Universities that rely heavily on part-time faculty may be hurting the quality of education that students receive, according to three recent studies.

During the 2007 fall semester, 60 percent of TCU faculty worked full time, according to the Office of Institutional Research's Fall 2008 Fact Book. That rate is well below peer schools Southern Methodist University at 85 percent and Baylor University at 91 percent.

QuarterbacksTCU: Sophomore quarterback Andy Dalton is coming off one of his worst games of the season against Utah, completing just 16 of his 37 pass attempts and throwing two costly interceptions on drives...

Despite the fact that religion plays an important role in the lives of Americans, everyone benefits from the separation of church and state that is afforded by the Constitution, a religion professor and a Christian agency representative told students at a discussion on religion and politics Wednesday.

Ron Flowers, emeritus professor of religion, and guest speaker Stephen Reeves, legislative counsel for the Christian Life Commission, spoke about the dangers of blending religion and politics in an intimate gathering of about a dozen students in Robert Carr Chapel.

Dining Services' initiative to change the meal plan should be applauded.

Pre-packaged food options including salads, sandwiches, fruit, cookies and drinks will now be available at Sub Connection, and changes in the way Pond Street Grill operates are in the works.

While it doesn't fully integrate Sub Connection into the "swipes" portion of the meal plan, it is a step in the right direction.

The Simply To-Go program will help students with busy schedules grab lunch and continue with their lives.

A recent extension to legislation passed by Congress involving the buying out of federal student loans will not affect the daily life of a TCU student, but it will greatly impact those lenders providing the loans, a campus financial aid official said.

The Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008, which authorized the Education Department to buy federal student loans from education lenders, originally included only loans made in the 2008-09 school year. However, as of Nov. 7, loans made in 2009-10 are also eligible.

Head football coach Gary Patterson began his weekly news conference Tuesday with two words that expressed the focus of the Horned Frogs this week: "Air Force."

"For a team that people say runs the triple option, they have thrown for nine touchdowns," Patterson said. "You've got to be very careful in how you handle them and what you do."

Patterson said the team is prepared for what the Air Force Academy has done during its first 11 games, but he would be surprised if the Falcons tried something new.

Despite the fact the Constitution demands a separation of church and state, the line has been considerably blurred by the Bush administration, and the practice carried over into the 2008 presidential campaign strategies, a religion professor said.

Ron Flowers, professor of religion, along with Stephen Reeves, legislative counsel for the Christian Life Commission, will examine the role of political candidates' religious affiliations and the earmarking of tax dollars for religious charities today in the Robert Carr Chapel.

TCU has a lower percentage of freshmen who graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school class compared to peer schools, such as Baylor University and Southern Methodist University, according to institutional research statistics.

According to the TCU Fall 2008 Fact Book, 32 percent of TCU's freshmen graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school class.

About 42 percent of SMU's freshmen graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school class, according to SMU fact books.

Young Americans gravitated to the polls this election, and youth voter estimates show the percentage of eligible 18-29 year-old voters rose to at least 52 percent, an increase of 4 to 5 percentage points since 2004.

According to a voter turnout projection report released by Tufts University's Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), the increase in youth votes accounted for at least 60 percent of the overall increase in votes cast, suggesting the recent election rallied more young voters than any other age group.

After losing the last two games of a three-game road trip, the Horned Frogs will face the University of Nebraska in their 2008 home opener Wednesday at 7 p.m.

This will be new head coach Jim Christian's first regular season home game at TCU. Christian was lured to TCU last March from Kent State, where he accumulated a 138-58 record over six seasons and made the NCAA Tournament twice. He said he hopes to bring those winning ways to Fort Worth.

Nebraska is the first of three Big 12 teams TCU is scheduled to play this season.

A new study shows that 32 percent of TCU's freshman class graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school class.

That is less than other comparable schools like Baylor University, at 35 percent, and Southern Methodist University, at 42 percent. But as important as grades are, more goes into students than their grades in high school.

A good student has to be someone who is focused, balanced and involved in his or her community. So far, it seems TCU has done a good job of selecting students based on factors other than their grades in high school.