Faculty members complain about book selling
Faculty members are complaining about the
availability of textbooks in the University Bookstore
and Nebraska Bookstore, according to AS UN
President Ron Clingenpeel.
In a letter to Ronald Wright, UNL Business
Manager, Clingenpeel said, "These instructors have
ordered their books from the University Bookstore
and, by choice, did not order from any other store.
"This was done because the instructors did not
wish to deal with Nebraska Bookstore. Now these
instructors find out their books are in stock at
Nebraska Bookstore and not at the University
Bookstore," Gingenpeel said.
Clingenpeel declined to name those instructors,
but said faculty members favored the University
Bookstore because he said at least some of the profits
from that store are used to provide financial aid for
students.
He explained that until a few years ago, instructors
had received a 10 per cent discount on their own
books. When the discount was discontinued,
instructors were told that the additional revenue
being brought in would go to a financial aid fund.
Copies of ClingenpeeFs letter were sent to Miles
Tommeraasen, vice chancellor for business and
finance; Ken Bader, vice chancellor for student
affairs; Adam Breckinridge, acting vice chancellor for
academic affairs; Larry Behrends, manager of the
University Bookstore and to the Daily Nebraskan.
In the letter, Clingenpeel said the discovery that
the University Bookstore supplied Nebraska
Bookstore with a list of ordered books really shocked
me. It seems to me that the University is doing the
work for a private enterprise and I question the ethics
of this situation."
He added, "It seems to me the privileges of an
instructor are being violated when his intention is to
buy texts from one store and then finds another store
has his order also."
Wright said the lists are provided to private
concerns because of laws first written in 1869 and
amended "about five or .six times" since, which
stipulate that the Board of Regents must have all
required textbooks available for students at a fair
price.
The University gives the list away because "we
don't have the operating capital to buy nor the space
to house all the books that will be needed," Wright
said. "We'll make sure there are some of each book
available but, for example, if there are 100 students
in class x, we may have less than 100 of their texts in
the University Bookstore."
The University Bookstore is self-supporting,
receives no state funds and lets the other book stores
pick up the slack between the needed number of
textbooks and the supply that the store stocks,
according to Wright.
"It's the professors job to specify what bocks and
material will be required for a course," Wright said. "I
don't think it's his job to tell you where to buy your
books."
Wright added that it's the University's job to sell
books at "list price or less." Book orders must be
received as early as mid-October so that the book
store can obtain books from the publishers at the
least possible cost. They must also avoid ordering too
many copies.
Joan Garterell, assistant text manager tor the
University Bookstore said last fall some professors
said they didn't want books which were required for
their classes sold in any other store. At that time,
Nebraska Bookstore complained and the University
Bookstore was ordered to send the list to the private
firm.
Further complicating the issue, shipments from
the publishers of some of the books in question were
overdue at the University Bookstore while Nebraska
Bookstore stocked them, according to Garterell.
An AS UN study condcuted last spring reported
that Nebraska Book Co. owned the Nebraska
Bookstore and Campus Bookstore. It" also owns
interest in several other regional book outlets.
doilu
Wednesday, january 29, 1975
lincoln, nebraska vol. 98 no.72
College careers lasting longer
A legislative study predicting that 14 per cent
of the freshmen entering UNL in 1973 will
graduate in four years should not be viewed .as
alarming, according to UNL administrators.
"The whole idea of getting a college degree in
four years is going by the boards," UNL
Chancellor James Zumberge said. "Over the long
haul, about the same number of people graduate
(as in the past). They're just taking longer."
The study was conducted by the Legislature's
Fiscal Analyst Office. It predicted that of
freshmen entering UNL in 1973, 14 per cent will
graduate in four years, 17 per cent will require
additional time to graduate and 69 per cent will
transfer to another school, drop out of school for
awhile, or drop out altogether.
99 per cent correct
Eldin Ehrlich, director of the Fiscal Analyst
Office, said the study was compiled from data
provided by UNL for the four-year period
ending with the 1973-74 school year. If the data
supplied was correct, the figures should be 99 per
cent correct, he said.
Zumberge said he was surprised by the figures,
but noted they could be misleading.
"I don't think you can draw any specific
conclusions," he said. "You have to make a
much more in-depth study."
He said the 69 per cent figure for students
who drop out or transfer probably is greater than
it has been in the past. More students must drop
out now for financial reasons, he said, but about
the same percentage eventually graduate as in the
past.
1973 students surveyed
Harry Allen, UNL director of institutional
research and planning, directed a survey of
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1973 but failed to return that autumn.
He said the two major reasons students gave
for not returning were lack of money and
disenchantment with school. Lonliness and
uninteresting courses, which generally are
assumed to be major reasons given by dropouts
ranked low on the list, he said. Most were glad
they had attended UNL, he added.
"They felt the limited experience they had
here was useful," he said.
Zumberge agreed that students don't
necessarily drop out because they are dissatisfied
with UNL.
'Good feeling'
"They leave with a good feeling about the
university," he said. "I think that's important."
Allen said of those in his survey who didn't
return to UNL, 41 per cent transferred to other
schools. Of the remaining 59 per cent, several
probably will return to UNL in the future, he
said.
Ken Bader, UNL vice chancellor for student
affairs, said he believed the Legislature's figures
were fairly accurate. He agreed that more
students are dropping out now, but said that
trend is not necessarily bad.
"I don't know how many students I have
talked to who have quit for a semester or wished
that they had," he said.
Dropouts benefit
He stressed that even those who drop out
altogether have benefited from their stay at
UNL. Many students have learned how to express
themselves and have gained a better perspective
of their goals while at UNL, he said.
The legislative study also predicted that of
freshmen entering UNO in 1973, 12 per cent will
graduate in four years, five per cent will require
additional time to graduate and 83 per cent will
transfer or drop out.
UNO Chancellor Ronald Roskens said many
people today view a college education as "an
enhancement of one's skills." Because of that
view, many enter UNO to take a few courses and
not to get a degree, he said.
Such part-time students are included in the 83
per cent figure, which tends to make it
misleading, he said. He added that he is
concerned with retaining those full-time students
who drop out because they become demoralized.
"We're trying to improve our whole advising
and counseling apparatus," he said.
'Farm markets in chaos'
Exon: use anti-trust
ByDonMcCabe ,
Gov. J. James Exon said Tuesday the United States is asking
farmers to produce substantial agricultural products without giving
them assurance of an adequate price.
Exon told members of the UNL Agricultural
Economics-Agribusiness Club at East Campus that farmers are
caught in the inflation squeeze with rising fertilizer, seed and fuel
costs. At the same time, he said, prices for grain and livestock have
declined since the beginning of January.
"We are going through a boom and bust cycle in the agricultural
markets and they are in a chaotic situation now," he said.
Exon expressed the desire for an effective government program
to manage agricultural resources. However, the Governor said he
hoped this could be achieved without too much interference with
the farmer.
One of the problems in the cattle industry today, Exon said, is
that effective anti-trust laws have not been used. He referred to the
financial troubles of the American Beef Packing Co. which recently
declared bankruptcy.
"About 80 per cent of the redmeat in Nebraska is sold to eight
or nine conglomorates outside of Nebraska," he said.
Exon said that protection is needed for the family farm from
large corporations, but that proposed legislative . family-farm bills
may be unconstitutional.
"If a fair family-farm bill cannot be drawn up under our present
constitution," he said, "a constitutional amendment should be
imposed to offer protection for the family farm."
A major concern of this legislative session, he said, is the
irrigation and water level problems. He said Nebraska -cannot go
forward without protecting its water supply.
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Gov. J. James Exon
Semester's
enrollment
up from
last spring
More students are enrolled at UNL this
semester than during second semester last
year, according to the director of
academic services.
Gerald Bowker said 20,196 students
are attending UNL this semester, 129
more than a year ago.
Fewer students decided to withdraw
between the fall and spring semesters this
year, Bowker said. This fall, 20,892
students were enrolled on the Lincoln
campuses, 696 mbre than are enrolled
this semester. The drop at this time last
year was 1,093 students.
Bowker said this drop of about 5 per
cent between semesters is expected and is
caused largely by students graduating in
December and students who, he said,
traditionally drop out or stop out
between semesters. Stop out refers to
students who temporarily withdraw from
school for a variety of reasons.
"Somewhat unusual" is that the
number of entering freshman students in
January 1975 is greater than a year ago,
Bowker said. He said there are now 273
new freshman students enrolled,
compared to 248 a year ago.
Bowker said UNL's professional and
graduate colleges and the Extension
Division had an increase in the number of
registered students, compared to mid-year
of 1973-74.
He said the total professional school
enrollment this semester is 888 students
compared to 864 a year ago. That
includes 291 students in dentistry, 390 in
law and 207 in pharmacy.
Graduate student enrollment is 3,155
this semester, a rise of 99 from last
spring. Extension Division enrollment
rose from 988 students a year ago to
1,065 students this month, according to
academic services statistics.
Bowker said undergraduate
enrollment, however, declined from
15,279 students a year ago to 15,088 this
year. But he said this figure is less of a
percentage decline than last year.
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