
rankings
accordingly,”
as Van
D a n e n
explained it, places SU in the
second tier of schools, at exactly
number 67 in the nation.
“Last year was our first
year in the national liberal arts
colleges category,” Van Danen
said.
Due to what Lind and
Van Danen see as evident
improvements in both the
academic and physical aspects
of the university, SU “came
into the national section from
the regionals at number 84 [out
of 164], in the top of the third
tier. Now we’ve jumped another
17 spots to get to number 67
[in the second tier],” Lind said.
Prior to entering the
national categories and ranking
as top national liberal arts
college in Texas, SU acquired
the status of “best in the West”
for the regional category.
This year’s report,
which reflects first-year
students that entered in the fall
of 1994, ranks schools based
on how they do in ten areas:
average SAT/ACT score, first-
year students in the top 10% of
high school class, acceptance
rate, yield (or percentage of
accepted students attending),
student/faculty ratio,
education expenditure
(endowment) per student,
freshman retention rate,
graduation rate, alumni giving
rate and academic reputation.
The categories of SAT/
ACT scores and first-year
students graduating in the top
10% of their high school class
“are basically beyond our
control,” Van Danen said.
“However, freshman retention
rate and graduation rate are
rising numbers. I guess we re
controlling those by doing a
better job at making the student
See Rankings on page 3
US News and World Report
improved SU's ranking as a national
liberal arts college from 84 to 67.
TIDBITS
News
^Residence Hall
Association kicks off Its
first full year at SU.
^Theater Department
prepares for Its first
production this year.
Sports
Biennis, lacrosse teams
face new coaching
situations.
SSA faces plus/minus in first Town Meeting
Carrie Hale
Megaphone Staff
Southwestern Student
Association (SSA) will hold its
first town meeting on Tuesday
at 11 am in the SUB Ballroom. It
will be preceded by a closed
planning session tonight at 6
pm.
This evening’s meeting
will primarily be a gathering of
SSA members to approve newly
elected officials, set goals and
outline the agenda for
Tuesday’s town meeting.
Tuesday’s agenda will
not only include topics
encountered this year, but will
also continue debate over the
plus/minus grading system
controversy which began last
year.
“The plus/minus
grading debate is going to come
back after some research and
review last year,” explains SSA
Chair, Senior Lee Silva. “The
issue not only affects students,
but professors as well, so some
more thought needs to be put
into it. The debate will most
likely continue throughout the
year.
Other pertinent issues,
such as prices at the Pirate’s
Cove and the bookstore, will
also be deliberated at the
meeting.
“Before the year even
started,” recalls Silva, “I had
people come to me and ask
about the ‘price-gouging’ at the
SUB.”
Apparently, there is
also a proposal to begin a
“textbook co-op” that would
encourage students to donate
some used books to the library
in order to lighten other
students’ economic load.
On this issue Silva has
much to say.
“The ‘book exchange’
affects students, because they
have to shell-out the money to
buy them. It effects the faculty
also, because they have to take
price into consideration when
picking out textbooks for their
classes. And I imagine it would
affect the bookstore quite a bit.”
As for her expectations
regarding SSA this year, Silva
affirms that the student body
as a whole will become more
involved.
“A lot of people think
that they don’t have a hand in
what goes on,” Silva said.
“However they have more
power than they assume. Many
people think that the only way
to affect change is to be on
Council, but their are other
ways to voice opinions.”
Last night, the Student
Affairs Council, a branch of SSA,
held their first meeting of the
year. During the meeting, it
was brought up that some
faculty members in the
Humanities Division have
discussed mock rush,a preview
of spring rush that is held in
the fall, and whether or not it
defeats the purpose of having
deferred rush in the spring.
“There was concern
that mock rush is trying to bring
rush back into the fall semester,
but 1 think it is not,” SAC
member Allyson DuBose said.
“It is more to alleviate the
anxieties of freshmen women
about going through rush.”
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Megaphone (Georgetown, Tex.), Vol. 90, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 21, 1995, newspaper, September 21, 1995; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth634866/m1/1/?rotate=270: accessed June 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Southwestern University.