After an academic year full of tension surrounding the University of California’s increasing costs, the University has just volunteered to increase them anyway. All UC employees who work at least 20 hours a week will be paid a minimum hourly wage of $15 an hour within three years, a wage increase that the UC has […]
Author Archives: Casey Kovarik
Know your issues: Students have right to access mental health services on campus
Opinion columnists outline the issues incoming students need to know, but aren’t always told. Here are the things your new student advisor doesn’t tell you at orientation. I, like many UCLA students, waived my University of California Student Health Insurance Plan in favor of keeping my private plan. I initially found it difficult to get […]
Casey Kovarik: High stakes exams jeopardize student learning
There is a need for a refocusing of undergraduate education away from grades and tests toward learning. Education in primary school, secondary school and undergraduate programs emphasizes assessments and ranking of students to the detriment of learning. Students aren’t becoming problem-solvers and thinkers – rather, they are becoming study machines because that’s what gets them […]
Casey Kovarik: Water conservation efforts require off-campus expansion, education
Conservation efforts affect everyone, yet efforts to make changes are limited at UCLA. UCLA set goals to reduce water use on campus by 20 percent by 2020 based on 1999 to 2001 levels. The initiatives began in 2011 and changes include landscaping and infrastructure changes, education of students on the Hill and reduction of meat […]
Casey Kovarik: Flipped courses widen gap between students, professors
The first day I went to my Political Science 30 class this quarter, I was surprised to find that it was the only time my professor would be lecturing to us in person. Political Science 30 with Professor Kathleen Bawn is a flipped class. It’s one of the several flipped, or hybrid online, classes that […]
Casey Kovarik: Blogging improves student learning, deserves larger academic role
As with most other things in life, students only want to do the schoolwork they’re going to get credit for. Which is why academic blogs need to start getting the weight in course grades that they deserve. Although blogs have the potential to be good resources for teachers and students alike, their current use at […]
Casey Kovarik: UC, state must compromise to accommodate growing applicant pool
After 11 years of continual increases in the number of applications, the University of California and the state have still not managed to figure out how to make room for everyone who deserves to be here. UC President Janet Napolitano announced last week that California resident enrollment is frozen at all UC campuses, meaning the […]