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Shepherd set to reduce credits for bachelor’s degree

By Staff | Mar 18, 2011

Shepherd University is leading the way in the state of West Virginia in reducing the number of credits required for a bachelor’s degree through curriculum reform in general studies and in the majors and minors. The new curriculum will be available to students fall 2011.

Responding to calls nationally to enhance student access and success, Shepherd is reducing the amount of time students take to earn their baccalaureate degree and complete a degree in four years. Shepherd will change the number of credit hours required for a bachelor’s degree by eight credit hours, from 128 to 120, this fall semester.

The national average for earning a bachelor’s degree is five years. Shepherd’s initiative is designed to help return the undergraduate degree-earning time to four years. Additionally, an innovative core curriculum will be implemented that includes a first-year experience course, a writing intensive course within the major and a senior capstone course.

All students entering Shepherd in the fall will be part of the 120-credit hour degree changes. Currently enrolled students will have the option of selecting the new curriculum or continuing under the course catalog in effect when they enrolled at Shepherd.

An academic advising assistance center has been established to aid students in the transition process. A web-based analysis tool will also be available to current students so they can compare the new program with the one in place when they originally enrolled.

The retooling of the academic core requirements will lessen Shepherd’s reliance on part-time faculty who teach general studies and will emphasize an applied and practical application of the liberal arts, linking students to career training and planning.

Event to be held at center

SHENANDOAH JUNCTION – Join us for the Jefferson County Community Center Open House at 235 Sam Michael’s Lane, Shenandoah Junction. Stop by the front desk for info about what’s new March 19, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Free events: entertainment, give-always, special program discounts, open gym, punch-pass sale, refreshments, class demonstrations, kids crafts and activities and more.

For more information, contact the Jefferson County Parks and Recreation Commission at 304-728-3207 or www.jcprc.org.

Watercolor society to meet

MARTINSBURG – The West Virginia Watercolor Society is coming to the Eastern Panhandle.

The spring meeting is scheduled for Martinsburg on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the WVU/Byrd Health Sciences Building near City Hospital. All artists and the public are invited to attend and learn about the organization. It will be led by Linda Elmer, president, of Fairmont.

WVWS’s coming events are varied. Included is a Signature Member’s art show at the Ice House in Berkeley Springs from Aug. 12 to Sept. 18. The annual watercolor workshop will be taught by nationally recognized artist Rita Montrosse of Princeton. It will be held Aug. 5 7 at Canaan Valley Resort. A juried show, Aqueous 2011, is scheduled for the Chuck Mathena Center in Princeton from June 21 through July 21.

College art majors who are of junior status can apply for the WVWS Collegiate Scholarship; deadline is Sept. 30.

For more information on all activities, please go to www.wvwatercolorsociety.org on the internet.

Everyone interested in art is welcome to attend the meeting. New members are always welcome.

Afternoon tea slated March 27

Shepherd University’s Relay for Life Team invites you to afternoon tea from 2 to 4 p.m. March 27. Judy Larkin, tea specialist will present “Tea: The cup that cheers.”

The event will take place at Shepherd University Ballroom, 210 N. King St. Tickets are a $25 donation and must be pre paid and are non-refundable. Checks to made payable to Shepherd University Relay for Life.

For ticket information contact Becky Boyer at 304-876-5161, 304-676-0932 or rboy er@shepherd.edu

Guests are encouraged to wear hats and gloves.

RESA 8 teaches substitutes

RESA 8 can help those wanting to become substitute teachers, even if they don’t have an education degree.

Individuals with any four-year degree not can obtain a certificate to become a substitute teacher. They need to receive 12 hours of classroom instruction and six hours of classroom observation.

Peggy Hawse, coordinator of the RESA 8 Teacher Mentor Program, recently trained 35 individuals from various counties at the South Branch Inn in Romney. The training is repeated several times throughout the year.

Individuals, who are interested in becoming a substitute teacher and have a four-year degree, may visit www.resa8.org or call 1-800-367-3728.

Order free 50-50 Rule guide

MARTINSBURG – A regional company has launched a new program designed to help siblings overcome their differences to provide the best possible care for their elderly parents.

Developed by Home Instead Senior Care, the 50-50 Rule program includes a free guide with real-life family situations and advice to help families work together. The 50-50 Rule refers to the average age (50) when siblings are caring for their parents as well as the need for brothers and sisters to share care planning responsibilities 50-50.

Research conducted for the Home Instead Senior Care network reveals that an inability to work together often leads to one sibling becoming responsible for the bulk of caregiving. And that can result in the deterioration of relationships with brothers and sisters.

To obtain a copy of the free guide, The 50-50 Rule: Helping Siblings Overcome Family Conflict While Caring for Their Aging Parents, call the local Home Instead Senior Care office at 304-263-4472 or visit www.solvingfamilyconflict.com.

Provide Japan with assistance

CHARLESTON – Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management are offering guidance to individuals and organizations in the state who wish to contribute to the recovery efforts in Japan.

News reports estimate that more than 10,000 people have lost their lives or are missing and millions more have been affected by the magnitude of the earthquake and the ensuing tsunami that struck last week.

Since then, people from around the globe have offered to help, but many don’t know the best way to assist.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is directing people to www.interaction.org, a site dedicated to providing accurate information about global disaster assistance.

If you wish to provide assistance to the victims in Japan, please visit or contact the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management at 304-558-5380 for more details.

– From staff reports