What does WCU’s environmental science program offer students?

Climate change. Natural disaster. Floods and droughts… Our planet is changing and our world leaders and businesses are trying to prevent a disaster. To do this, we need people with environmental science backgrounds. When Laura DeWald, Ph.D., became the director of WCU’s environmental science program in fall 2004, the program had no students or recruiting materials. […]

WCU to ‘revamp’ scholarship programs

The story produced/written with Alexey Rybakov and Kayla Riek. It’s no secret that attending college in the United States can be quite expensive. Western Carolina University is part of the University of North Carolina system and is one of the most affordable colleges in the state. Many students say it isn’t affordable enough. For this […]

Chancellor Belcher receives raise, faculty gets small one-time bonus

Chad Grant co-authored this article. Western Carolina University Chancellor, David Belcher, received a 19 percent pay raise in late October while WCU faculty pay remains stagnant. The University of North Carolina (UNC) Board of Governors voted in a closed-door meeting on Oct. 30, 2015 to give 12 of 17 chancellors in the UNC system significant […]

Sexual assault prevention online program “Haven” may not be right for universities

Since the Fall of 2014 WCU’s campus, along with over 350 other universities nationwide, first year and transfer students are required to complete Everfi’s online sexual assault program called “Haven.” The program not only teaches students about sexual assault, but a big part of the program is also intervention and prevention, teaching students when and […]

Elementary Education: Is it worth it? “Yes it is,” says a professor and her students

As a reaction of the profile story on elementary education students, Jessica Shearin,  we received a reaction from Dr. Carrie Rogers and the students of ELMG 495: Elementary & Middle Grades Education. We are publishing the full reaction with minor editing to adhere to AP style.  As a faculty member in the elementary education department, I […]

“Haven” sexual assault program may use inaccurate statistics

Western Carolina University’s Department of Student Community Ethics requires all incoming students to complete an online alcohol education, Alcohol Edu, and sexual assault prevention courses, Haven. The programs are administered through a private company, EverFi. Some critics say the statistics used by the Haven program are inaccurate and can skew the results of surveys. For the full […]