Community College Week articles from April 2005

Community College Week archives from April 2005

Student visas stuck in sticky patches.(around the nation)
April 11, 2005... WASHINGTON -- International students seeking to study in the United States still face hurdles as the wrinkles in the new visa-granting process are ironed out. At the same time, government officials say the system is becoming easier to manage as...

Judge sentences siblings convicted of defrauding Pa. school.(around the nation)
April 11, 2005... PHILADELPHIA -- A federal judge has sentenced the first two defendants convicted of fraud and conspiracy involving a Community College of Philadelphia adult-education program. Lakiha Spicer and her brother, Azheem Spicer, were each ordered...

Adult TV network films racy video at California college.(around the nation)
April 11, 2005... LOS ANGELES (AP) -- An X-rated cable television network paid Pierce College $5,000 to use its baseball field for a suggestive promotional video, easing an economic crunch but raising questions about how far the school should go to raise money....

The little engine that could.(point of view)
April 11, 2005... In the long run, community colleges hit only what they aim at, to paraphrase an adage from Henry David Thoureau Community colleges are engaging ultra-inclusive strategic planning processes to ratchet up public awareness and support-and,...

Redefining Latino diversity.(point of view)
April 11, 2005... The continuing educational achievement gap between Latino students and their white and Asian counterparts is jeopardizing the economic advancement of vast segments of the country's largest and fastest-growing minority. As we have seen in New...

Humor 101.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: "As it turns out, we have an opening at one of our small branch campuses."

Patterns of success: like a bias-cut skirt, SUNY's Fashion Institute of Technology has stretched for 60 years to give students what they need.(Cover Story)
April 11, 2005... NEW YORK -- When you think of workforce training, the runways of Paris and New York probably don't come to mind. But at the Fashion Institute of Technology, in the geographical center of New York City's garment district on Seventh Avenue,...

Back in the saddle--and headed to Spain.(Saddleback Community College)
April 11, 2005... MISSION VIEJO, Calif. -- Trustees of Saddleback College will allow students to study in Spain this summer after all, voting late last month to reverse their earlier decision to cancel the trip. The change of heart came about after the...

Higher-education office changes grant-application system.(dateline Washington)
April 11, 2005... The same game will be played by the same rules, but the referees may total up the score differently, now that the Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education announced it'll no longer use the same rigid point calculation when...

More degrees = more money, census numbers show.(dateline washington)
April 11, 2005... These days, the market value of an associate's degree weighs in at about $9,000 a year, according to new numbers on educational attainment and earning power from the Bureau of the Census. The average American with a community college degree...

Senate Budget offers higher ed. a boost.(CAPITOL briefs)
April 11, 2005... The Senate, passing a 006 budget resolution at rejects cuts called for by the Bush administration, has shown some sympathy for higher-education funding. The full Senate approved several amendments not included in the Senate Budget...

California's only tribal college appeals loss of accreditation.(SPECIAL REPORT: DISTANCE LEARNING)(D-Q University)
April 11, 2005... DAVIS, Calif. -- Thirty-year-old D-Q University, the first and only tribal college founded outside a reservation, closed in February after losing its accreditation and running out of operating funds. The school's board of trustees appealed the...

'Father of Indian education' dies.(SPECIAL REPORT: DISTANCE LEARNING)(Obituary)
April 11, 2005... DAVIS, Calif. -- David Risling, who spent his career opening the doors of higher education to Native American students, died March 13 at the age of 83. Throughout his career, Risling was an effective champion of Indian rights and...

Usenet can still be useful.(technology today)(online discussion groups)
April 11, 2005... The Internet's defining characteristic is its interactivity, and one of the oldest tools for this purpose is Usenet. America Online's recent decision to drop Usenet from its services has led other online companies to question the viability of...

New camera detects concealed weapons.(Bits & Bytes)
April 11, 2005... The recent school shootings in Red Lake, Minn., have once again thrust the issue of school safety to the forefront of national debate. These incidents aren't limited to middle schools and high schools, but have struck at colleges around the...

Harmon takes Helm at Houston.(PRESIDENTS)(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Dr. William W. Harmon was recently named president of Houston Community College's central campus in Texas. Prior to his appointment, Harmon served as senior vice president of student services at the University of Virginia. He holds a bachelor's...

Brookhaven College.(RETIREMENTS)(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Dr. Alice W. Villadsen has announced her retirement after seven years as president of Brookhaven College in Dallas. Previously, Villadsen had served as vice president for instruction at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, N.C. She...

Community College of Baltimore County.(RETIREMENTS)(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Dr. Irving Pressley McPhail recently announced his retirement as chancellor of the Community College of Baltimore County in Maryland. He had previously served as president of Missouri's St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley. McPhail...

Orange Coast College.(APPOINTMENTS)(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Dr. Jorge Sanchez has been named dean of the technology division at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, Calif. Sanchez was previously the administrative director of educational services for the Coast Community College District, which oversees...

Forsyth Technical College.(APPOINTMENTS)(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Sue Marion has been promoted to vice president of corporate and continuing education at Forsyth Technical College in Winston-Salem, N.C. She had previously served as interim vice president and director of the college's small business center....

Santa Fe Community College.(APPOINTMENTS)(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Santa Fe Community College in Santa Fe, N.M., has named Farhad Javaheripour as the new vice president for administrative services. He most recently worked as director of business operations at the University of New Mexico-Gallup campus....

Coming events.(Calendar)
April 11, 2005... April 14-16 Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society of the Two-Year College International Convention "Catch a Shining Star" Dallas convention.ptk.org April 25-28 Community Colleges. "Appreciative Inquiry, a Collaborative...

Report urges educators to revamp accountability.(around the nation)
April 25, 2005... WASHINGTON -- The nation's colleges and universities must create new and more responsive ways to hold themselves accountable for student success, says a commission of higher-education officials and policy experts. The report, presented by the...

Young people eager for college education, study finds.(around the nation)
April 25, 2005... For most young adults in America, a college education is more valued than ever, and for more diverse reasons than ever, according to a study by the Public Agenda, a nonprofit, nonpartisan opinion-research firm. Despite financial worries,...

Pennsylvania governor wants to grow dual-enrollment programs.(around the nation)(Edward G. Rendell)
April 25, 2005... EXTON, Pa. (AP) -- The first three years of high school were torture for Elise Harry. Failing grades forced her to repeat her sophomore year, and she felt lost in a sea of 2,000 students. Sometimes she just didn't bother going to classes....

Ohio legislature mulls fixed tuition cap.
April 25, 2005... COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- House Republicans are considering replacing Ohio's percentage-based college and university tuition increase cap with a fixed dollar cap. Tuition increases are capped at 6 percent under current law, and Gov. Bob Taft...

Report finds flaws in education department's audit follow-ups.(dateline washington)
April 25, 2005... Academic institutions that misuse federal money have historically gotten away with at least some of their misdeeds. The Department of Education's Inspector General's office has shown that this is at least in part due to shoddy follow-up...

Education office warns of breach in student-loan records.(CAPITOL briefs)
April 25, 2005... Internal controls over the processing of student loans works well enough. But a problem could arise because of incompatible recordkeeping systems. Or so concluded the Department of Education's Inspector General's office after an...

Pell grant data incomplete, report says.(dateline washington)
April 25, 2005... No one knows how big a dent Pell Grants are making in the nation's need for college financing. Though the federal government spends more than $12 billion a year for the grants, it doesn't collect data on how many eligible students don't apply....

You can go home again.(point of view)(Column)
April 25, 2005... Sooner or later, college presidents face the question of what to do next. After 16 years on the job, and more than 30 years as a community-college administrator, I faced that question recently. Financially, I could coast until I draw retirement...

That dog won't hunt: from the register-guard, Eugene, Ore.(WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING)
April 25, 2005... EUGENE, Ore. -- Rep. Bob Ackerman, D-Eugene, is frustrated with everyone involved in funding higher education. The state, he believes, has been derelict in allowing higher-education funding to slip. The universities and community colleges are...

Humor 101.(Cartoon)
April 25, 2005... "He's got 'I'm in grant renewal heaven' all over him."

Reporting for duties: with the support of the U.S. military, soldiers at home and abroad are beating a path to higher education.
April 25, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Studying for an associate's degree at a community college is stressful under the best of circumstances. But imagine doing your homework between dinner and "lights out"--not in the comfort and safety of your home, but in a barracks...

Calif. court: college leaders' goals don't have to be divulged.
April 25, 2005... SAN MARCOS Calif. -- The Palomar Community College District isn't required to release the personal performance goals of its former superintendent, the state Court of Appeal has ruled. Those documents aren't subject to mandatory disclosure...

Proposed funding halt angers Ariz. tribal college.(Arizona)
April 25, 2005... PHOENIX (AP) -- Five years ago, Arizona began sending $1.75 million a year to the Navajo Nation's college as part of a 10-year deal. Now, Republican lawmakers want to eliminate the payments to Dine College to help ease the state's budget...

N.C. lawmakers consider education cuts.(North Carolina)
April 25, 2005... RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- State educators recently laid out their arguments against additional budget cuts, claiming the more than $700 million in potential reductions could lead to hundreds of lost teaching jobs and classes. "We feel...

Supreme Court to hear Virginia colleges' bankruptcy suit.(Brief Article)
April 25, 2005... LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) -- The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case involving four Virginia colleges that could determine if states are immune from bankruptcy proceedings. The case stems from the 2001 bankruptcy of Wallace's Bookstores...

Senate panel rejects bill to change higher ed. in Arizona.(higher edUCATION)(Brief Article)
April 25, 2005... PHOENIX (AP) -- A Senate committee narrowly rejected a bill that would have made major changes in Arizona's higher-education system, including allowing community colleges to offer four-year degrees. The Appropriations Committee voted 6-5...

Colorado instructor dies after boxing match.(Obituary)
April 25, 2005... DENVER (AP) -- A community-college teacher who won a regional boxing title three years ago died from a head injury she sustained in a Golden Gloves competition. Becky Zerlentes, 34, of Fort Collins, is believed to be the first woman to die in a...

Nebraska students build homes.
April 25, 2005... HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) -- For the ninth straight year, a home built by students at Central Community College-Hastings will be auctioned off. This year's home, a 1,680-square-foot, three-bedroom ranch-style house, is likely the most efficient...

Apocalypse never.(technology today)(computer disasters)
April 25, 2005... Disaster is compelling. We read about horrible murders in the paper, watch news of devastating hurricanes and hurry to neighborhood fires that destroy a family's home. We shake our heads in empathy for others and sigh in relief for ourselves....

Cybersecurity boot camp accepts first community-college student.(Bits & Bytes)
April 25, 2005... Herkimer N.Y. -- Herkimer County Community College student Ronald Allen has been invited to participate in the 2005 Advanced Course in Engineering Cybersecurity Boot Camp. He will join 67 undergraduate and graduate students from 45 colleges for...

Where the wind takes us.(around campus)
April 25, 2005... Santa Fe Community College, In Santa Fe, N.M., recently wrapped up an exhibit of photographic Images entitled "Photographic Currents." Artists from Cob orado, Massachusetts, Kentucky and Vancouver, British Columbia contributed works dedicated...

Spring blooms eternal.(around campus)(Hagerstown Community College Alumni Association's Flower and Garden Show )(Brief Article)
April 25, 2005... The Hagerstown Community College Alumni Association recently presented the 11th annual Flower and Garden Show In the Maryland college's athletic, recreation and community center. This year's theme was "All Creatures Great and Small." The...

St. Louis Community College's Forest Park.(appointed Morris Johnson as president)(Brief Article)
April 25, 2005... Morris Johnson HI has been named president of St. Louis Community College's Forest Park campus. Before coming to SLCC, Johnson most recently served as vice president for student development services at Phoenix College in Arizona. He earned a...

Atlantic Cape Community College.(appointment)(Brief Article)
April 25, 2005... The Atlantic Cape Community College in Mays Landing, N.J., has named Dr. Peter L. Mora Sr. as the school's eighth president. Mora was previously the vice president for continuing education at ACCC. He holds a bachelor's degree from the...

Eastfield College.(appointment)(Brief Article)
April 25, 2005... Dr. Martha Hughes has been tapped as interim president of Eastfield College in Dallas. She previously served as vice president of instruction at North Lake College in Irving, Texas. Hughes earned her bachelor's degree and her master's degree...

Blue Ridge Community College.(appointment)(Brief Article)
April 25, 2005... Dr. John A. Downey has been named vice president of instruction and student services at Blue Ridge Community College in Weyers Cave, Va. Downey previously served as dean of health and human services at the college. He has a bachelor's degree...

Springfield Technical Community College.(appointment)(Brief Article)
April 25, 2005... Dr. Robert W. Dickermau has been appointed dean of the school of mathematics, science and engineering transfer at Springfield Technical Community College in Springfield, Mass. Before this, Dickerman was acting dean at the school. He earned a...

Indian River Community College.(APPOINTMENTS)(Brief Article)
April 25, 2005... Dr. Al Roberts has been named vice president of applied science and technology at Indian River Community College in Fort Pierce, Fla. He most recently served as associate dean of health science at the school. Roberts holds a bachelor's degree...

Coming events.(Calendar)
April 25, 2005... May 2-8 Fountainhead Tanz Theatre/Black International Cinema "Inspiration--Creation--Fulfillment Personified" Berlin, Germany E-mail: Fountainhead@tanztheatre.com www.fountainhead-tanz-theatre.de May 4-5 Educational Testing Service (ETS)...