tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24623554576405116812024-03-13T08:12:04.119-07:00John Cuturic, Cleveland Stater reporterJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17166049457942788877noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462355457640511681.post-48897060850577909092014-05-14T20:52:00.001-07:002014-05-14T21:00:06.470-07:00Big Switch was rushed, but got doneOn clevelandstater.com:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In the past year, almost every department at Cleveland State
University has had to revise its curriculum from the ground up. In a
series this semester, the Stater will look at some of the changes. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
For the last issue this semester, we talked to University Curriculum
Committee Chairman Billy Kosteas and member Nigamanth Sridhar, and asked
how the Big Switch went overall. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Kosteas, a Department of Economics professor, said the Big Switch went
fairly well. But he said everything was very rushed. Because of that,
the UCC had to approve some proposals it normally would have sent back
for a closer look. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"If we were given a reasonable amount of time, we really could have
given a lot more scrutiny to each of the proposals and done things
properly," Kosteas said. "But we weren't allowed to do that." </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Kosteas said he and other faculty members advised against the tight
schedule. He said even if the UCC had an extra year, the change still
would have been rushed. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Everybody who knows curriculum and curriculum change," Kosteas
said, "everybody top to bottom agrees that the timeline was a huge
mistake." </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
There's a perception among many faculty members that the Board of Trustees ignored their advice in setting the schedule. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
But as the Chairman of the Board, Robert Rawson, was out of town, The Stater could not reach him for comment. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Kosteas said any problems in the courses will be ironed out over time--the problem has been advising. Ideally, academic advisers should
have started preparing students a year ahead of time. But the university
only finished planning the switch this year. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"That's the reason why universities take their time doing these
things," Kosteas said. "You need to give students time to make the
changes to their schedules." </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
He said the university is trying to avoid making students take extra
courses. But on the other hand, if it waives too many requirements,
students might not get everything they need. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"That's actually the bigger concern, I think," Kosteas said. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Sridhar said transition advising has gone well--more than two thirds
of students have already seen an adviser. Kosteas said the UCC expects
students who haven't seen advisers yet to do so when they schedule for
fall 2014. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Message to the student community: if you haven't seen your
adviser yet, please go see your adviser," Sridhar said. "Don't
risk having to take extra courses." </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The switch has also been hard on faculty. Sridhar said that every
faculty member at Cleveland State faced challenges during the conversion
process, in many cases at the cost of their research. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Things have definitely taken a hit," Sridhar said. "Scholarship has taken a hit. If you just look at my own case, I
haven't had the time to be as productive as I usually am in terms of
producing papers and doing research, because I just haven't had the
time." </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
UCC members had it particularly hard. Sridhar said that during the
change, each department wrote a course conversion packet, which it
reviewed and then sent to its college Curriculum Committee. After that,
the packets came to the UCC. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The UCC went through the packets looking for a 25 percent reduction
in the content of each course (to match with the loss of one hour). It
also checked that courses still fill the same roles. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"If it's a course from the math department, and I'm an
electrical engineer, I can't tell them 'this is what you should be
doing,'" Sridhar said. "But if the course had WAC status, does the
course still meet all the requirements? That sort of thing." </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
After that, the UCC looked at how programs changed from a 128-hour
standard to a 120-hour standard. The Faculty Senate also looked at the
course conversion packets and program conversions. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The UCC didn't review the departments' transition plans--the
provost convened a committee called the Transition Team to do that. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Sridhar said that while the process has been difficult, departments
all met their deadlines, and faculty did well getting it done. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I think the process has been difficult, but it's gone
through," Sridhar said. "There's been a lot of work at various
levels. As a university community, the faculty has come together really
well and put this thing together." </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
He said the UCC expects two or three more years of leftovers from the
Big Switch. It will also start a comprehensive review of Cleveland
State's General Education courses, to make sure they still meet their
criteria. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
But Kosteas said that next year will probably be a quiet one in
curriculum changes, because the university will try to avoid having
students operating on three different catalogs. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Now that the curriculum change is winding down, Kosteas said he hopes to get back to working on his research. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The last year and a half has been so draining," Kosteas said. "I think I need a few weeks. Once the semester's done, it'll be a
lot easier to get back into the rhythm."</blockquote>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17166049457942788877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462355457640511681.post-72385069747412048682014-04-03T10:48:00.003-07:002014-04-03T10:48:41.892-07:00Men's golf finishes strong in MemphisComing soon to <a href="http://clevelandstater.com/">clevelandstater.com</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Cleveland State University’s men’s golf team competed at the Memphis Intercollegiate on Monday and Tuesday this week, coming in eleventh place out of 15 teams.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Cleveland State had its best result from senior Andrew Bailey, who tied for an individual third place.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“After an extremely rough start to the event, we played quite well in the last two and a half round,” said Steve Weir, men’s golf head coach. “Andrew Bailey stepped up and played really well, finishing third individually in a very deep field.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Vikings’ Horizon League rivals, the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies, came in fifteenth place.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The tournament kicked off a busy April for the Vikings. They’ll travel to Columbus and Detroit. At the end of the month, they’ll play in the Horizon League championship at Howey in the Hills, Fla.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“If we play well, we like our chances,” Weir said. “But the Horizon League tournament will come down to us taking care of the small things, both in our preparation over the next 24 days as well as when we tee it up April 25 to 27.”</blockquote>
</blockquote>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17166049457942788877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462355457640511681.post-3094413875231800822014-04-03T10:47:00.003-07:002014-04-03T10:47:56.587-07:00Big Switch 5: Psychology department hopes splitting stats course will improve student success ratesComing soon to <a href="http://clevelandstater.com/">clevelandstater.com</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In the past year, almost every department in Cleveland State University has had to revise its curriculum from the ground up. In a series this semester, the Stater will look at some of the changes.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This issue, we talked to professors Kathleen McNamara and Mike Horvath from the Department of Psychology. McNamara is the chair of the department, and Horvath is the undergraduate program coordinator.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
They said that by the time the Big Switch began, the Psychology department had already made large changes to its curriculum. These came into effect in fall 2013. McNamara said carrying out the fall 2013 revision laid a lot of the groundwork for the Big Switch.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Most of what we did, we did a year early,” Horvath said. “Then during the transition, we adapted that to three credits.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The biggest change that students will see from the fall ‘13 revision and the Big Switch is a change in the department’s statistics requirement—in the past, students were required to take PSY 311, Behavioral Science Statistics.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
But PSY 311 was a challenging course for psychology majors, and students from many other departments also took it.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“It is one of the courses in psychology that has a higher student non-success rate than we like,” McNamara said. “It’s one of our more challenging courses for students.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The department decided to divide PSY 311 into two different, three-credit courses—courses which will now be called PSY 217 and PSY 317. They hope that the new courses will increase the student success rate.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“We’re covering what we’ve tended to cover in the past in more depth,” Horvath said.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In the fall ’13 change, the psychology department also made some changes to their capstones—students will be able to take either PSY 412, a lab course that will give them hands-on experience, or PSY 415, which will familiarize students with psychological research.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Students will take more elective courses in the new model, but about the same number of credit hours. The undergraduate psychology major, which used to be 40 credit hours, will now be 42.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Horvath said that the department has some challenges—there are three different sets of requirements ‘in play.’ There’s the pre-fall ’13 catalog, the four-credit-hour fall ’13 catalog and the three-credit-hour catalog after the Big Switch. With a combination of four and three-credit courses, some students may wind up with odd numbers.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“If you have 38 hours as a result of the transition, we will waive [the remaining] two hours,” Horvath said.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Horvath said that when the Big Switch came around, there was a lot of work Cleveland State faculty had to do very quickly. But the psychology department had time to think it through, since they did a lot of the thinking before the fall ’13 revision.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“I don’t think the changes in psychology are anything other than carefully thought-through and planned,” McNamara said.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Note</b>: The print version of this story contained an error. Due to a typo, "success" was misspelled as "sucess" in the headline.</blockquote>
<div>
<br /></div>
</blockquote>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17166049457942788877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462355457640511681.post-47016706748058690652014-03-20T11:16:00.000-07:002014-03-20T11:16:30.473-07:00Big Switch 4: International business streamlines core courses, adds electivesComing soon to <a href="http://clevelandstater.com/">clevelandstater.com</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In the past year, almost every department in Cleveland State University has had to revise its curriculum from the ground up. In a series this semester, the Stater will look at some of the changes.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This issue, we talked to Professor Ashutosh Dixit, the director of the International Business program at Cleveland State. Dixit said that the changes to the program haven’t been too drastic, but the department has tried to streamline the core of it.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Now the core is much more straightforward,” Dixit said. “That’s a strength. By reducing the courses in the core, there are a lot more options in the electives now.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The International Business program has changed its foreign language requirement (8 credits) to a prerequisite. Students can fulfill the prerequisite with high school classes or college classes.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In the old plan, students were required to take two courses from the Modern Languages department. The requirement is still the same, but students who finished the work in high school won’t have to take those classes here.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“[Students] will still need to have at least two courses in a foreign language,” Dixit said. “So it’s not going away, it’s just that there’ll be a little more flexibility for the students.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Dixit said that the core of the program is much more straightforward. In addition to the core for Business students, International Business students will take INB 301 International Business, and INB 495 Consulting (INB 495 used to be INB/MKT 495, but now it’s only an International Business course).</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Students will also have to take an international business experience course—this is either an internship with an international company or a study abroad course.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“There’s a course that we have in England, and then there are the short trips, the International Study Tours,” Dixit said. “These are going to France, Abu Dhabi, China, South Korea, Belgium and the Netherlands. So they’re going to several countries.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Dixit said that after the conversion, students in International Business will take eight different electives (up from four in the past).</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Students can choose from a list of international courses offered by other business departments from Marketing to Operations Management. Dixit said that the International Business program is very interdisciplinary, and that the list of electives will grow with time.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“We’ll think in terms of how to strengthen the program in the future,” Dixit said. “Right now, it’s a very good program, and we’ll keep on working on it.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
He said that knowing about international business will become more important for students in the future.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The whole society is changing to become a more global society, and there is nothing that’s not global now,” Dixit said. “This is something that our students will have to face in the future.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Cleveland State urges students caught in the middle of the big switch to check the Grad Express Degree Audit on CampusNet, and see an academic advisor before registering for next semester.</i></blockquote>
</blockquote>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17166049457942788877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462355457640511681.post-66179743436054213082014-03-20T11:15:00.001-07:002014-03-20T11:15:23.338-07:00Lady Vikings end season with 2 lossesComing soon to <a href="http://clevelandstater.com/">clevelandstater.com</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The women’s basketball team finished their season the weekend before spring break, with a regular season loss to Youngstown State and a narrow defeat in the Horizon League quarterfinals versus UIC. </blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
After the two losses, the Vikings end their season at 14-16.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“This season will leave us with a feeling of unfinished business,” said Coach Kate Peterson Abiad, “and motivate our players to prepare in the off-season to compete for a championship in 2014-15.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Against YSU, the team saw a lot of good offense--junior Cori Coleman led the Vikings with 22, and three other players were in double digits.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
But despite the Vikings’ best efforts, the Penguins held their lead throughout the game.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
After that, the Vikings, 5th seed in the Horizon League, played the 4th-seeded UIC Flames. UIC scored the first 15 points, but the Vikings fought back to as close as 65-66.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Leading the team in scoring was junior Imani Gordon with 22 points, and freshman Olivia Voskuhl with 15. Voskuhl didn’t miss all night. </blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Cleveland State shot better from the field, but the Flames had 40 rebounds, 18 on offense, compared to the Vikings’ 28.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Vikings fought hard, only down 70-72 with 12 seconds left on the clock--but the Flames were able to hold on to their lead at the free throw line and finish up 77-72.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Cleveland State’s Imani Gordon was named to the First Team All-Horizon League, and freshman Khayla Livingston to the Horizon League All-Freshman team.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“I wish we could get started on next season right now,” said Abiad. “We have a real feeling of dissatisfaction and a real desire to get back on the court and compete.”</blockquote>
</blockquote>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17166049457942788877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462355457640511681.post-10285808159248426222014-02-27T11:04:00.002-08:002014-02-27T11:04:37.995-08:00Big Switch 3: Modern Languages to try new courses, time blocksComing soon to <a href="http://clevelandstater.com/">clevelandstater.com:</a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
In the past year, almost every department in Cleveland State University has had to revise its curriculum from the ground up. In a series this semester, the Stater will look at some of the changes.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
This issue, we talked with Professor Tama Engelking, the chair of the Department of Modern Languages. She also sits on the University Curriculum Committee, which is overseeing the university-wide change.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
“When we reconfigured our majors, it was a good opportunity to add a couple things in and change a few things,” Engelking said.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
Modern Languages had made changes to its two majors--French and Spanish--that will give students more knowledge about foreign cultures.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
Engelking said that in the Spanish major has combined a Latin American literature and a Spanish literature class into one, and they have changed degree requirements so that students will take both SPN 345 on the society and culture of Spain, and SPN 346 on the society and culture of Latin America.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
“[Students] used to have to just take one civ [cultural class]--either Latin American or Spanish civ,” Engelking said. “Now they take one of each, so there’s more emphasis on civ.”<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
Spanish has also added one credit of outside-the-classroom work near the end of the degree track in SPN 496--students can tutor, do service learning, or work on some personal project.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
In the French major, Modern Languages has added an entirely new culture class--FRN 346, “Modern France from WWII to Today,” which will teach students about contemporary French culture.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
Engelking said that the introductory, first and second-year courses in the Modern Languages department didn’t need to make the change to three credits, because the state standard is for these classes to be taught in four credits.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
“Predominantly around Ohio, those courses are a mixture of five, four and three credits, with four being the dominant model,” Engelking said. “So all of our first and second-year courses are still four credits.”<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
Strangely, keeping these classes four-credits has caused problems for the Modern Languages department with Cleveland State’s new block scheduling. The department has had to request new blocks of time.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
While at some big universities, the standard for language courses is for students to come five days a week, that model has never been in place at Cleveland State. The Modern Languages department will be trying classes in two, three, and four-days-a-week blocks.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
“The new schedule is set up to accommodate three credits,” Engelking said. “It was hard to try to fit our classes into that new schedule.”<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
Engelking said that the department might also try to move some more work online in a “flipped classroom.”<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
“The idea is that you have the students do a lot more of what’s usually taught in class online,” Engelking said. “There are grammar explanations that they can listen to over and over until they get it, and then when they actually come to class, it’s more interactive, [and focused on] using the language.”<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
The other major challenge that the department faced was moving its capstones from four to three credits. But in each case, there is a study-abroad version of the capstone available. Engelking said that these classes will stay at 4 credits--because they’re not happening at Cleveland State, they are exempted from having to make the change.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
If students take their capstone course at Cleveland State, in Spanish they’ll take a 1-credit capstone plus a 3-credit 400-level course. In French, they’ll take a 3-credit capstone course. But Engelking said that most French students choose to take their capstone abroad.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
Engelking said that the Modern Languages department has worked on trying to get students to minor or double-major in a language, especially if they’ve done some of the necessary work in high school. She said that its very easy for students studying abroad to get a language minor.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
“Too often,” she said, “I think advisers say, ‘Oh, you had 3 years of Spanish in high school?’ Check, you don’t have to take it anymore,’ rather than saying, ‘Oh, are you considering building on that, making it a minor or a double major?’”<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
Engelking said that she’s interested to see how the new courses are going to work out in the classroom next year. She said that in the future, the Department of Modern Languages is hoping to add Italian and Chinese minors.</blockquote>
There wasn't space in the story, but Dr. Engelking also said that the department hopes to build up its Japanese program, and it will offer Hungarian classes next year.Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17166049457942788877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462355457640511681.post-25000820975879166722014-02-27T11:00:00.001-08:002014-02-27T11:00:26.590-08:00Men's tennis wins as women fall shortComing soon to <a href="http://clevelandstater.com/">clevelandstater.com:</a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
The men’s and women’s tennis teams both faced double-headers last weekend at the Paramount Tennis Club in Westlake--the men took home two authoritative wins on the weekend, beating both Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne and Oberlin, while the women fell to Bowling Green and Toledo.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
The men’s team beat IPFW 6-1, and closed out Oberlin 7-0.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
“Last weekend was a good match. They fought hard, but we stayed one step ahead,” said Brian Etzkin, the coach of Men’s and Women’s Tennis.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
Against IPFW, the doubles team of Ali Shabib and Joe Vanmeter won an 8-1 match, helping Cleveland State roar out of the gate. Matt Kuelker and Manuel Bellutti won a much closer match, 8-6. Cleveland State players took all but one of the singles wins.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
With the win against Oberlin, the Men’s Tennis team brought their score on the season to 5-4.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
Senior Matt Kuelker had a lot of success last weekend--against both IPFW and Oberlin, he played in a winning doubles team. He also picked up singles wins against both teams. Kuelker won the 70th singles match of his college career.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
“Matt has played all over the top half of the lineup for the last thre years,” Etzkin said. “He could move up a few more spots on the all-time win list.”<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
The women’s tennis team continues to struggle--they lost against Bowling Green 1-6, though they came very close to taking the doubles point--it came down to a 7-8 defeat in the third match. In singles, sophomore Mathilde Orange picked up the team’s only point.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
The next day against Toledo, women’s tennis lost 2-5. Freshman Lauren Golick, coming back from an injury, got one of the Vikings’ points. The other one came from another freshman, Princess Gbadamosi.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
Most of the matches were close, but after the weekend women’s tennis has a score of 1-7 on the season.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
“The women aren’t 1-7 for lack of effort,” Etzkin said. He said that the womens’ team has had trouble with injuries and illness--but recently, they’re starting to recover.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
“Today might be day one moving forward,” Etzkin said.<br />Cleveland State’s tennis teams will both play next on Feb. 28, in Saint Louis, Missouri.</blockquote>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17166049457942788877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462355457640511681.post-52107011294261023032014-02-13T11:32:00.007-08:002014-02-13T11:32:58.197-08:00Women's golf falls in Florida<a href="http://clevelandstater.com/">clevelandstater.com:</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Cleveland State University women’s golf team won one and lost two in Florida last week, in Mid-American Conference match play.<br /><br />The team had matches with the University of Toledo Rockets and the University of Akron Zips on Feb. 3. They lost to Toledo 1.5-3.5, and beat Akron 3-2.<br /><br />The Vikings’ point against Toledo came from senior Allyson Hackman, and their half-point came from junior Colleen Miller. Miller and Vikings senior Shelly Ford won against Akron, with two more half-points to give Cleveland State the win.<br /><br />The day after, the Vikings lost the fifth-place match to the Northern Illinois University team. Ford closed out a strong weekend by taking a win against Northern Illinois, and senior Micaela Cronin got a half-point with a clutch birdie on the final hole. But it wasn’t quite enough, as the Vikings fell to Northern Illinois 1.5-3.5.<br /><br />The women’s golf team will play next at the Benbow Invitational, starting March 10.</blockquote>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17166049457942788877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462355457640511681.post-87941513852517595522014-02-13T11:32:00.002-08:002014-02-13T11:32:15.452-08:00Failure cases teach engineering students at CSU what not to doComing soon to <a href="http://clevelandstater.com/">clevelandstater.com:</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
An engineering professor at Cleveland State University is bringing forensic engineering into the classroom, teaching students by looking at ways that engineers have failed in the past.<br /><br />Norbert Delatte has written a website full of forensic engineering case studies (matdl.org/failurecases). Forensic engineering, according to the Technical Council on Forensic Engineering's website, is the application of engineering principles to study failures. At Cleveland State, Delatte brings some of these examples into the classroom.<br /><br />"So for example, if I'm teaching a course on reinforced concrete design, I'll typically talk about some reinforced concrete failures," Delatte said.<br /><br />Delatte said that after the latest grant to the Technical Council, many different universities are starting to take this approach and see how it works. He said that in his classroom, students have responded well.<br /><br />"It's stories," Delatte said. "People like stories. And maybe it makes it a little bit more real. It reinforces the fact that they're going to have these responsibilities. If you're designing and building bridges, you have a responsibility to protect the public that's traveling over them."<br /><br />Delatte started his work on forensic engineering during his years with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He said that both military officers and engineers have responsibility for people's lives and safety.<br /><br />"I kind of draw parallels between the level of responsibility of being an engineer and being an army officer," Delatte said. "There's some relationships, but you don't want to stretch it too far."<br /><br />Delatte, who has written a book on forensic engineering, recently gave an interview to the Plain Dealer about the way the cold snap will affect Cleveland buildings.<br /><br />The Plain Dealer asked him about the effects of extreme cold, but he said that the real problem comes when there's freezing and thawing. When water can work its way in and then freeze and expand, that can hurt buildings. But when the temperature stays under freezing, conditions are actually better for buildings.</blockquote>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17166049457942788877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462355457640511681.post-72034487978326533222014-02-13T11:31:00.001-08:002014-02-13T11:31:13.406-08:00Big Switch 2: Education to make courses more clinically basedComing soon to <a href="http://clevelandstater.com/">clevelandstater.com:</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In the past year, almost every department in Cleveland State University has had to revise its curriculum from the ground up. In a series this semester, the Stater will look at some of the changes.<br /><br />This week, we’re going to look at the College of Education and Human Services. According to the dean, Sajit Zachariah, the school was looking at changing its curriculum even before Cleveland State decided to switch to a three-credit model.<br /><br />Zachariah said there have been some changes to the accreditation requirements for training teachers. He said the push in the field is to make classes more clinically based, which means that education students will spend more time in actual classrooms.<br /><br />“We can put them into classrooms more, so they’ll get a feel for the work,” he said.<br />The first class that students will take to put them in the field, according to Zachariah, will be called Rotation and Seminar 1. The students will take it along with some co-requisites, to give them things to work on in the classroom. After that, students will move on to Rotation and Seminar 2 in their next semester.<br /><br />Zachariah said that making the change to fit the new requirements while also changing from four-to-three credits took a lot of heavy lifting from the faculty. But he said that he’s happy with the new curriculum.<br /><br />“Students may learn about technology or classroom management and then try it directly,” Zachariah said,<br /><br />Zachariah also said that, with students spending more time in the field early on, they can decide early on if they really want a career in education.<br /><br />“One of the saddest things for me is when a student completes a lot of the degree work, and then realizes he or she doesn’t want to be a teacher,” he said.<br /><br />Zachariah said that they haven’t decided on specific schools yet, but he knows that the program will work with MC2STEM and the Campus International School. He said that he’s happy with the way things have turned out.<br /><br />“Faculty and administration have come together to make sure that students are not negatively impacted,” he said. “My hope is that this will go smoothly. This is not going to be perfect, but the curriculum process is never perfect.”<br /><br />Zachariah said that departments at Cleveland State will have to keep refining their curriculums.<br /><br />“We have to learn from what we put in place, and take that feedback, and improve it even further,” he said. “I think we need to keep in mind that this is not the end product.”</blockquote>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17166049457942788877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462355457640511681.post-85981071063860252312014-02-04T11:53:00.000-08:002014-02-04T11:53:03.204-08:00Wrestling team loses, score 4-39Coming soon to clevelandstater.com:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Cleveland State University wrestling team lost a meet at home
with the Edinboro University Fighting Scots last Friday, with a score of
4-39. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A few of the Vikings put up good fights Friday, but some of us just
got beat. Coach Ben Stehura said that Edinboro is the strongest team in
the Eastern Wrestling League. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“You look at this match, these guys are the best in EWL,” Stehura said. “So we got them out of the way first.” </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Vikings’ one win came from freshman Nick Montgomery, who put us
on the board with a 9-1 major decision over Edinboro’s Jeff Miller. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The closest bout of the night was the heavyweight match between the
Vikings’ Riley Shaw and the Fighting Scots’ Ernest James. Shaw was
neck-and-neck with his opponent. At the end of his first overtime, when
it looked like he’d be pinned, he slipped out and managed to reset.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Shaw fought his way out of more than one impossible-looking situation
in that bout, but in the end he would lose 3-4 in double overtime. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Stehura said, “[The heavyweight match] is going to be the match to go to
nationals, just like it was last year. He beat us in the regular
season, and we beat him in the tournament when it mattered.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Stehura said that he thinks the wrestling team, currently struggling
with a season record of 1-6, has a lot of matches coming up that they
can win. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“We’re looking to win some matches and have a winning record in the EWL,” Stehura said.</blockquote>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17166049457942788877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462355457640511681.post-54789677438069472162014-02-04T11:51:00.001-08:002014-02-04T11:51:21.359-08:00How are courses changing?Coming soon to clevelandstater.com: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In the past year, almost every department at Cleveland State University has had to revise its curriculum from the ground up. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This semester, the Cleveland Stater will take an
in-depth look at the ways that some of the departments at Cleveland
State are changing to fit the 3-credit model. In our first issue, we're
going to take a look at the School of Communication. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
According to Director George Ray, last fall the School submitted revised degree tracks for all its majors. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Ray said that the Journalism and Promotional
Communication track and the general Communication track have been
approved. Film and Digital Media and Communication Management are still
waiting for news. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Professor Gary Pettey, director of JPC, said that
professors had to readjust the entire JPC program to keep getting
students the same information. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Last summer, we cut one credit from every class," Pettey said. "That's 25 percent of the class material." </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In JPC, the new curriculum will combine PR and
advertising into one sequence, called Promotional Communication. Pettey
said that most companies are no longer ad agencies or PR agencies —
instead, modern companies combine the two. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
One of the most notable changes is in the class COM
425, currently Editing and Graphics. In the past, students in this class
have put together the School of Communication newsletter,
Multichannels, or another School of Communication publication like
Compass.<br />
Now students will make Multichannels in COM 447, a capstone for the new Promotional Communication track. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The department has also added a number of new
classes — most notably COM 335, Multimedia Presentations, which aims to
teach JPC students how to use multimedia. Students will learn how to
capture video and take pictures with cell phones, and edit their
presentations on the computer. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="texty">
"Even some of the classes with a similar name and number have been changed," Pettey said.</div>
<div class="texty">
He said that the School hopes to open up lab space
for Promotional Communication students — to make a lab similar to the
Cleveland Stater office which Journalism students use now.</div>
Pettey said that JPC students caught in the shift
from 4 credits to 3 credits should come and meet with him to plan for
graduation. Pettey's email address, to make an appointment, is
g.pettey@csuohio.edu. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="texty">
In the Communication Management track, Ray said, the
classes will mostly stay the same as before. However, the professors
have submitted a proposal to reduce the track's required credit hours
from 40 to 36--not to 39, as many departments are choosing.</div>
Professor Jill Rudd, advisor for the general
Communication and Communication Management tracks, said that that
general communication hasn't changed much. But like Pettey, she said
that Communication students caught in the middle of the change should
make certain to see an advisor. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
According to Evan Lieberman, the director of Film
and Digital Media, FDM will be phasing out the media studies track and
combining Digital Media with Film, and that will be called Film,
Television and Interactive Media. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"We wanted to reflect the convergence that's
happening within the field," Lieberman said. "The field is no longer
separated the way it once was. It's much more integrated, much more
complex." </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Lieberman said that he is excited about the new
curriculum. The Film, Television and Interactive Media track will be 45
credit hours. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"We're going bigger," Lieberman said, "but it's
going to be a much better major. I'm very, very enthusiastic about these
changes." </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="texty">
CSU Faculty: if you want to talk about the ways your department is changing, email the reporter at j.cuturic@csuohio.edu.</div>
</blockquote>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17166049457942788877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462355457640511681.post-88023484666228076512013-12-05T11:10:00.001-08:002013-12-05T11:10:06.340-08:00Final issue of vol.15<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheZIo7zfGGmDHuZaOkAqfd89aFEFRnTTqxVvwOcK1W0xvo0l3skw1jDYIPXnT391TUkdzYB9BcJrRuVxG8mTMwdi8_W6o40R_fJyRmod32PvtaTdc5TOR_JtZZzN7qi-Zn9uhpLJBq4-g/s1600/Stater+board.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheZIo7zfGGmDHuZaOkAqfd89aFEFRnTTqxVvwOcK1W0xvo0l3skw1jDYIPXnT391TUkdzYB9BcJrRuVxG8mTMwdi8_W6o40R_fJyRmod32PvtaTdc5TOR_JtZZzN7qi-Zn9uhpLJBq4-g/s1600/Stater+board.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Cleveland Stater newsroom.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
"GONE FISHING" (after finals week).<br /><br />Look for more updates after Winter Break. See you around.<br /><br />From,<br />John CuturicJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17166049457942788877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462355457640511681.post-64092158421500420402013-12-05T11:03:00.002-08:002013-12-05T11:03:31.027-08:00Volleyball ends season in Milwaukee<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Cleveland State University volleyball team ended their season Nov. 23, falling in the Horizon League semifinals to the UW Milwaukee Panthers. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The team’s semifinal performance finishes off a 16-13 season, where the Vikings saw both a 5-game winning streak and a 6-game losing streak. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Vikings ended the regular season by beating Milwaukee 3-2, with double-doubles for senior Kerry Winchester and junior Maggie Hannon. But the Vikings fell a few kills short in their playoff match. The scores of the first three sets: Milwaukee 25-23, Milwaukee 25-21 and Cleveland State 25-23. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A big story for the volleyball team is the loss of star outside hitter Kara Koch, who graduated after last season. The team had 1,558 kills last season, and 1,487 this time around. Koch scored 500 in her senior year. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Vikings’ offensive leader this year was freshman Grace Kauth with 305 kills. Hannon took 297 and made the All-Horizon-League Team. Winchester scored 233 kills--along with Annie Djukic, she played her last season this year. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Going forward, the Vikings’ offensive hopes have a lot to do with Kauth, who made the Horizon League All-Freshman team this season, and sophomore Christina Toth. Toth scored 231 kills this season. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
On the defensive side, sophomore Nikki Holmes posted a team-high 495 digs, good for about 4 and a half per set. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The team will lose Djukic and Winchester next season, but fans saw some strong performances from underclassmen this time out. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Next season promises to be an exciting one as we return the majority of our team,” said Vikings coach Chuck Voss. “Everyone is excited for the future.” </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Who knows if we’ll get back to 23-7 next year -- but we’re definitely going to have a team to look forward to.<br /></blockquote>
</blockquote>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17166049457942788877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462355457640511681.post-27991151359112795072013-12-05T11:01:00.000-08:002013-12-05T11:01:23.197-08:00Former Vikings goalie Brad Stuver drafted to pros<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Columbus Crew, a major-league soccer team, has selected former Cleveland State University goalkeeper Brad Stuver in the 2013 MLS Waiver Draft.<br />
<br />Stuver, a Cleveland State graduate from Twinsburg Ohio, spent the 2013 season as a pool goalkeeper. This means that an MLS team in “extreme hardship” which had lost some of its goalkeepers could call Stuver up as a replacement. Stuver was on the gameday roster for four different teams last season, but he hasn’t yet made his MLS debut.<br />
<br />The Montreal Impact drafted Stuver in the second round of the 2013 MLS Super Draft, but because of the Waiver Draft he wound up on the Columbus Crew, where he will join Matt Lampson and Daniel Withrow at goalkeeper.<br />
<br />As a goalie at Cleveland State University, Stuver got a 33-27-7 record. In his senior year, the Vikings’ record was 11-6-3, with Stuver as starting goalkeeper. Stuver allowed, on average, about 0.86 goals (or about 86 hundredths of a goal) per game. He saved about 80 percent of the shots that came at him.<br />
<br />The Vikings won that year’s Horizon League championship. Stuver was Horizon League MVP, and made the All-League team. That season also saw the Vikings’ first return to the NCAA tournament since 1980.<br /><br />
Cleveland State’s Tumblr page quotes Stuver as saying, “To play at the next level would be awesome. I’ve been playing soccer almost my whole life.”<br />
<br />
The coach of the Vikings soccer team, Ali Kazemaini, said, "For us to continue to build [the CSU] program, we need to recruit players that can advance to the professional ranks. Of course, it's great to see that happening now with Brad and Josh Williams."<br />
<br />
Coach Kazemaini said the team wishes Stuver the best."[He's] just a local kid that loves his hometown," Kazemaini said. "He has great tools, and he's just realizing how good he can be."</blockquote>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17166049457942788877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462355457640511681.post-65392701996099200652013-11-21T11:51:00.000-08:002014-05-14T23:28:43.619-07:00Supporters come from out of town to cheer away teamsComing soon on <a href="http://clevelandstater.com/">clevelandstater.com:</a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="texty">Go to any Cleveland State University sporting event, and
you can hear the crowd cheering for the home team.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="texty">You can also hear a loud minority in the crowd cheering for
the away team.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="texty">It’s easy to tell them apart -- they’re wearing school colors,
cheering for the wrong team, and typically very loud and passionate. In fact, I
noticed this semester it’s not that uncommon for the “away team” fans to
out-cheer Cleveland State fans at home games.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="texty">These people are parents, friends, and former coaches who
are traveling with the team. I talked with some of them to find out where they
came from.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="texty">Denise Podolsky came from Canfield, Ohio, a city near
Youngstown, to a Cleveland State women’s soccer game. She came to support
Youngstown State University. Podolsky sat in the stands at Krenzler Field in a
bright red jacket, cheering, “Let’s go, Youngstown!”</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="texty">She had come to the game to support her daughter Jackie, a
junior who plays goalie for Youngstown State. Podolsky said she’s gone to every
game Jackie has played in since her freshman year.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="texty">“It helps [athletes] a lot, knowing they have family there
to support them,” Podolsky said. “It also helps the other girls on the team,
knowing they have people there to support them.”</span><br />
<span class="texty">Podolsky said she would go to Milwaukee for Youngstown
State’s final game of the season -- about a 7-hour drive from Youngstown. She
said that’s the farthest that she’ll have to go this season.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="texty">There is some science behind the idea that social support
can help athletes perform better. Tim Rees, a professor in the Sport and Health
Sciences program at the University of Exeter, worked with some other Exeter
professors to research how social support affected high-level golfers. They
found that receiving support increased an athlete’s performance.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="texty">“In this study, received social support aided performance,
regardless of the amount of stress,” Rees wrote.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="texty">Of course, that has to do with more than just cheering --
in fact, as professor Kimberly Epting at Eton University found when studying the
effects of cheers and boos on sports performance, in sports like golf where
athletes are used to silence, cheers can harm their swing just as much as
boos.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="texty">Still, athletes who receive more support from people in
their social networks -- such as the friends and family members who drive out to
away games to watch them -- tend to do better.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="texty">Clay Schultz and Debbie Schultz, another married couple,
came out to Woodling Gym to watch their daughter Sierra play for the Oakland
University volleyball team. They came to Ohio from Highland, Mich. to watch the
game.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="texty">Clay Schultz said that he recognized a lot of faces that he
saw, going around watching Sierra play.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="texty">“It’s a lot of fun to watch her play people she used to
play in club, when she was in high school,” he said.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="texty">In fact, he said that a player on the Vikings team, Maggie
Hannon, played on the same club team as Sierra in high school. Debbie Schultz
said that she hoped to get a picture of Sierra and Maggie Hannon together after
the game.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="texty">Also at the Youngstown State University soccer game were
Chuck and Judy Riese, a married couple who came to watch their granddaughter,
Macey Riese. They said that they come out to all the games they can make it to
-- they came to Ohio that day, even though they live in Wisconsin.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="texty">But Judy Riese said that they didn’t have a hard drive
up.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="texty">“We’re so used to doing it that it’s like the car is on
automatic pilot,” she said.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="texty">The Rieses have watched their granddaughter play soccer
since she was a child. They saw her in high school, and now in college. Judy
Riese said that they have gone as far as Buffalo, N.Y. to watch their
granddaughter play.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="texty">“We’re really happy for her, that all her hard work paid
off,” Judy Riese said.</span> </blockquote>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17166049457942788877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462355457640511681.post-40861986759704400232013-11-21T11:50:00.001-08:002013-11-21T11:52:51.466-08:00Men's soccer team withdraws from tournamentComing soon to <a href="http://clevelandstater.com/">clevelandstater.com:</a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="texty">
We won our first playoff game 2-1 in the freezing cold, but
Wright State University are the ones who will be moving on in the Horizon League
tournament. </div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Cleveland State University men's soccer team withdrew from
the tournament last week, according to a release by the athletic department. The
release said that one of the players the Vikings used against Wright State last
Tuesday was not eligible to play. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The player should have sat out for a game after receiving five
yellow cards. The athletic department's release said that it was an honest
mistake, and included apologies from athletic director John Parry and men's
soccer coach Ali Kazemaini. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Parry said, "I apologize to all Horizon League members who have
been affected by this in the past and future." </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The athletic department did not release the name of the player
who was ineligible. But according to the men's soccer statistics on
csuvikings.com, the athletic department's official website, the only men's
soccer player with more than four yellow cards was Mike Derezic, a junior
midfielder from Lakewood. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Derezic, who scored an assist against Wright State last Tuesday,
finished the season with 7 yellow cards. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
If playing Derezic was the Vikings' mistake, then the violation
probably occurred in a different game against Wright State, on Wednesday, Oct.
30, and not during the tournament game last Tuesday. Derezic played against
Wright State on Oct. 30 after receiving his fifth yellow card of the season the
game before. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
But the athletic department's release suggests the violation
occurred against Wright State on Tuesday. Whatever the case, we know one thing
for sure -- the Vikings are out of the Horizon League tournament. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"It's unfortunate that our season has to end like this," Coach
Kazemaini said. "It's a shame we are not able to defend our league championship,
but we will learn from this and come back stronger." </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The release didn't say how the team made the mistake. The
Cleveland Stater contacted the athletic PR department, who said the soccer team
had no comment other than the official release. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The men's soccer team played a good game against Wright State
last Tuesday. The temperature danced around 30 degrees all night, and it felt
colder than that with wind blowing. The crowd wrapped up in coats and blankets.
The concession stand made a killing selling hot chocolate. The players from both
teams went onto the field in shorts. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="texty">
The Vikings pressured early and scored early, when midfielder
Sergio Manesio punched the ball in off of a corner kick. The Wright State
Raiders would answer the goal about 7 minutes later, off a kick after a Vikings
foul. The starting goalie for Cleveland State, Nick Ciraldo, left the game with
an injury, replaced by Austin Saini in goal.</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div id="mainContent">
James Howe regained the lead for the Vikings with about 30
minutes remaining in the second half. He got the ball up to the right corner of
the goal box, then shot at an angle past the goalie, into the back left corner
of the net. </div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div id="mainContent">
Toward the end of the second half, Saini made a critical save.
With 24 minutes remaining in the game, he blocked a shot from a Wright State
attacker who had gotten past the defense. That gave Wright State a corner kick,
which Saini jumped and grabbed out of the air. Saini and the Vikings defense
blocked attack after Raiders attack toward the end of the game. </div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div id="mainContent">
Despite the hard-fought win, the Vikings season has come to an
end. The Vikings' final record is 8-12 overall, without a single draw all
season. Last year, during their Horizon League championship run, they posted an
11-6-3 record. The change from 3 losses last season to 12 losses this season
looks bad for the soccer team. </div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div id="mainContent">
<div class="texty">
On the other hand, because of the rule-breaking and withdrawal,
the Vikings didn't get a chance to protect their championship. It's hard to say
now what might have happened.</div>
<div class="texty">
But I think it's safe to say this: we know one mistake that the
men's soccer team won't be making next year.</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
My comments:<br />
<br />
*You can see the statistics for the Cleveland State men's soccer team, including yellow cards, <a href="http://www.csuvikings.com/sports/m-soccer/2013-14/teams/clevelandst?sort=yc&view=lineup&pos=kickers&r=0">here</a>.<br />
<br />
*The UIC team beat Wright State in Chicago a few days ago (Nov. 16). The UIC Flames won 1-0 in overtime, and they will be playing the UWM Panthers for the championship.<br />
<br />
*The Vikings played a very good game against Wright State. It's a shame that we didn't get to keep the win. Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17166049457942788877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462355457640511681.post-1163787884276176072013-11-21T11:43:00.002-08:002013-11-21T11:43:27.122-08:00Fenn college of engineering plans name changeComing soon to <a href="http://clevelandstater.com/">clevelandstater.com:</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div id="mainContent">
Cleveland State University recently received a $10 million gift
from The Parker Hannifin Foundation and Donald and Pamela Washkewicz. </div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div id="mainContent">
"We tremendously grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Washkewicz and the
Parker Hannifin Foundation for their exceptional generosity," Berkman said in an
email. </div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div id="mainContent">
The university announced the donation in an email two days ago,
on Nov. 19. Donald Washkewicz, a Cleveland State graduate, is Chairman of the
Board, CEO and president of Parker Hannifin. </div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div id="mainContent">
To recognize the $10 million donation, the Cleveland State board
of trustees voted to rename the Fenn College of Engineering at Cleveland State.
They're going to change the name to the the Washkewicz College of
Engineering.Stillwell Hall, the engineering building, will change its name to
Fenn Hall. </div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div id="mainContent">
In the email release, the president's office said that they
intend to use the money from the donation for renovations and improvements to
Stillwell Hall (soon to be Fenn Hall).<br />Among other things, the University
will build a new entrance, add classroom space and open two new laboratories in
the College of Engineering. </div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div id="mainContent">
The release also said that the gift will allow Cleveland State to
award more scholarships.</div>
</blockquote>
<br />
My comments:<br />
<br />
*We didn't have a lot of time to pursue this story, this issue. I think there will be more in-depth information in the next issue of the Stater.<br />
<br />
*The title of the web page has already changed to <a href="http://www.csuohio.edu/engineering/">Washkewicz College of Engineering</a>, but the headers and most of the other pages on the engineering website (<a href="http://www.csuohio.edu/engineering/advising/">example</a>) still say "Fenn College of Engineering." This is as of Nov. 21, 2013.Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17166049457942788877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462355457640511681.post-89010327454135338342013-11-07T12:00:00.003-08:002013-11-07T12:00:25.202-08:00NCAA graduation success rates: A chart<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ptoHUZAoh9FDmlwN-YIJEF1co2UeUidjQ4OCx7aByeZg9E4gyISgHUBXsmJAflsxCFwzhaeJ0qn4FlqFX1og51akDmypZ3dEpHCPns83KuNdnsEZUMYJ_T8bOF1ynOw6MLRcXSjhRtI/s1600/graph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ptoHUZAoh9FDmlwN-YIJEF1co2UeUidjQ4OCx7aByeZg9E4gyISgHUBXsmJAflsxCFwzhaeJ0qn4FlqFX1og51akDmypZ3dEpHCPns83KuNdnsEZUMYJ_T8bOF1ynOw6MLRcXSjhRtI/s1600/graph.jpg" /> </a></b></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<h4 class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Notes:</h4>
</blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
*Eight CSU teams (out of 17 overall) beat the national average of 82.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
*The overall graduation success rate for all CSU athletes was exactly 82.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
*The men's average was 81.14 percent, with seven teams reporting. Women's average was 85.22 percent, with 10 teams reporting.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
*Not pictured in this graph: Christine Moeller, associate director of athletics for student affairs, said that the department was proud of its academic progress rates. The last data available for these rates was for students graduating in 2011-12. Cleveland State's women's tennis, women's cross country, men's basketball, and men's and women's fencing all scored in the top 10 percent nationwide.</div>
<br />Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17166049457942788877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462355457640511681.post-77399659536761399442013-11-07T11:32:00.001-08:002013-11-07T11:32:37.979-08:00CSU athletes show strong graduation success ratesHere's my Stater story for this week, soon to be up on <a href="http://clevelandstater.com/">clevelandstater.com</a>:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The NCAA released graduation success rate data for student athletes who entered school from 2003 to 2006, and Cleveland State University athletes made a strong showing overall.<br />
<br />
The graduation success rate is a metric of all student athletes who either receive athletic scholarships or were actively recruited by a coach. It counts the number of student athletes who graduate within six years, or transfer to another school in good academic standing.<br />
<br />
Four Cleveland State teams had 100 percent graduation success rates -- men’s and women’s golf, women’s track, and women’s volleyball. Most of Cleveland State’s teams scored higher than the national average, 82 percent.<br />
<br />
Cleveland State’s athletic director John Parry said that coaches work hard to find recruits who are good students. Cleveland State’s athletic department can’t afford to give out many full-ride scholarships, so they look for recruits who can also get merit-based scholarships from the university.<br />
<br />
“One of the challenges is to find players who are strong enough academically, and who also can play,” Parry said. “You can’t separate them. You can’t say ‘This is a great player. He doesn’t know where the class is, but he’s a great player,’ or, ‘This is a great student, but he can’t dribble.’<br />
<br />
Parry also said that the athletics advisors aim to do what the department calls “intrusive advising.” Mark Gefert, an academic advisor with the department, said that athletic advisors have complete control over student-athletes’ academic records.<br />
<br />
“We put a flag on student accounts,” Gefert said. “They have to see an advisor to register or add-drop [add or drop a class].”<br />
<br />
He said that the athletic advisors have to keep student-athletes on track to graduate. They aim for students to graduate in four or five years.<br />
<br />
“As a student-athlete, you have to be on track to graduate, or you can’t compete,” Gefert said.<br />
<br />
He said that student-athletes can be in practice for as much as 20 hours in a week, the NCAA maximum amount of practice time. Gefert said that if students will spend 20 hours a week getting better at their sport, they should spend at least 20 hours studying, too.<br />
<br />
“Whenever I talk to recruits, the biggest thing I tell them is to not underestimate the amount of work it’s going to take to be successful,” he said.<br />
<br />
Parry said that short of students leaving to pursue professional careers, the athletic department’s goal is to have 100 percent graduation success rates across the board.<br />
<br />
Maureen Forinash, a student-athlete on the women’s fencing team, will graduate next fall with a degree in Special Education. Forinash said that being a student athlete has helped her on the way to graduation.<br />
<br />
“It’s helped me to prioritize my time better. I don’t procrastinate as much, because I don’t have time to,” Forinash said. “I have to get things done when I have the time.”<br />
<br />
Some of Cleveland State’s teams fell below the national average. Most notably, the women’s fencing and women’s soccer teams had graduation success rates of 50 percent and 69 percent respectively.<br />
<br />
Christine Moeller, associate director of athletics for student affairs, said that because graduation success rate only counts students with athletic scholarships or who were actively recruited, only four athletes from the women’s fencing team went into that number, skewing the results.<br />
<br />
Moeller said that it’s happened with men’s fencing and tennis in the past. Two of the women’s fencing students graduated, and the other two might have dropped to being part-time students or transferred universities with a low GPA.<br />
<br />
As for the women’s soccer team, Moeller said that it’s a very young program, and that that number also could have gotten slightly skewed. She predicted that the number would go up the next time the NCAA reported success rates.<br />
<br />
Moeller said that Cleveland State has performed very well in the NCAA’s measure of academic progress, the academic progress rate (APR). She said that because of that, we should expect graduation success rates to go up in the future.<br />
<br />
“We’re pretty happy with our GSR [graduation success rates],” Moeller said. “But more, we’re very proud of our APR, and they go hand in hand.”</blockquote>
I had to go around for a while before someone would explain the low scores for women's fencing and soccer. Cleveland State hasn't had many athletes on the women's fencing team in the past -- this is the first year in a long time that we've had a full women's fencing team. I'll update with a graph of Cleveland State's scores later.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
# </div>
<br />Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17166049457942788877noreply@blogger.com0