Pass, Fail: Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education to hold concussion panel, Budget impasse affecting NIU staff, student ratio

By Kaylyn Zielinski

Pass: Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education to hold concussion panel

Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education will hold a panel discussion to discuss how concussions affect young, developing minds on March 22.

This is great way for parents to get an idea of how concussions can affect their children, both short term and long term. Talking about concussions will help parents better understand exactly what they are letting their kids sign up for when they join a sport.

Families will benefit knowing more about the implications of concussions.

Fail: Budget impasse affecting NIU staff, student ratio

Due to the Illinois budget impasse, NIU still had 228 of the 389 open faculty positions unfilled after 161 new hires as of September 2015, according to a Monday Northern Star article.

Less faculty members could mean an increase in class sizes which would limit the amount of one-on-one discussion in class.

Certain courses, like English, thrive off of a discussion-based lectures and the change in the student, staff ratio could hinder that.