Demand grows for online classes at UA
Tuscaloosa News – April 24
…’You’d think that moving a classroom completely online would make it less interactive since you’re losing that face-to-face connection,’ Dahl said. ‘But it’s actually been the opposite for us. Online has allowed us to be much more interactive, and it has actually enriched the courses we offer even more.’ But along with that popularity grew a stigma: Is a degree earned online as valuable as one obtained in a brick-and-mortar classroom? For students who choose UA for an online degree, Dahl said that isn’t a problem. ‘When you enroll in an online degree here, your transcript will look the same as a student who is actually on campus,’ she said. ‘You get the same courses, the same content and the same faculty.’ The College of Continuing Studies currently offers prospective students 10 undergraduate degrees and 30 graduate degrees in which all of the course work can be completed online…Mike Hardin said providing those people with the opportunity to improve their resumes during hard economic times is one of the things he’s most proud of in UA’s online offerings. ‘I know there are people out there working and supporting their families and they realize that education is important and I think online provides them an opportunity to better their career and improve their overall well being,’ said Hardin, senior associate dean of UA’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration…As far as the future for Continuing Studies, Dahl said she and her staff are focused on supporting the colleges on UA’s campus in bringing their courses online as well as getting the word out to more students in Alabama and across the nation about the many opportunities. ‘We’re focused on supporting the colleges of this university. If a college here wants to add a course we’re here to support their efforts in doing so,’ she said. ‘We always want to offer things that are meeting a need.’
Doc Justice to screen six student films
Crimson White – April 25
The Bama Theatre will host the fifth annual Documenting Justice Screening this Tuesday, April 26, starting at 7 p.m. The screening will feature six student-created documentaries about justice and injustice in Alabama, with each film running about 10 to 11 minutes. The event is free and open to the public. Andrew Grace, the director of Documenting Justice, described the class as “an interdisciplinary, year-long documentary filmmaking class designed for non-film makers.”… “[Attendees] will see six original short documentary films dealing with stories in Alabama,” Grace said. “They’re really great student films, which is kind of an oxymoron sometimes, but not in this case.”…
2011 job market improving
Crimson White – April 25
… “The job market is improving, although at a slower pace than desired by most people,” said Samuel Addy, director and research economist for the University’s Center for Business and Economic Research. “The truth is that rebuilding the economy will take time. The Great Recession took a long time to hit us and when it did, it was fast and rough.”Addy explained that the job market is much more favorable toward degree holders. The unemployment rates posted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics correspond with Addy’s assessment. Statistics show that the job market is much more available to people who have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher rather than others competing in the job market… “They have a much better chance [of getting hired right out of college] than the students who graduated in 2008, 2009 and 2010,” said Ahmad Ijaz, an economic analyst with the University’s Center for Business and Economic Research. “The U.S. went through the deepest and the longest recession since the Great Depression and almost 8 to 9 million people are currently unemployed. It takes a while for employment to get back to the pre-recession levels.” Ijaz went on to explain that, although the class of 2011 will have a better chance of being hired out of college, not everyone will be hired into the career of their choice. Some graduates may find themselves in a profession that they had not originally planned on and may want to head in alternative directions for the time being, he said. “Right now, with the way the labor markets are, graduate school might be the best option,” Ijaz said. “The next best option will be to get a part-time job, which sometimes can work into full-time jobs.”…
3 pilots who died in Bay of Pigs remembered
Air Force Times – April 24
… In 2008, University of Alabama historian Howard Jones released “The Bay of Pigs,” a critically acclaimed book that provides a dramatic, concise account of the missteps leading to the invasion, the disaster that followed and its role as a crucial turning point in the Kennedy administration…Jones is one of the experts interviewed in an upcoming documentary produced by the University of Alabama Honors College “Lights Camera Alabama” project, which encourages honors students to produce films about Alabama history…UA student Samuel J. Dotson was drawn to this chapter of Alabama’s history not only by its intrigue but also because of his Cuban heritage…That familiar claim is an injustice to the men who gave and risked their lives, said Larry Clayton, a history professor at the University of Alabama. “The Alabamians were most certainly not ‘paid mercenaries’ who were fighting for a wage. They all considered this to be a legitimate extension of their obligations as warriors in the Cold War,” Clayton said in an email interview. Clayton, part of the team that made the film “Playa Giron,” is of Cuban heritage and has written two books on Cuban history; he is working on a book about the air battle above the Bay of Pigs…
History News Network – April 25
University of Alabama experts: State economy hurt by higher food, fuel costs and Japan disaster
Birmingham News – April 23
Economists at the University of Alabama Center for Business and Economic Research say the state’s economy is being affected by higher food and energy costs and that its auto industry is being hurt by the disasters in Japan…The UA economists say higher food and energy costs are “constraining broader consumer spending gains.” Pump prices are approaching $4 a gallon, and food inflation is running at a pace between 4 and 5 percent, according to analysts at Morgan Stanley.
Birmingham Business Journal – April 23
Students say ticket system a success
Crimson White – April 25
…Grant Venable, a senior majoring in electrical engineering, said this is his fifth attempt to order student tickets. Venable said this year’s system worked the best of his collegiate career… “Before these past two years, everyone I knew complained about not getting tickets, even though they got up like 45 minutes before ordering time,” Venable said. “Now it’s just one mouse click and you’re done and it seems like no one is complaining.” Venable said the new system was as perfect as it could be, but wondered about the $6 fee…Molly Lawrence, associate vice president for student affairs, said the Student Government Association has been working hard to improve the process. “The SGA has continuously solicited input from the student body concerning the student football process,” Lawrence said. “For example, students indicated a preference for the ticket order process to be conducted during the school year rather than after the conclusion of spring semester. “The [Student Government Association], working with all of the University departments who collaborate collectively to conduct the process, was successful in having the process implemented during the spring semester.” Lawrence said from her perspective, this year’s process has gone well.
UA fraternity members help clean-up at Northport Elementary School
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – April 22
…The Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity at the University of Alabama helped Northport Elementary spruce up its green space. Students also picked up litter all around the school, filling several trash cans…
UA dancers share talent with students at Arcadia Elementary School
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – April 22
Dancers from the University of Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre visited Arcadia Elementary to perform… The dancers are part of a program that teaches public school children dance techniques during their P.E. time. UA dance professor, Sarah Berry, told us the program teaches children how to use their bodies to express emotion.
UA international students share their cultures with Tuscaloosa elementary school children
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – April 22
International students from the University of Alabama attended “culture fest” at MLK Elementary School. They brought money, clothing, and artifacts from their country and the kids walked around learning about the different countries and cultures…
Theatre performance to benefit AIDS Alabama
Crimson White – April 25
Celebration!, the University’s theatre student outreach group, will hold its spring performance “Alabama Arts for AIDS” in Morgan Auditorium this Tuesday, April 26 at 7:30 p.m. The show will feature a night of song and dance benefitting the AIDS Alabama outreach program. The cost of the show is free, but donations are encouraged, as the proceeds will help the charity spread awareness and prevention of AIDS as well as perform projects and events in the future…