
DATE: Friday, April 11, 1997                TAG: 9704110591

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   68 lines

ODU MANDATES MORE SCIENCE, WRITING CLASSES, STARTING FOR '98 FRESHMEN

Old Dominion University administrators said Thursday that they have approved changes in core-curriculum requirements to boost the number of required writing and science courses.

The changes will take effect beginning with freshmen who enter ODU in fall 1998, President James V. Koch said.

A series of faculty and administrative committees have looked at refining the ``general education'' requirements since 1994, ODU's provost, Jo Ann Gora, said. ``It really has been three years in the making - which, if you had asked me, I never would have believed,'' she told board members.

``I'm very pleased with what has been recommended. . . . I believe we have every reason to be proud of the general education program because of the increased emphasis on written communication.''

All undergraduates will now have to take at least two writing courses, up from one, and at least three science or technology courses, up from two. Those recommendations were endorsed by both a faculty committee, overseen by Gora, and the university's Faculty Senate.

To keep overall requirements level, Gora's panel proposed cutting the number of required history classes from two to one. The Faculty Senate recommended a compromise involving two ``tracks'': Require two history courses for ``traditional'' majors, in liberal-arts fields, but only one for ``professional'' students in nursing, engineering and similar fields.

Gora said the administration will go along with the senate's plan, despite reservations: ``Ipersonally really believe in a single track, but the senate recommended a dual track. I endorse that, knowing they spent many months debating the issues.''

Outside the meeting room, two students said they liked the changes.

Jasmine Tritten, a senior majoring in art, said: ``I would vote for less history and more writing. I don't think it (history) is as necessary as writing for your daily life.''

For Corrine Krueger, a senior majoring in English, ``the technology part would make sense,'' too. ``For me, going through high school, I didn't have access to computers.''

ODU's Board of Visitors also approved increases in tuition and fees for 1997-98.

For in-state undergraduates, the total amount of mandatory tuition and fees will go up 3.3 percent, from $4,116 a year to $4,250. Colleges are bound by state law to hold tuition steady, but they may raise fees for noneducational purposes, such as student activities and athletics. David F. Harnage, vice president for administration and finance, called it a ``very marginal increase.''

The changes include a new $44-a-year transportation fee to support a system of shuttle buses that will circle the campus beginning in the fall. But that, he said, will be offset by a $44 reduction in the annual cost for student decals to park in ODU lots - from about $156 to $112.

Including room and board, the total package will rise 2.6 percent for in-state undergraduates - from $8,886 to $9,116. For out-of-state undergraduates, it will go up 2.7 percent - from $15,246 to $15,656. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

ALSO: FEE CHANGES

Tuition increase, beginning this fall: The total amount of

mandatory tuition and fees for in-state undergrads will rise 3.3

percent, from $4,116 a year to $4,250.

Changes will include: A new, $44-a-year fee to support a shuttle

bus system on campus this fall, and a $44 cut in annual student

parking fees. KEYWORDS: OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY FEES CORE CURRICULUM

REQUIREMENTS