Community College Week articles from December 2008

Community College Week archives from December 2008

NYC will help rebuild CC Hall hit by terror attack on 9/11.
December 1, 2008... NEW YORK (AP) -- New York City has agreed to put more money toward the rebuilding of a community college building that was damaged beyond repair in the 2001 World Trade Center attack. Fiterman Hall, which belongs to the Borough of Manhattan...

Alabama taps 3 from out of state to head 2-year colleges.
December 1, 2008... MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- Three out-of-state educators will serve as presidents of Bevill State, Gadsden State and Lurleen B. Wallace community colleges. The Alabama State Board of Education recently approved Anne McNutt to head Bevill...

New ban on affirmative action forces Nebraska schools to scour programs.(around the nation)
December 1, 2008... LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- At Southeast Community College, Jose J. Soto may have to change his title: vice president of affirmative action. Nebraska's educational institutions, cities and counties are beginning to scour their programs to see if...

Advanced case of cell phone envy has a more serious side.(point of view)
December 1, 2008... I have a problem with cell phones. Yes, all my students have them, even if they haven't purchased the book for my course. And yes, of course, it drives me nuts when they madly message through one of my life-changing lectures or immaculately...

Nursing League supports multiple paths to advanced degrees.(point of view)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2008... To the Editor: At the National League for Nursing, though we were pleased to see your coverage of the nursing shortage, it is vital that we correct some misinformation in the article regarding the NLN's position on pending legislation in...

Squeezed: as enrollment surges, funding shrinks: sagging economy puts pressure on community colleges.(SPECIAL REPORT: FASTEST-GROWING COMMUNITY COLLEGES)
December 1, 2008... Across the country, from sea to shining sea, enrollment at community colleges continues its remarkable upward climb. In the five years between 2001 and 2006, community colleges saw their overall enrollment jump by 2.2 million...

Analysis has its limitations.(SPECIAL REPORT: FASTEST-GROWING COMMUNITY COLLEGES)
December 1, 2008... Since 2001, we've presented to you in this annual analysis: a look at the enrollment growth among America's community colleges and other public, two-year postsecondary institutions. Like every such analysis, it has its limits. For growth, we...

Back to the classroom: economic woes have Iowa students searching for more skills.(SPECIAL REPORT: FASTEST-GROWING COMMUNITY COLLEGES)
December 1, 2008... IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -- In May 2002, Derrick Henning graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University with a degree in business. Unable to find a job in the post-Sept. 11 environment, the 1998 City High graduate returned home to Iowa City and...

Veterans panel focusing on simplifying educational benefits.(dateline Washington)
December 1, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Simplifying the design of veterans' education benefits tops the 2009 agenda of the Veterans' Advisory Committee on Education. Congress addressed the panel's other top concerns this year by expanding benefits and making assistance...

Library group aims to help veterans learn about benefits.(capital briefs)
December 1, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The American Library Association, in conjunction with several other groups, has started a pilot voluntary outreach effort at libraries to help veterans understand their post-9/11 benefits. ALA is working with several groups,...

Colleges see dip in foreigners seeking 2-year degrees.(capital briefs)
December 1, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The number of foreign students working on associate degrees in the United States dropped 3.7 percent over the last year. Overall, however, community college enrollment of international students remained about the same. The...

Revised form will ease grant reporting requirements.(capital briefs)
December 1, 2008... WASHINGTON -- A revised annual performance report for child care grants would be easier for colleges to complete, promises the Department of Education. But grantees will have to file more often. The department has drafted a new form for...

VA drops bid to contract out software for new GI Bill.(capital briefs)
December 1, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Operation of the expanded veterans' education programs will be done by the Department of Veterans Affairs itself after all. The department, which received a bout of skepticism and criticism from House Democrats for its plan...

Loan buyback program expects minimal participation.(capital briefs)
December 1, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Only about 10 percent of interested lenders will actually participate in the federal loan buyback program, the Office of Federal Student Aid estimates. The Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 extended FSA's...

Feds won't alter approach in awarding disaster grants.(capital briefs)
December 1, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The same procedures used in the last two years for Hurricane Education Recovery Awards will be used to award grants this year. The continuing resolution currently funding the federal government includes $15 million in relief...

Rare college closings could increase during prolonged economic downturn.(money tree)
December 1, 2008... For 15 years, Cascade College in Portland, Ore., struggled to find the fuels that any college needs: students to pay tuition and donors to help build an endowment. Then came the global economic meltdown, and suddenly that struggle became...

Voters OK $374 million in bonds for Portland Community College.(money tree)
December 1, 2008... PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Voters in the Portland metropolitan area have narrowly approved the biggest education bond measure in Oregon history. Portland Community College, which has almost 87,000 students, asked voters for $374 million at a...

Even Harvard and other elite institutions are feeling pinch as healthy endowments wither in stock market meltdown.
December 1, 2008... PROVIDENCE, R. I. (AP) -- You know the financial meltdown is bad when even Harvard is feeling the pinch. Harvard--America's oldest university and the world's wealthiest--helped pioneer a model of diversified endowment investing that many...

Optimism survives at La. colleges even as troubled economy sheds jobs and undermines work plans of graduating seniors.(tracking trends)
December 1, 2008... ALEXANDRIA, La. (AP) -- Although many may not be losing sleep over it--yet--some Louisiana college students are anxious about the state of the nation's economy. "There is a lot of stress among us all because we feel the pressure to keep...

Pa. education board eyes gap between costs, financial aid.
December 1, 2008... HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Ashley Lovejoy has learned that her dream of becoming a special-education teacher comes with a hefty price tag. The road to a bachelor's degree from Edinboro University, a state school, has left Lovejoy nearly...

Internships give Maryland students upper hand in difficult job market.
December 1, 2008... PRINCESS ANNE, Md. (AP) -- Four years ago, when Sidney Bowie started at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, the economy was doing much better than it is today. Still, Bowie, who will graduate in June, is optimistic about his future,...

New face gives GOP a majority on Alabama State Board of Education.
December 1, 2008... MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- The Alabama State Board of Education will look mostly the same when terms are renewed in January, but there will be a new face--and a new party--in the District 7 seat being vacated by Democrat Sandra Ray, who did not...

Alabama judge rejects ban on lawmakers' work at CCs.(legal corner)
December 1, 2008... MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- A judge has thrown out a State Board of Education policy that would have banned Alabama legislators from also working in the two-year college system. Montgomery County Circuit Judge Johnny Hardwick ruled that the...

CC of Denver's former president reaches $81,000 settlement.(legal corner)
December 1, 2008... The former president of Community College of Denver and the college have settled a dispute stemming from her firing in June 2007. As part of the settlement, former President Christine Johnson will receive $60,000 and her attorneys $21,000,...

Freedom-of-speech claim made by conservative Monroe professor now headed for federal trial.(legal corner)
December 1, 2008... A conservative Republican political science instructor who was denied reappointment to a tenure-track position can pursue freedom-of-speech claims against Monroe Community College, in Rochester, N.Y., a federal judge has ruled. He held that the...

Player claims bombardment with pitching machine fastballs.(legal corner)
December 1, 2008... SUMITON, Ala. (AP) -- A north Alabama junior college baseball player claims his coach battered him with fastballs from a pitching machine as punishment for lying about why he missed practice. Shawn Rider, 19, a student at Bevill State...

Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA).
December 1, 2008... ABOUT THE COLLEGE Located close to the nation's capital, Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) is Virginia's largest institution of higher education and one of America's largest community colleges. Enrolling over 65,000 students on...

Washington judge gives green light to retaliation lawsuit by employee.
December 1, 2008... An African-American security officer with a history of discontent over his working conditions at Edmonds Community College, in Lynnwood, Wash., can sue the college for firing him in alleged retaliation for bias complaints, although not because...

La. higher ed chief wants to base funding on graduation rates.
December 1, 2008... BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- State funding for Louisiana's public universities should be based on graduation rates instead of enrollment rates, Commissioner of Higher Education Sally Clausen said recently. Clausen said the change would create a...

In Washington state, economic woes spur an enrollment leap.
December 1, 2008... OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) -- A troubled economy apparently is sending more people back to school for training or retraining. The state Board for Community and Technical Colleges reports enrollment at Washington's 34 two-year colleges is the...

Ohio college says employee data exposed on the internet.
December 1, 2008... DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -- A community college in Ohio says the names and Social Security numbers of nearly 1,000 employees were inadvertently left open to public view on the Internet for about a year. However, Sinclair Community College in...

Vermont's CC will move its headquarters to Montpelier.
December 1, 2008... MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) -- The Community College of Vermont is moving its headquarters from Waterbury to Montpelier. CCV's administration will move into a building it purchased after it was vacated by Woodbury College when it merged with...

Drinking, rowdy behavior mar new student living complex.
December 1, 2008... PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- A new $22 million apartment complex occupied by 300 college students has come under pressure from police, who have been called there 58 times in just two months to deal with complaints about drunkenness and rowdy...

S.C. tech system to eliminate 22 positions after losing funding.
December 1, 2008... COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- The state's technical college system is eliminating 22 positions from the Columbia office because of state budget cuts. The State newspaper reported that 16 workers will lose their jobs next month. Six vacant...

Central Neb. voters reject tax to expand CCC facilities.
December 1, 2008... GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) -- Voters in a 25-county area have rejected a 3-cent tax levy that would have let Central Community College finish several building projects on its three campuses. A total of 59 percent of voters said no in the...

N.H. community Colleges double online courses for HS students.
December 1, 2008... CONCORD, N.H. (AP) -- New Hampshire's Community College System is more than doubling the number of online courses high school students can take to earn college credit. High school students now can choose from 13 college courses in the...

W. Pa. College BB player dies after collapse during practice.
December 1, 2008... BEAVER, Pa. (AP) -- A basketball player at a western Pennsylvania community college died alter collapsing during practice. Officials at the Community College of Beaver County said Tamir Phillips was taking a break during a practice when he...

Calif. system may move to restrict enrollment at all 23 campuses.
December 1, 2008... SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- For the first time in its history, the California State University system may have to turn away some eligible students from all its 23 campuses. Chancellor Charles Reed proposed the enrollment restrictions after Gov....

Common sense is best way to avoid becoming e-mail victim.(technology today)
December 1, 2008... People have been trying to cheat and otherwise victimize one another since, no doubt, we learned to walk uptight. On the other hand, some people subordinate all or almost all personal goals to help their fellow man, and woman. The vast majority...

Bergen Community College.(around campus)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] During the fall 2008 semester, Paramus, N.J.'s Bergen Community College dental hygiene program students have been demonstrating routine dental hygiene procedures to students from Alpine Learning Group, a school for...

Hazard Community & Technical College.(around campus)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Since practice is one of the best ways for a cosmetologist to learn, increase self-confidence and increase speed, Kentucky's Hazard Community & Technical College offers cosmetology services to the public at reduced...

Mesalands Community College.(around campus)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] After some delay, a 1.5 megawatt wind turbine has been erected at Mesalands Community College in Tucumcari, N.M. as part of its North American Wind Research and Training Center. The wind turbine is due to be...

$1 million.(grants & gifts)
December 1, 2008... A plan to create a pipeline of skilled workers in Northeast Wisconsin's energy industry is getting a major boost from a nearly $1 million federal grant announced by the NEW Energy Project partners--Lakeshore Technical College, Northeast...

The Norwalk Community College Foundation, in Norwalk, Conn., has received a $1 million gift to fund student scholarships and financial aid at the college over the next five years.(grants & gifts)
December 1, 2008... The Norwalk Community College Foundation, in Norwalk, Conn., has received a $1 million gift to fund student scholarships and financial aid at the college over the next five years. The donation was made by a Fairfield County couple who...

Bates Technical College.(grants & gifts)
December 1, 2008... The Fire Service Training program at Bates Technical College in Tacoma, Wash., received a refurbished 1973 Seagraves 100-foot ladder truck, courtesy of the City of Bremerton Fire Department. Chief James Anderson, a fire service training...

LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, N.Y., has received a $1.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to encourage under-represented minority students who are interested in the sciences pursue medical and basic sciences as a career.(grants & gifts)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, N.Y., has received a $1.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to encourage under-represented minority students who are interested in the sciences...

Santa Monica College.(faculty lounge)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] California's Santa Monica College will dedicate a sculpture installation called "Garden of Glass," a student-and-faculty group project created in memory of glass student Edgar Sinada, who died in 2007 of stomach...

Tidewater Community College.(faculty lounge)
December 1, 2008... Tidewater Community College in Hampton Roads, Va., has named its first recipient of the Batten Fellowship for Technological Innovation and Leadership, marking new terrain in support of faculty research in cutting-edge, applied technology. The...

At the recent Kentucky Career Counseling Association Annual Conference in Louisville, Helen Brunty, former student support services transfer and career counselor and newly-named activity director/retention specialist at Kentucky's Hazard Community and Technical College, was presented the Career Counselor of the Year Award.(honors & awards)(Conference news)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] At the recent Kentucky Career Counseling Association Annual Conference in Louisville, Helen Brunty, former student support services transfer and career counselor and newly-named activity director/retention specialist...

Sandra Miller Holst, dean of student services and enrollment management at Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., received a Founder's Award from the First World Alumni Chapter of the SUNY New Paltz Alumni Association.(honors & awards)
December 1, 2008... Sandra Miller Hoist, dean of student services and enrollment management at Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., received a Founder's Award from the First World Alumni Chapter of the SUNY New Paltz Alumni Association. Hoist was one...

Pensacola Junior College.(honors & awards)
December 1, 2008... In a recent national review, Florida's Pensacola Junior College practical nursing program ranked first among 1,036 programs across the nation. Pensacola's practical nursing program earned a 100 percent pass rate on the National Council...

M. Elaine Tagliareni, Ed.D., R.N., a professor of nursing at Community College of Philadelphia, received the 2008 Northeast Regional Faculty Award and the national William H. Meardy Faculty Award from the Association of Community College Trustees at the group's annual Community College Leadership Congress.(honors & awards)
December 1, 2008... M. Elaine Tagliareni, Ed.D., R.N., a professor of nursing at Community College of Philadelphia, received the 2008 Northeast Regional Faculty Award and the national William H. Meardy Faculty Award from the Association of Community College...

Onondaga Community College.(APPOINTMENTS)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, N.Y., has named Cathleen C. McColgin provost and senior vice president. McColgin oversees instructional services, student services, enrollment services, diversity services and...

Community College President's Assistants Organization.(APPOINTMENTS)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Mary Lee Welch, administrative assistant to Corning Community College President Floyd Amann, was recently elected president of the Community College President's Assistants Organization, a statewide professional...

Edison State College.(APPOINTMENTS)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Patricia Land, president of the Charlotte County Campus at Edison State College, will expand her role to also head the school's Hendry/Glades Center in Southwest Florida. The expansion is a homecoming for Land who...

Owens Community College.(APPOINTMENTS)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Owens Community College in Ohio has named Cory Stine its new dean of advising, orientation and career services. His responsibilities will include overseeing all aspects of strategic and administrative leadership, and...

Bowling Green Technical College.(APPOINTMENTS)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Phillip Neal has been named provost of Bowling Green Technical College. As part of this college's leadership team, he continues its tradition of offering state-of-the-art technical training, and building a strong...

Calendar.(Calendar)
December 1, 2008... Send entries to: Community College Week P.O. Box 1305 1918, Fairfax, VA 22038 FAX: (703) 978-3933 or via E-mail: ads@ccweek.com JANUARY Jan. 4-7, 2008 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE ENTREPRENEURSHIP (NACCE) 6th...

Falling behind.(Figuring it Out: A look at statistics shaping the higher education landscape)
December 15, 2008... Falling Behind The United States no longer leads the world in providing access to higher education. Percentage of Young Adults (18-24) Enrolled in College, by Country: Korea 53 Greece 50 Poland...

Report: poor Pa. families pay dearly to afford college.
December 15, 2008... HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- A college education in Pennsylvania takes a major bite out of the income of the state's poorest families, according to a state Education Department report. Families making $20,000 or less must pay an average of 73...

Bond sale delay puts La. projects in limbo.
December 15, 2008... BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Delays continue to keep construction projects for the state's technical and community college campuses in limbo. Plans called for the bonds to be sold in the first week of December, with closing scheduled the...

Philanthropists and officials spotlight community colleges.(around the nation)
December 15, 2008... Long the neglected stepchildren of American higher education, community colleges have come front-and-center in the eyes of policy-makers and philanthropists as students flock to the schools. The economy is boosting interest in two-year...

Discussion about Rigor turns out to be much more than academic.(point of view)
December 15, 2008... After a decade of teaching full-time in a community college, I crossed over to the dark side and joined the ranks of academic administration. Not only did I immediately miss the daily contact with students, but I also mourned the loss of...

Corrections.(point of view)(Correction notice)
December 15, 2008... Summary graphs and a summary chart that were to have been part of Community College Week's report on the fastest-growing community colleges were inadvertently omitted from the paper's Dec. 1 edition. The omitted material shows 10-year trends in...

Innovative Louisiana CC Program offers online classes via cell phone.(FIRST IN LINE)
December 15, 2008... BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- If you're one of the one million people in Louisiana who own a BlackBerry or similar device, you soon could be taking college courses while text messaging your friends. The Louisiana Community and Technical College...

Realigning the stars: NJ Merit Scholarship Program being retooled.(Cover story)
December 15, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A merit scholarship program widely praised for keeping talented New Jersey students in the state and giving community colleges a new cachet is getting an overhaul. Launched four years ago in an effort to stem the...

Study flunks 49 states in college affordability.(dateline Washington)
December 15, 2008... WASHINGTON (AP) -- An independent report on American higher education flunks all but one state when it comes to affordability--an embarrassing verdict that is unlikely to improve as the economy contracts. The biennial study by the National...

Federal govt. planning to buy $6.5 billion in student loans.(capital briefs)
December 15, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The federal government will buy up to $6.5 billion more in student loans to ensure availability of student aid. The departments of Education and Treasury and Office of Management and Budget determined the government needs to...

Altering vets' benefits could mean delay, Congress told.(capital briefs)
December 15, 2008... WASHINGTON -- If Congress expands or modifies the new veterans' education benefits in 2009, it could undermine plans to implement the program, a congressional panel has been told. Some veterans groups and members of Congress want to make...

Changes mulled in paperwork for borrower disability claims.(capital briefs)
December 15, 2008... WASHINGTON -- A revision of the "Discharge Application: Total and Permanent Disability" is under consideration. Borrowers use the form to apply for discharge of student loans or TEACH Grant service obligations in the event of permanent and...

VBA seeks comments on new information collection form.(capital briefs)
December 15, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The Veterans Benefits Administration is seeking public comment on its plan to update its information collection needed to report changes in students' enrollment status. The administration collects information on VA Form...

Middle College atmosphere in Missouri allows at-risk students to flourish.(STRINGENT RULES)
December 15, 2008... SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) -- When Dakota Capps enrolled in Middle College's automotive/diesel program, he chose to not give up on a high school diploma. "I wouldn't have lasted another year," said Capps, 16, who struggled academically at...

NH proposes letting some high school students skip last 2 years.(tracking trends)
December 15, 2008... CONCORD, N.H. (AP) -- New Hampshire education officials want to allow some high school students to graduate two years early and start taking community college courses. State Education Commissioner Lyonel Tracy said the goal is to give...

Late again with school payments, Alabama fears new cuts.(TRYING TIMES)
December 15, 2008... MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- A shortfall in state revenue is forcing Alabama to be late again in dispersing state funds that school systems need to make their monthly payrolls. The delayed checks are one more headache for school administrators...

Judges orders review of rehiring decision at Alabama's bishop state.(money tree)
December 15, 2008... MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- A hearing officer who said an Alabama community college had to rehire a former administrator with a felony conviction must take another look at the case, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals has ruled. The unanimous...

Participants work to pick up M&Ms with chopsticks and place them in bowls during a competition at an International Education Week.(money tree)
December 15, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Participants work to pick up M&Ms with chopsticks and place them in bowls during a competition at an International Education Week reception at Northwest College in Powell, Wyo. From left, are Park Rae Gook...

Storytelling and physical response at Heart of Md. language method.(NEW APPROACH)
December 15, 2008... ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Frustrated by traditional language teaching tools, an experienced Spanish teacher from Anne Arundel County Community College has adult students writing imaginative stories and jumping--literally--to learn the language....

Bias suit filed by unsuccessful job applicant can proceed, judge rules.(legal corner)
December 15, 2008... An unsuccessful applicant for a job as disability sources services administrator can pursue claims of racial bias and violation of her "constitutional right of intimate association" against Madison (Wis.) Area Technical College, a federal judge...

College assisting young veterans to adjust to the homefront.(A GAP)
December 15, 2008... SPARKS, Nev. (AP) -- Marine Corps veteran Smart Greenfield quickly realized how trivial certain aspects of civilian life can be after he returned home from serving in Iraq in 2006. His job at Bank of America sharply contrasts with the...

Wyo. College plans to offer online degrees for first time.
December 15, 2008... POWELL, Wyo. (AP) -- Northwest College in Powell plans to offer online degrees soon, pending permission from the Higher Learning Commission. The college's Board of Trustees approved its request to apply to the learning commission to offer...

Wife of former Ala. president pleads guilty to 3 charges.
December 15, 2008... HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) -- The wife of a former Shelton State Community College president has pleaded guilty to three federal wire fraud counts and will forfeit more than $156,700 in pay and benefits reaped from a phony job she got at the Alabama...

Mines school in South Dakota termed best investment.
December 15, 2008... RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) -- The head of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology says it may be the best college investment in the nation-based on a comparison of total costs and graduates' average starting salaries. College President...

W. Va. college professor wins storewide teaching award.
December 15, 2008... BECKLEY, W.Va. (AP) -- A mathematics professor at New River Community and Technical College has been named West Virginia's 2008 Professor of the Year. Lucie T. Refsland received the award at a luncheon in Washington, D.C. The award was...

Casino donates $250,000 in furniture to Idaho College.
December 15, 2008... COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (AP) -- The Coeur d'Alene Tribe casino has given a community college in northern Idaho $250,000 in previously used office furniture. Coeur d'Alene Casino spokesman Bob Bostwick says crews unloaded eight moving vans of...