We're the real deal, baby

Inside Higher Ed had an article today about a marketing ploy by the CollegeProwler guidebook company to create sham "Class of 2013" Facebook groups for various colleges and universities that appeared to be authentic. The apparent goal was to collect information on matriculating college students.

We were concerned to read about this, since RMU has created its own Class of 2013 group for freshman students accepted at the university for the fall 2009 semester. You can access this group by clicking here. Make no mistake: this Facebook group was created by RMU staff for the sole purpose of creating a sense of community among students entering the university next fall, and allowing them to get to know one another before they come to campus. New students are free to join or not join, and of course they are free to create their own RMU-related groups.

If, however, any third parties are using our name to exploit our students, we certainly want to know about it. Leave us a comment on this blog, or email rmunews (at) rmu.edu with any questions or concerns.

And in case we don't get a chance to tell you later, happy holidays!

RMU goes clubbing

The RMU club ice hockey team merits a mention in today's Press of Atlantic City, which brought to mind a recent article in the New York Times about the growing popularity of club sports at colleges and universities nationwide.

At RMU, more than 230 students participate in the university's growing club sports program, which includes 18 teams. You'll get to learn more about RMU's club sports program in the upcoming issue of Foundations magazine, due to hit mailboxes -- and the web-- next month.

God and Man in Cincinnati

Here's an interesting article about an RMU alum who leads a megachurch in Ohio. Crossroads Community Church is the 36th largest church in the nation, so I'm guessing that Pastor Brian Tome is well-served by his RMU business degree:

Crossroads Community Church, which is in a converted HQ superstore at 3500 Madison Road, Oakley, draws about 10,000 people each weekend to its four services.

It is the 25th fastest-growing and 36th-largest church in the country, the only church in the region to crack the Top 50 in either category.

Crossroads is a non-denominational community church with a staff of 94 and an annual budget of $13 million that covers everything from providing the 300-plus gallons of coffee and 16 cases of cream served every weekend to the funding of an AIDS hospice in South Africa.

In matters more temporal, Pennsylvania and New York are increasing the amount of credit hours required for CPA candidates, and Inside Higher Ed talks to RMU's Frank Flanegin about how we are responding:

Robert Morris University, in suburban Pittsburgh, is also prepping for the change, encouraging accounting undergraduates to enroll in a program that awards an M.B.A. for an additional year of study. Frank Flanegin, head of the department of accounting and finance, said the university introduced the program as a way to help students meet the upcoming requirement change.

“There’s no mandate with this change to get another degree – an M.S. in accounting or an MBA,” Flanegin said, noting that about half of the university’s accounting majors go onto seek a C.P.A. “But why would you want to have students take additional credits without earning an additional degree? This provides our accounting majors who know what they want to do with an opportunity to fulfill the requirement.” (link)

Engineering solutions

Pennsylvania Manufacturer magazine features an article this month penned by Zbignew Czajkiewicz, head of the RMU Center for Applied Research in Engineering and Science (RMU-CARES) about direct digital manufacturing. Click here and go to page 20.

Plugged in

There's an interesting article in this month's eCampus News (go to page 14) about online learning. It seems that students report being just as engaged, if not more so, by courses taught entirely online as they do by courses taught in a traditional classroom setting.

These findings aren't all that different from research conducted over several years by education and business professors at RMU. The RMU studies found little difference in student performance or satisfaction between classes taught the Internet and those taught in a classroom with a "live" instructor. You can read more here.

And yet, no one has offered to buy the naming rights to this blog

During an interview this morning on KQV Radio, Dave Synowka, director of RMU's Sport Management Program, offered his thoughts on the deal for CONSOL Energy to buy the naming rights to the Penguins' new arena. Synowka thinks it's a good deal for CONSOL, which is going to gain national exposure for its brand.

If you are interested in scheduling an interview with Synowka on this subject, contact Jonathan Potts at 412-397-3813 or potts@rmu.edu.

We hate to toot our own horn, but...

University Business gives RMU a little love in its December issue, which you can check out online. (We're on pages 36 and 46.)

Get 'em while they're young

RMU alumnus Howard Shapiro will appear on Stan Savran's "Savran on SportsBeat" this Friday on FSN Pittsburgh to talk about his latest children's book "Hockey Player for Life." The show airs at 6:30 p.m.

You can learn more about Shapiro's book here and here.

A brief history of the greatest university ever

We posted to YouTube a nice little history of RMU that our documentary center produced a few years ago:

Now that's a web site

The Department of Media Arts now has a web site worthy of its name: http://mediaarts.rmu.edu/.

Everyone at RMU is above average, too

Check out WQED's interview with Garrison Keillor, who spoke last night as part of the RMU Pittsburgh Speakers Series.

Go Colonials!

If you haven't done recently, now's a good time to visit RMU's athletics web site. It's been a particularly good week for the Colonials -- on the field, on the court and on the ice.