During the Spring of 1984, Emil Hanson, assistant vice president for academic services, issued a report which included data that the average Weber student took 7.9 years to graduate and that only 11.5 of entering freshmen at Weber graduated in four years. 11 An accreditation team from the Northwest Association of Colleges and Universities visited Weber during April of 1984 and generally approved college programs. The team commended the administration and students for their initiative and public relations and noted the high degree of interaction between the college and the surrounding community. It was also noted that there was a high degree of caring demonstrated by the faculty and administration for the students. The team suggested improvements needed to be made in several areas including faculty salaries, updating equipment particularly in the sciences and technology, goal realization, and library support. During the Fall of 1984, the starting times for classes were adjusted to allow an additional morning class. Instead of starting on the hour as had been the tradition, classes began on the half-hour. The Center for Science Education was also initiated during the Fall of 1984. The Signpost began publishing a once a week edition during the summer quarter of 1984, and the paper headlined the July 19th edition Weber granted a Masters in Accounting Program. The new masters degree was only granted after a great deal of preparation by the administration, the faculty, and the community and a lengthy study by the Board of Regents. The new masters program was implemented beginning in the Fall of 1985. On October 9, 1984, A.S.W.S.C. (Associated Students of Weber State College) announced they would no longer sponsor major concert artists on campus because of losses in revenue related to concerts and because of a desire to focus more on the convocations series. An effort to have students, faculty, and the community more involved in forums and in participation in convocations brought about the Open Hour which was begun during Fall Quarter, 1985. Because of the commuter nature of Webers student body, Open Hour was scheduled at 10:30 in the morning rather than an hour or two later to attract more participation in convocation, forums, lectures, and other events. The Open Hour concept was widely debated, passed the Student Senate, and narrowly passed the Faculty Senate. A faculty-wide vote of 187 to 89 rescinded the vote of the Faculty Senate. Academic vice president Robert Smith decided to institute the Open Hour policy despite the opposition, and suggested that the overriding value of the open hours, if supported, will be worth the risk. As the Open Hour began in September of 1985, several events were often scheduled at the same time to meet the varied needs of the campus community. After three years of experimentation, the Open Hour proved to be a valuable contribution to the campus. Debates and forums addressed issues of local and national importance including war in Latin America, famine and hunger in Africa, the value of athletics to the college campus, the Peace Corps, liberal versus vocational education, and New York subway violence. Students and faculty members in the art, theater, and music departments enriched the campus with ongoing exhibits, concerts, recitals, and plays. Willie L. Brown, Jr. speaker of the California State Legislature, spoke at a convocation sponsored in part by the Black Scholars United in May of 1985. Larry Linville who had made famous the character of Frank Burns in M.A.S.H. spoke to members of a Weber audience as did Jerry Rubin and John Anderson. Other presentations were made by Joyce Brothers, Gordon Jump, Michael Harrington, Governor Norman Bangerter, Senator Jake Garn, Henry Kissinger, Don Lind, Gerald Ford, and James Watt. Politicians spoke on campus during the 1984 campaigns with attention on state, local, and national campaigns. Both Wayne Owens and Norman Bangerter, candidates for governor of Utah addressed campus audiences, while the Signpost urged voters to vote and also to contribute to programs to help starving Ethiopians. The Brown Bagger luncheon lecture series sponsored by the Womens Educational Resource Center featured speakers on contemporary topics. Weber hosted three major national debate tournaments during the 1980s including the American Forensics Associations National Individual Events Tournament in 1983, the Delta Sigma RhoTau Kappa Alpha Forensics Honorary National Conference and Tournament in 1986, and the American Forensics Association National Debate Tournament in 1988. Debated were such topics as Resolved: that the United States is justified in providing military support to non-democratic governments, and Resolved: that the U.S. should significantly increase exploration and or development of space beyond the Earths mesosphere. The Weber debate team won the national championships of the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) in 1985. The Northern Utah Satellite Project (NUSAT) was developed in the School of Technology under the direction of Robert Twiggs, John Boyer, Gilbert Moore, Rex Magill, and about 60 Weber students, and it brought the college much recognition. The satellite was designed in coordination with several outside businesses and agencies including Sperry, Apple, T.R.W., Rockwell International, N.A.S.A., and F.A.A. The project was begun in 1982, and was designed to collect data on radar patterns of various antennae located across the globe in order to help the F.A.A. and other similar agencies calibrate the antennae and raise the efficiency of monitoring aircraft flight. The 150 pound satellite was launched into a 190-mile high orbit on April 29, 1985 from the space shuttle Challenger. The project was originally begun as a senior project of Jeff Jensen, and grew to an effort of sixty students and twenty companies. The success of the satellite brought Weber State College world-wide attention. A Nusat II project was conducted during 1986 and 1987 and involved fifty electronics engineering technology students who with their instructors and advisors designed the computer for the new satellite. By the Spring of 1988, Weber State College had joined with AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) to produce satellites in a collaboration that was named CAST. Several partnerships with business and industry were developed in the School of Technology during the 1980s including the Auto Service Educational Program (ASEP) which is a partnership with General Motors for educating automotive service technicians and future service management personnel. The Toyota Technical Education Network (T-TEN) was initiated during 1988