Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Crowd Sourcing: Students reaction to class size

I had an assignment in one of my other journalism classes pertaining to class size at UC.

So I went out and asked journalism students at UC their thoughts on whether they like the student-to-faculty ratio or if they wished it was different.

Here are the three specific questions I asked:

1. Do you feel the class sizes are too big? Too small? Why? Why not?

2. Do you feel the class sizes impact your ability to learn? If so, how?

3. Does class size impact your ability to interact with instructors? Is feedback from instructors sufficient to your liking?

I got a wide range of opinions, but it seemed the general consensus was that students were satisfied with their class sizes.

Here are some of the responses that I received:

"I feel that class sizes in McMicken are just right because you still can interact with the Professor easily. I do not feel the class sizes impact my ability to learn, because I am a proactive student and, no matter how big my class is, I will make sure I communicate with my professor."
Danielle Boyle
Third Year, Journalism


"I don't think that the classes in McMicken are too big, actually I think they are a perfect size. I personally do not like big aud. size classes because I don't think the Professor is able to interact and communicate with the students as well. I've been in those big classes before and it seems that the teacher doesn't have the students participate as much and doesn't even ask questions. It's normally just a boring lecture where all I want to do is fall asleep."
Hope that helps,
Kelli Ives
Senior, Journalism


"I think depending on the classes they could stand to be anywhere between five to ten seats bigger. A medium-sized class - let's say about 20 people - has a lot more people giving input, and that's something anyone could learn from, especially if someone says something particularly ignorant or uninformed and the teacher corrects them. A larger class size doesn't usually affect my ability to talk to instructors. Sometimes I get a lousy teacher who picks out three or four people to pay attention to the whole quarter, and I'm almost never one of them."
Andrew Ritter
Third Year, Journalism



"I feel that my classes in McMicken have been the perfect size. Fairly small, ranging from 15 to 25 students, allows for great class discussion and one-on-one time with professors. I think the small class size is perfect for because I'm receiving individual attention from professors on my core subjects. It's great to get direct attention from a professor about something that will be utilized in my future career."
Alison Jaeger
Freshman UC '12


"I think as far as the journalism department goes, the faculty-to-student ratio is great. As a fifth-year senior, I know that a lot of the faculty know me by name and know what I'm doing as far as internships and classes. They all seem very involved in their student's progress and are very helpful when needed."
Ashley Monk
Senior, Journalism


For the most part, UC Journalism students don't have an issue with their class sizes and seem to be coping well with them.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Crowd Sourcing: Thanks Huggs Tribute

On Thursday, Feb. 26, former UC basketball coach Bob Huggins returned to Fifth Third Arena for the first time as an opponent (he now is the head coach at his alma mater West Virginia).

Huggins, the all-time winningest coach in UC history, was honored before the game with a 45-second tribute video. Signs were also handed out to fans that read 'Thanks Huggs' on one side and 'Go Bearcats' on the other.

The video showed highlights of Huggins from the sidelines yelling at his players and referees. It also showed the large number of players he coached through the years.
There were many senior night moments where Huggins was hugging farewell to his players.
This got to Huggins as he was seen on the West Virgina bench shedding tears.

Upon the completion of the video, Huggins was given a standing ovation and he waved to the crowed in gratitude.

What I want to know is if this moment gave fans closure to the Huggins saga that took place upon his dismissal in 2005.

I went to Bearcatnews.com forum to find out. Bearcatnews.com is a website dedicated to UC basketball and football. The forum members range from prospective UC students to UC alumni. There are also non-UC alumni/students. Men and women of all ages are welcome to join the forum.

Some fans were unsatisfied with the ceremony and felt UC should have done more.

"A class act by UC to do it. Having said that, I think it should have been done bigger...way bigger.
"A 16 year career, the most ever wins by a UC coach, countless titles and championships, and 14 NCAA tourney appearances could have been one heck of a 5 minute video - a video for the ages for UC fans. I think they should have had the former players join Bob at mid-court for a presentation of a plaque with his season records, accomplishments, etc. and a big THANK YOU engraved at the bottom. That would have been even more special. Allowing Bob to take the mic and say thank you would have been really unbelievable." -Bearcat-in-Italy

Other fans thought this ceremony symbolized the end of an era and finally have closure to all of the controvery surrounding Huggins' departure.

"UC's tribute to Coach Huggins tonight was well done and well received. Coupled with the eminent departure of Nancy Zimpher, UC now has closure on the Huggins' era at UC." -jkwuc89

"Thanks Coach Huggins. What an awesome ceremony last night. For anyone who thought Bob didnt care last night hopefully changed your minds. That place went nuts and deservingly so. Great to see that legends from the past like Reuben, Logan, Levett, all were there. Amazing game to be at." -TheLivingLegend

Fans who weren't at the game, but watched it on TV, wished the ceremony coverage was better.

"I like a lot of what ESPN did, but wow they blew it when they took the camera off of Bob way TOO early. Does anybody else agree? He was getting a big ovation, crying, displaying great human emotion that you can't control and, all of a sudden, (Bret) Musburger and (Bob) Knight are on the screen and you can still hear screams and cheers outside of the picture. I guess I was pretty upset even though I think, for the most part, they did a good job." -Forsure21

After reviewing the forum, there was a wide range of reactions. Some people finally felt closure, others were left wanting more, while others simply didn't care and were tired of hearing about Huggins.