USA Today, Post-Gazette now available on campus
Kevin Williams
Issue date: 1/12/09 Section: News
RMU students, faculty and staff now have the opportunity to obtain and utilize daily newspapers on campus for free, thanks to a new partnership with USA Today's College Readership Program.
The College Readership Program will now provide free, daily delivery of USA Today and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to the RMU campus.
"The program was designed to provide students and other members of the RMU community the chance to have access to daily news and current events," said Maureen Keefer, assistant dean of students. "It's a great resource for students because it can enhance what they do in the classroom."
According to Keefer, RMU has been meeting and working with representatives from USA Today and the College Readership Program for almost a year. The USA Today works with several other schools including the University of Pittsburgh and Slippery Rock University to provide daily news at no cost.
"We've been working with the USA Today for some time now, and we were finally able to pilot the program here during the spring semester," said Keefer.
According to its Web site, "the goal of The Collegiate Readership Program is to enhance the learning environment on campus, by exposing students to the news in their living, learning, and community spaces."
"Bringing this program to RMU will help prepare students to become active citizens," said Keefer.
This free service begins today and will continue throughout the semester.
There will be two locations in the Nicholson Center in which members of the RMU community can obtain a newspaper: one by the main entrance on the 3rd floor near the rotunda, the other in the Food Court on the 2nd floor.
For the first several weeks of the semester, the newspapers will be available in open bins in each of these locations. By the end of January, however, the open-air bins will be replaced with distribution boxes that can only be opened with a valid Freedom Card. To obtain a newspaper, one must swipe his or her card to open the box and retrieve a newspaper. No money or information will be taken from a Freedom Card once these distribution boxes are installed.
"This is something that we are hoping folks will take advantage of," said Keefer, who also said this semester will be used as a pilot period to gauge student and employee response to the service.
"We're certainly open to and interested in feedback from students, faculty and staff," added Keefer.
The program is funded by the Office of Student Life.
A similar test program was held on campus for short time in 2007 with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. This is the first time RMU has partnered with a major newspaper to offer free daily news.
The College Readership Program will now provide free, daily delivery of USA Today and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to the RMU campus.
"The program was designed to provide students and other members of the RMU community the chance to have access to daily news and current events," said Maureen Keefer, assistant dean of students. "It's a great resource for students because it can enhance what they do in the classroom."
According to Keefer, RMU has been meeting and working with representatives from USA Today and the College Readership Program for almost a year. The USA Today works with several other schools including the University of Pittsburgh and Slippery Rock University to provide daily news at no cost.
"We've been working with the USA Today for some time now, and we were finally able to pilot the program here during the spring semester," said Keefer.
According to its Web site, "the goal of The Collegiate Readership Program is to enhance the learning environment on campus, by exposing students to the news in their living, learning, and community spaces."
"Bringing this program to RMU will help prepare students to become active citizens," said Keefer.
This free service begins today and will continue throughout the semester.
There will be two locations in the Nicholson Center in which members of the RMU community can obtain a newspaper: one by the main entrance on the 3rd floor near the rotunda, the other in the Food Court on the 2nd floor.
For the first several weeks of the semester, the newspapers will be available in open bins in each of these locations. By the end of January, however, the open-air bins will be replaced with distribution boxes that can only be opened with a valid Freedom Card. To obtain a newspaper, one must swipe his or her card to open the box and retrieve a newspaper. No money or information will be taken from a Freedom Card once these distribution boxes are installed.
"This is something that we are hoping folks will take advantage of," said Keefer, who also said this semester will be used as a pilot period to gauge student and employee response to the service.
"We're certainly open to and interested in feedback from students, faculty and staff," added Keefer.
The program is funded by the Office of Student Life.
A similar test program was held on campus for short time in 2007 with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. This is the first time RMU has partnered with a major newspaper to offer free daily news.
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