FINANCIAL AID, TAX CREDITS CAN MAKE MTU A GREAT DEAL

When it comes to the actual cost of their education, the average Michigan Tech student has a great deal.

After accounting for financial aid and tax credits, the average undergraduate resident student pays just 28 percent of the "sticker price" of tuition and fees, according to a study just released by the Presidents Council of State Universities of Michigan.

During 2002-03, the average Tech student paid $1,852, after taking into account federal and state grants and tax credits, as well as financial aid from the university and other sources. Total tuition and mandatory fees for that year averaged $6,591.

"This points out, again, that a Michigan Tech education continues to be accessible and an exceptionally good value, particularly when you consider the high starting salaries awaiting many of our graduates," said President Glenn Mroz.

"But averages can mask individual reality, and we know that we have students who need financial help. We currently have a group of faculty and staff taking a close look at how we can work with the state to keep higher education affordable, while still providing the financial aid that our students need."

The Presidents Council study was done by Dr. Hank Prince, former assistant director of the Michigan House Fiscal Agency and a recognized expert on higher education finance. The study takes into account scholarships, grants, and tuition tax credits, but did not factor in loans, since those must be paid back.

"A substantial portion of recent tuition increases have gone back to students in the form of university-based financial aid, keeping college affordable for middle- and lower-income students," said Michael Boulus, executive director of the Presidents Council.

Among all 15 public universities, the average student pays 45 percent of the sticker price of tuition and mandatory fees, according to the study. Average tuition, state-wide, was $5,570, while the net tuition was $2,495. When adjusted for inflation, the real average cost of tuition during 2002-03 was lower than in 1998, Boulus said.

The study shows that Michigan universities return a major portion of tuition increases to students. It cites three major reasons that net tuition cost has been kept down:
* an increase in financial aid provided by the institutions, in which universities use their own resources to help students
* n increasing number of students receiving Michigan Merit Scholarships, which provide $2,500 per year to students who do well on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP)
* a new federal tax credit for college tuition

The Presidents Council report on the real cost of attending college in Michigan was patterned after a study done for the newspaper USA Today. The council contracted with Prince to analyze the extensive data provided by Michigan universities to develop the report.

More information is available at http://www.pcsum.org

The Presidents Council is a nonprofit, higher education association serving Michigan's 15 state universities. The association advocates higher education as a public good and promotes its value to the citizens of Michigan.

_______________

2. AFSCME AND MICHIGAN TECH REACH CONTRACT ACCORD

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees voted 62-47 Nov. 4 to ratify a new contract with Michigan Tech.

Michigan Tech's AFSCME unit, Council 25, Local Union 1166, has 175 members employed in areas such as food service, maintenance, equipment operation, skilled trades, etc.

No additional wage increase was negotiated. Health insurance benefits are predicted to remain the same through June 30, 2005.

"We recognize that the state and MTU, along with AFSCME members and their families, are all facing economic difficulties," said Roger Johnson, the local AFSCME president. "This ratification demonstrates the membership's willingness to work with the University through these economically challenging times."

Vice President for Administration Ellen Horsch was gratified that the settlement was reached.

"The university is extremely pleased the AFSCME membership ratified the agreement," she said. "The university has been bargaining with AFSCME since the mid-1960s, and we maintain a good working relationship. The AFSCME bargaining team's priority has always been their membership while being supportive of the university."

The contract also includes language changes relating to sick leave, funeral leave, arbitration and reimbursement for safety shoes.

_______________

When reports surfaced that raw sewage was flowing from a nearby home into the Keweenaw National Historical Park, Kathleen Halvorsen was not surprised.

"Septic is the most serious form of decentralized pollution that we have," said Halvorsen, an associate professor in the social sciences department and the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science.

Halvorsen studies an unromantic aspect of rural life that doesn't receive a lot of attention, at least not until something goes drastically wrong: onsite sewage systems. The term encompasses conventional septic tanks and drainfields, mound systems and more than a dozen other methods of coping with the inevitable effluent of households.

Her recent report, "Strengths and Weaknesses of Great Lakes Onsite Sewage System Regulatory Programs," found that national standards for regulating these systems are unevenly enforced around the Great Lakes. For that to change, according to the report, homeowners and local governments must realize that septic tanks need to be taken just as seriously as sewage treatment plants.

In addition to Halvorsen, the report's coauthors are Associate Professor Hugh Gorman (Social Sciences) and Kristine Bradof, community program coordinator for the GEM Center for Science and Environmental Outreach.

What the many different onsite sewage systems have in common is location. None are more than a stone's throw from the toilet. As more and more people build vacation homes on a lake or succumb to the allure of a 10-acre lot in the country, they also find themselves far beyond the reach of municipal sewer systems.

The situation arose in the decades after the Second World War, when Americans began moving out of cities and into suburban and rural areas that lacked sewers. "At the time, we assumed that the sewers would be extended, but that's become less and less likely," Halvorsen said.

Homeowners are responsible for their own septic systems. Many, however, adopt an out of sight, out of mind approach, at least until raw sewage starts backing up into the bathtub. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 10 percent to 20 percent of all onsite sewer systems nationwide are in a state of failure at any given time, which can contaminate soil, well water and nearby lakes and streams.

Area health departments are responsible on paper for making sure septic systems function properly throughout their jurisdictions. Most have local or state codes they follow, with the notable exception of Michigan, which is the only state in the U.S. lacking a state code. However, most departments along the Great Lakes fall short of compliance with guidelines established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

It's not for lack of trying, the authors suggest, and many health departments do an excellent job of protecting public health and the environment. "We had a sense that people felt the EPA guidelines are good," Halvorsen said. "But what if you have 20,000 onsite sewage systems in your area? Just doing one annual mailing to homeowners, as the EPA suggests, would be expensive."

While less state and federal funding is available to oversee onsite sewage systems, the pressure on health departments has escalated in the last 20 years. Demand has soared for second homes, often on waterfront properties with sandy soils, small lots and bedrock close to the surface, conditions that require high-maintenance alternative treatment systems. "So the potential for contamination is much higher," Halvorsen said.

Their study surveyed more than 70 departments in seven states and Ontario. Among its recommendations, the report suggests that departments receive adequate funding to enforce codes, that systems be inspected periodically after they are built and operating, and that departments communicate the importance of properly maintaining onsite sewage systems with homeowners and local officials.

They didn't get any argument from the health departments. "When we started this study, we expected that we'd have to convince environmental health directors that change was necessary," Halvorsen said. "Instead, we found that they were already on board."

Environmental Health Director Tom Reichard of the District 10 Health Department, in downstate Michigan, praised the report. "I haven't come across a study that looks as concisely and conclusively at the Great Lakes region as this one does," he said. "The Great Lakes cover a large number of jurisdictions, and we have a massive, unconnected series of codes to deal with septic. I think this study moves us in the direction of looking at septic regionally, from the point of view of the entire Great Lakes watershed."

Since water is arguably the region's greatest natural asset, and since lakes and rivers are indifferent to political boundaries, now may be the time to take a hard look at how septic affects that resource.

"It's a topic that nobody wants to talk about," Reichard says. "Sewage disposal doesn't have star appeal, but the resource we are trying to protect does have star appeal."

Since the 1930s, conventional septic systems have done a good job of protecting public health by getting rid of bacteria and viruses. However, they do not eliminate fertilizing compounds such as nitrogen and phosphorus, which can find their way into lakes and streams, Reichard says. Adding fertilizer to a lake has the same effect as adding fertilizer to a lawn: More and bigger plants grow, though in the case of lakes, the plants are algae and not grass.

When algae takes over a lake, it causes eutophication. In other words, it sucks up all the oxygen in the water, killing fish and creating a stagnant, scum-covered pond.

"We need to take additional responsibility," Reichard said. "We are putting in tens of thousands of onsite sewage systems every year, and while they may not create a public health problem, we can't ignore the impact they have on the environment."

The stumbling block to effective regulation tends instead to be local government, though not in all jurisdictions, says the report. A lack of awareness can lead local units to promote development on marginal building sites. Though tax revenues may rise in the short term, environmental problems caused by system failure can hurt property values and public health over the long haul.

"If you are a local official concerned with property tax revenues, it's in your longterm interest to assure that septic is installed property," Halvorsen said. Because nobody wants a dead, green lake next to their pricey waterfront lot.

_______________

4. RETIREMENT PARTY DEC. 2 FOR PAULINE MOORE

Pauline Moore, head of reference and instruction at the J. Robert Van Pelt Library, is retiring. Everyone is invited to her retirement party on Thursday, Dec. 2, from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Memorial Union Alumni Lounge.

_______________

5. THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE EIFFEL TOWER

In engineering circles, debate has simmered over just why Gustave Eiffel designed his famous tower the way he did. Now it appears that the matter has been put to rest, thanks in part to the equations of Michigan Tech mathematician Iosif Pinelis.

Pinelis, a professor of mathematical sciences, first became intrigued by the problem in 2002, when mechanical engineering professor Patrick Weidman of the University of Colorado at Boulder visited Michigan Tech. Weidman presented two competing mathematical theories, each purporting to explain the Eiffel Tower's elegant design.

One, by Christophe Chouard, argued that Eiffel engineered his tower so that its weight would counterbalance the force of the wind. According to the other theory, the wind pressure is counterbalanced by tension between the elements of the tower itself, Pinelis said.

Chouard had developed a complicated equation to support his theory, but finding its solutions was proving difficult. "Weidman and the mathematicians whom he had consulted could only find one solution, a parabola, of the infinitely many solutions that Chouard's equation must have," Pinelis said. And the Eiffel Tower's profile doesn't look anything like a parabola, the bullet-like shape familiar to survivors of high school geometry. Weidman asked MTU mathematicians if they could come up with any other solutions.

Pinelis went back to his office and soon found an answer confirming Weidman's conjecture that Chouard's theory was wrong. It turns out that all existing solutions to Chouard's equation must either be parabola-like or explode to infinity at the top of the tower.

"The Eiffel Tower does not explode to infinity at the top, and its profile curves inward rather than outward," Pinelis notes. "That pretty much rules out Chouard's equation."

Weidman then went to the historical record and found an 1885 letter from Eiffel to the French Civil Engineering Society affirming that Eiffel had indeed planned to counterbalance wind pressure with tension between the construction elements.

Using that information, Weidman and his colleagues developed an equation whose solutions yielded the true shape of the Eiffel Tower.

The work by Weidman and Pinelis, "Model Equations for the Eiffel Tower Profile: Historical Perspective and New Results," has appeared in the French journal Comptes Rendus Mecanique, published by Elsevier and the French Academy of Sciences. An abstract may be viewed at http://www.elsevier.fr/html/index.cfm?act=abstract&cle=49158

"The funny thing for me was that you didn't have to go into the historical investigation to find out the truth," Pinelis says. "The math confirms the logic behind the design. For me, it was more fun to go to the math."

_______________

6. WANT A NONSTOP TO DETROIT? TELL NORTHWEST

Miss that nonstop flight to Detroit? If so, tell Northwest Airlines.

Tech Topics' secret sources indicate that Northwest has not received much feedback regarding the cancellation of the direct flights to Detroit from Houghton County Memorial Airport. Therefore, they assume everyone is satisfied.

Tech Topics suspects that Northwest is confusing satisfaction with mute resignation. If that's the case, it's time to speak up.

You can express your support for direct flights to the Motor City by writing to Dennis Hext, airport manager, at 23810 Airpark Blvd., Suite 113, Calumet, MI 49913; fax 482-3127; email dhext at pasty.net. He will pass your comments on to Northwest.

_______________

7. PAC PASSES INVESTMENT PROPOSAL

The Presidential Advisory Council, formerly the University Senate, voted Nov. 11 to endorse a change in the way the university invests its Retirement and Insurance Account.

The funds are set aside to cover outstanding vacation and medical costs in the event the university goes bankrupt. The PAC recommends that the $7 million balance, which is in cash, be invested in a balanced portfolio of stocks, bonds and cash reserves. It also suggests that, if the fund balance exceeds its liabilities by more than 20 percent, the excess be transferred to the general fund.

To read the proposal, visit http://www.sas.it.mtu.edu/usenate/propose/8-05.htm

The council also debated changing the language of the University Senate constitution, which excludes union members. No decision was made. As a result, the earliest that an amended constitution is likely to be brought to the Board of Control for approval is February.

After the tenured and tenure-track faculty voted in September to form a bargaining unit under the auspices of the American Association of University Professors, the senate moved to amend its constitution so that the faculty, who are now unionized, could continue to be represented by the senate. However, the amendment fell short of garnering the requisite two-thirds majority from the senate's constituency. As a result, tenured and tenure-track faculty are excluded from senate membership.

At the request of President Glenn Mroz, the organization formerly known as the senate is continuing to function as usual under its new name, the Presidential Advisory Council, until the constitutional problem is addressed.

_______________

8. C2E2 GRANTS ANNOUNCED

The Century II Campaign Endowed Equipment Committee has awarded approximately $14,000 for several small equipment purchases with the approval of Vice President for Research David Reed.

Donald Lueking of the Department of Biological Sciences received $1,300 toward the purchase of a $2,909 "ZOOM IPG Runner System for Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. The $1,609 balance was provided by his department.

Martin Thompson of the Department of Chemistry received $3,500 toward a $7,080 "DNA-Engine Peltier Thermal Cycler for Biochemistry Research." The $3,580 balance was provided by Thompson and his department.

Paul Charlesworth (Chemistry) received $1,995 toward the purchase of a $3,991 "Laboratory Scale Fractional Distillation System." The $1,996 balance was provided by his department.

Bahne Cornilsen (Chemistry) received $5,000 toward a $20,600 "Upgrade to a General-Use Campus Raman Facility." The $15,600 balance was provided by the department and various chemistry faculty.

John Jaszczak (Physics) received $1,847 toward the $3,547 purchase of "Revitalizing Optical Image Acquisition Capabilities for Studies of Engineered and Natural Materials." The $1,700 balance was funded by the department and the Seaman Mineral Museum.

Larry Mishkar (Social Sciences) received $790 toward the $1,580 purchase of "Scanning Equipment to Support Future Archaeology Projects." The $790 balance was provided by his department.

C2E2 grants support small equipment purchases. Proposals may be submitted at any time. For more information or to submit a proposal, visit http://www.admin.mtu.edu/research/vpr/internal/century.html

_______________

9. MICHIGAN TECH FACULTY PARTICIPATE IN FULBRIGHT EXCHANGE PROGRAM

The Fulbright Scholar program recently awarded two scholar grants to Michigan Tech researchers, allowing them to participate in the Council for International Exchange of Scholars foreign exchange program.

Aldona Beganskiene, associate professor of general and inorganic chemistry from the University of Vilnius, Lithuania, will conduct research at Michigan Tech this year. She will be studying the "synthesis and investigation of silica-supported transition metal pincer complexes as catalysts for cross coupling reactions."

Heidi Bostic, assistant professor of Romance languages and gender studies in the humanities department, was also awarded a grant to lecture and conduct research at the Universidad de Talca, Chile. Bostic was honored for her study of "cross-cultural perspectives on women in a changing world."

Beganskiene and Bostic were two of approximately 1,600 U.S. and international faculty and professionals to be awarded a Fulbright scholar grant this year.

_______________

10. AMOS NAMED PRESIDENT ELECT OF NAIT STUDENT DIVISION

Dean of Technology Scott Amos was recently voted president elect of the Student Division of the National Association of Industrial Technology.

NAIT works to promote industrial technology in business, industry, education and government; to accredit industrial technology programs in colleges, universities and technical institutes; and to certify industrial technologists and recognize their continued professional development.

Engineering and engineering technology fields are primarily involved with design and installation of complex technological systems, where as industrial technology focuses on the management, operation and maintenance of these systems. "Michigan Tech will shortly be a NAIT member, which is a tremendous opportunity for students in our program because it will allow students to broaden their perspective beyond engineering technology," Amos said.

"This is something I've wanted and worked toward. It's important to provide visibility for Michigan Tech at a national level to help keep within the strategic plan of our university," Amos said.

Amos is a five-year member of NAIT and previously held the position of Region 4 director when he worked at Southwest Missouri State University.

After his one-year term as president elect, he will automatically move to president for one year and then serve a final one-year term as past president.
_______________

11. TEACHING AT TECH--SENIOR DESIGN AS PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING

by William Kennedy, director of the Center for Teaching, Learning and Faculty Development

Contemporary change in higher education might be characterized as a war between the proponents of the "my way or the highway" approach v. the "whatever it takes to make it happen" folks. The simple truth is that crafting an engaging educational experience for the 60-70 percent of those young folks who will graduate from American high schools represents a more complex and daunting challenge than producing an educational experience that met the needs of the 10-20 percent that chose to attend college not so very many years ago.

Many factors are at work against the timely evolution of higher education. For example, 1) many of the primary providers thrived under the lecture and testing instructional model and see nothing wrong with it, 2) economic pressures and changing institutional goals increased the size of our classes and divided the attention of the providers, discouraging often time-consuming experimentation with new methods, and 3) routine evaluation procedures may tend to discourage instructional risk-taking and perpetuate less confrontational methods.

Even with this, one alternative instructional approach that seems to be flourishing in professional preparation programs is problem-based learning. Many medical and law schools have adopted this modality in which instruction primarily consists of presenting groups of students with complex and moderately ill-defined problems that cross disciplinary lines. Faculty members design and refine these challenges and serve as mentors as teams of students struggle mightily to seek out the knowledge and develop the methods to solve these problems. The theory is that students who learn how to solve problems will do better than students who are taught how other people have solved problems.

Our own senior design program seems to share many of the elements of problem-based instruction. MEEM graduate student Erin Burns, one of my College Teaching students, recently submitted the following description of her experience in senior design as an undergraduate at Michigan Tech. She wrote, "Senior design, a problem-based learning activity, taught me incredible amounts of information about one subject: forging. This probably seems lame to most people. Forging? Who cares? But as a materials engineering major, steel changes your life. Our faculty advisor [Doug Swenson] had several goals for our team: maintain team cohesiveness, make certain we, as a team, were scheduling experiments and obtaining results, and watch the project's expenditures. Otherwise, we met with the advisor once per week (unless we were excited/upset about an experimental result). In the beginning of the project, we read more research papers and forging texts that we thought imaginable. We learned everything we could about H13 tool steel."