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'Dogs won't cut sports, scholarships, Boeh says
Fresno State won't eliminate sports or reduce scholarships as the athletic department seeks to cut costs during the tough economic times, athletic director Thomas Boeh said Monday.
Fresno State added two women's teams, lacrosse and swimming and diving, last fall to stay in compliance with Title IX, and Boeh said "any disruption of that balance is a problem."
In a wide-ranging interview with The Bee, Boeh declined to answer questions about football coach Pat Hill's contract, said student-athletes were being affected by the purging of class sections and added that administrators are restricting other items -- such as travel and end-of-year banquets -- to help with budget issues.
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Calif. can't train enough health workers
For years, Fresno City College has run a lottery to select students for some popular health majors.
The problem: Too few slots, too many students.
Now, a new report underlines the growing mismatch between the demand for allied health workers -- dental hygienists, radiologic technologists and lab technicians, for example -- and the state's ability to educate them.
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State budget crisis aids private colleges
California's budget crisis is creating a business opportunity for private colleges and trade schools in the central San Joaquin Valley.
Students faced with class cuts at community colleges and California State University, Fresno, are finding -- and paying more for -- educational alternatives. It's more expensive, but in many cases it's easier to get into classes and faster to get out with a degree.
Laura Gonzales is one of them. Gonzales, 25, of Fresno enrolled at National University's north Fresno center for a credential and a master's degree in educational counseling after Fresno State dramatically sliced its program. Gonzalez earned her bachelor's degree in English from Fresno State in May.
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Fresno Pacific enrollment up 11% to new record
A streamlined admission process and more financial aid have helped boost Fresno Pacific University to record enrollment this fall, officials said.
Enrollment stands at 2,649 students -- 272 more than last year, an increase of 11%, said Stephen Varvis, vice president for enrollment management at the Mennonite Brethren-affiliated university in southeast Fresno.
Officials aimed to enroll about 2,500 students this fall but were happy to surpass that goal. Varvis attributed the upswing more to on-campus efforts than to conditions at local public campuses, which have had to limit enrollments and cut class sections because of declining state revenues.
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Riverside golf course returning to top of its game
The city of Fresno already has spent more than $2 million fixing up "Big Muni" - Riverside Municipal Golf Course. Now the city's parks director wants to build a new clubhouse overlooking the San Joaquin River to match the public course's renewed grandeur.
All it'll take is about $5 million and the green light from City Hall.
"Just think about that location," parks director Randall Cooper says. "There's nothing else like that in the whole Central Valley. The people of Fresno deserve better than what's there now."
University of California officials are having a tough time filling some seats in extension classes offered in Fresno this summer.
The UC Berkeley extension courses and workshops, offered through a partnership with UC Merced, are a new addition for the summer. But so far, officials have canceled three of eight classes because of low interest.
Brandy Ramos Nikaido, director of UC Merced's Fresno Center, described the summer slate of classes as a test run for the fall. Officials plan to survey more organizations and employers to confirm training needs for the area and ensure that the next schedule of classes responds to those needs.
"We're in an economic downturn," Nikaido said. "It could be that we're not offering what people want to take, or it could be that people can't afford to take what we're offering."
Extension classes are designed to serve continuing and professional education needs, teach new skills or provide training for new careers. The fees for summer classes range from a few hundred dollars to more than $1,000. The summer schedule in Fresno includes professional courses in digital publishing, computer systems and programming and solar energy.
Some classes are presented as one-day workshops; others meet once a week for several weeks.
Al Smith, president and chief executive officer for the Greater Fresno Area Chamber of Commerce, said there is a need for training. But he wondered whether prospective students are more interested in less-expensive and less time-consuming online course work. "A lot of people are having difficulty getting people to come into a classroom in today's environment," he said.
Nikaido said officials plan to consider the results of the survey as they create the fall schedule of classes. "We believe there's a need," she said. "We want to be able to meet that need."
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