Laptops, smart phones and tablets have digitalized communication, entertainment, and now education through online courses. However, online classes are an alternative, not a replacement for traditional classroom learning, said Dr. Harry Hellenbrand, CSUN provost and vice president for academic affairs. “(Online courses) are a way of reaching out to students with primarily jam packed days,” Hellenbrand said.  “This allows them to take a course that they can squeeze into (their schedules).” In a city like Los Angeles where traffic is… Read more

About 1,500 students are admitted into CSUN’s graduate program every year, but those who want to apply after Aug. 1 will have to take a revised version of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). “The test had a major overhaul,” said Zach Crutchfield, the Executive Director of the Princeton Review, which specializes in preparing students to take the GRE and other graduate exams. “It changed so much that students should get rid of all old prep material.” Recent graduates shouldn’t be… Read more

It was the opportunity of a lifetime and CSUN senior Jenna Jackson jumped at it. It started with a simple question – “How come we don’t get the opportunity to travel?” Jackson said. “We learn about cultural eating but we don’t really experience it.” Little did she know the impact that simple question would have on her life and the lives of many others. This past summer, Jackson and 11 other nutrition and dietetics students and graduates embarked on an… Read more

After CSU presidents’ salaries came under fire in July, the system decided to compare the 23 campuses to national universities in an effort to gauge president pay at an Aug. 24 board of trustees meeting. At least four bills have been announced by state lawmakers that would put caps on president’s salaries since new president of San Diego State University, Elliot Hirshman was granted a  $100,000 increase in salary at a board of trustees meeting July 12, the same day… Read more

Plaza del Sol will soon be brought up to date with its campus companion, the VPAC, after USU board of directors voted Monday to replace the hall’s 500 chairs and renovate the lobby. The renovation of the entire hall and lobby was already passed by the university, but the USU is financially responsible for the chairs, said Colin Donahue, assistant vice president of facilities development and operations. The total cost for both the renovation of the hall and the lobby… Read more

A Northridge woman was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the September 2008 hit-and-run death of a CSUN student during the summer. Just this past Thursday, another CSUN student who was riding their motorcycle was sent to the intensive care unit after a driver of a light-grey SUV ran a red light and struck them. The student is currently in critical condition, but he could be part of the national statistic of traffic fatalities. According to the statistics from… Read more