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Rumors have been circulating around campus for a while about the introduction of at least two new minors at AUBG - Religion and Philosophy, and the much debated Finance minor, heavily advertised by Student Government President Alexandru Panici. While on the surface that seems very positive, as initiatives broaden our academic prospects by offering us all kinds of new perspectives to pursue, there is still room for plenty of discussion.

Future Business Administration (BUS) students may have to complete the first four BUS courses with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 to declare the major. The Business Administration department recommended this change on February 4 meeting. To become effective, the recommendation will have to be approved by the Faculty Assembly and then by the Board of Trustees.

The Journalism and Mass Communication (JMC) department is changing its curriculum as demanded by the Bulgarian Ministry of Education in 2006, when AUBG got its Bulgarian accreditation.

 

Depending on the program, graduate schools allow students to build on research projects started in college, or to further develop in a field of interest different from their major. Doing an internship, finding a job or volunteering, are some alternatives to studying at a graduate level.

The administration explained that the rationale behind the decision is essentially to discourage free-riding. "Students who take a lot of overloads are making others pay for their education," Vice President (VP) for Finance and Administration Alexander Alexandrov said. "A student [who] takes six courses instead of five is more expensive to educate," Dean of Faculty Steven Sullivan said.

At an SG meeting three weeks ago Senator Zhikica Pagovski proposed the introduction of an evaluation form professors would give out to students at the end of each semester. The form would contain detailed performance feedback of each individual student throughout the semester.

Journalism professor Phelps Hawkins suggested the use of Skype as a teaching tool at AUBG during an Information Resources committee (IRC) meeting on March 19.

(Updated April 19, 2009)On April 13 the administration officially announced a new regulation regarding the Fall 2009 course pre-registration process on AUBG's Online Course Registration System. Students who have completed 45 or more credit hours in their major can no longer pre-register for elective courses in the same major.

The Sixteenth Annual Honors Convocation ceremony took place in the AUBG auditorium on Sunday, April 12. Aside from the graduating seniors who were distinguished for outstanding achievement in their respective majors, the administration also recognized students who were on the President's List and the Dean's List since Spring 2008. They also recognized students with distinguished participation in extracurricular activities, and announced the winners of various university competitions.

The Arts, Languages and Literature department added Music in Latin American Culture to its course offering. The class, taught by Professor Anna-Maria Dean, will be available starting from Fall 2009 semester.

Four weeks into the Spring semester, the AUBG bookstore is still missing some textbooks. Macroeconomics and West's Business Law are already sold out, while Nationalism and Politics: the Political Behavior of Nation States has not been delivered yet.

Conditional admits from the English Language Institute (ELI) represent two thirds of the 30 students who confirmed their enrollment at AUBG for the Spring 2009 semester, the Board Report reads.

Student interest in Business Ethics caused a shift in professors for three courses this semester. Dean of Faculty Steve Sullivan said changes in Early Modern Europe, Political Philosophy and Business Ethics were made during the add/drop week so “student demands were satisfied completely.”