Community College Week articles from May 2007

Community College Week archives from May 2007

New PBS documentary irks community college officials.(around the nation)
May 7, 2007... TAMPA -- Community college officials can be a tough crowd--especially when it comes to criticism of them. So it was hardly surprising that their reaction to a new documentary about community colleges was largely negative when it was screened...

Ala. professor arrested for death threats.
May 7, 2007... DECATUR, Ala. (AP) -- A Calhoun Community College professor who claimed that a former student left a death threat on her voicemail has been arrested and charged with making the threats herself. Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely said...

Bishop State loses reverse-discrimination suit.
May 7, 2007... MOBILE, Ala. -- Bishop State Community College must pay a former history instructor, who is white, $300,000 because of reverse racial discrimination, a federal judge has ruled. Sarah Taylor, whose contract wasn't renewed on the eve of...

Iowa college loses appeal of lawsuit against athletics booster.
May 7, 2007... The Iowa Court of Appeals has rejected Indian Hills Community College's lawsuit accusing a longtime sports booster of creating unfair competition with the college's own fundraising efforts and infringing on its trademark. The suit targeted...

Not your father's distance ed: the advent of the Internet has led to big changes in distance education at community colleges.(Cover story)
May 7, 2007... In the early days of Rio Salado College's existence, distance learning meant residents of Maricopa County in Arizona would sit in front of a television to earn their degree. Sometimes, the college, part of the Maricopa County Community College...

Survey: enrollment in distance education courses swells as colleges struggle to keep pace with demand.
May 7, 2007... TAMPA -- Enrollment in distance-learning classes at community colleges is galloping at a pace far exceeding overall enrollment growth, according to a recent report by the Instructional Technology Council. While the surge underscores the...

Feds end probe of Career Education Corp.(CAPITOL briefs)
May 7, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Justice has notified Career Education Corp. that it is dropping a grand jury investigation into the company without bringing charges, the company announced. The company, the country's largest for-profit...

Bills would extend loan forgiveness.(CAPITOL briefs)
May 7, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Some more public service careers would become eligible for education loan breaks under new legislation filed in Congress. The Librarian Incentive to Boost Recruitment and Retention in Areas of Need (LIBRARIAN) Act would...

McKeon act addresses student aid scandals.(CAPITOL briefs)
May 7, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Rep. Howard McKeon, R-Calif., ranking Republican on the Education & Labor Committee, introduced the Financial Aid Accountability and Transparency Act, a Republican proposal to tame the burgeoning student aid scandals. The bill,...

Tribal colleges striving to end annual battles over funding.(dateline washington)
May 7, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Tribal colleges get unique federal funding, but with it unique problems with funding formulas. Despite earmarks, they must expend considerable time and energy fighting for funds, efforts that might be better directed to meeting...

Congress moves to bolster science education programs.(dateline washington)
May 7, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Science education appears headed for a major boost from Congress. The House passed several bills that would increase federal support for science and technology programs at colleges and universities. Meanwhile, the Senate has...

Bill would launch grant program for teaching history.(CAPITOL briefs)
May 7, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Rep. Thomas Petri, R-Wisc., reintroduced a measure he sponsored last year, the Higher Education for Freedom Act. It would launch a $140 million competitive grant program for colleges and universities and non-profit foundations to...

Holt introduces act to create year-round Pell Grants.(CAPITOL briefs)
May 7, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J., introduced the Part-time Student Assistance Act, referred to the Committee on Education and Labor. The bill would adjust the Income Protection Allowance in accordance with the Consumer Price Index, increase...

Resolution would support National Community College Month.(CAPITOL briefs)
May 7, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C., introduced a resolution supporting the goals and ideals of National Community College Month, referred to the Committee on Education and Labor. The resolution would congratulate "the nation's community...

Appropriations bill includes aid for hurricane-wrecked colleges.(CAPITOL briefs)
May 7, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Though it faces a promised presidential veto because of deadlines to pull out of Iraq, congressional conferees included assistance for hurricane-wrecked colleges in a supplemental appropriations bill. The U.S. Troop...

Fired Alabama chancellor denies claims he used kickbacks for house.
May 7, 2007... MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- Fired two-year college Chancellor Roy Johnson, in a bid to save his $1.3 million home from being seized by the government, denied federal prosecutors' claims that he used $300,000 in contractor kickbacks to build it....

Alabama governor wants to ban legislators from 2-year college jobs.
May 7, 2007... MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- Gov. Bob Riley has asked members of the state Board of Education to consider adopting a policy that would keep elected officials from also serving as public education employees. Riley's comments came at the board's...

Michigan mulls new tax for state's community colleges.
May 7, 2007... LANSING Mich. (AP) -- Michigan's community colleges are expected to be a driving force in the state's quest to get workers prepared for a changing economy. About 450,000 students attend the state's 28 two-year colleges. Enrollment is up at...

Wyo. professor says scholarship program depresses enrollment.
May 7, 2007... CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- A Laramie County Community College instructor says the state's new Hathaway Scholarship program could be responsible for a drop in students enrolling in engineering and physics classes there. Kevin Kilty, who teaches...

Spellings moves to quell furor over ties between financial aid officers and lenders by naming task force.
May 7, 2007... WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal task force will examine the ties between lenders and college financial aid officers amid growing concerns about student loans, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo...

Iowa college instructors press legislature for pay raise.
May 7, 2007... DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Community college teachers have unveiled a $5.6 million plan to increase their salaries, saying they are being excluded from the debate over teacher pay in Iowa. "We're trying to send a message that we stand united...

Oregon bill would compel student contributions to tuition.
May 7, 2007... SALEM, Ore. (AP) -- A proposed new model for how lower- and middle-income Oregon students pay for college looks poised to become a reality after sailing through the state Senate on an unanimous vote. The bill now moves to the House for...

Oil patch prosperity keeping men out of Wyoming colleges.
May 7, 2007... CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- Job opportunities in the oil patch are keeping many Wyoming men from seeking college degrees, officials say. Jim Rose, director of the Wyoming Community College Commission, said the job market is a major reason why...

Newspaper wins Pulitzer Prize for exposing corruption in Alabama 2-year college system.
May 7, 2007... BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- The Birmingham News won the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting for Brett Blackledge's exposure of corruption in the state's two-year college system, which led to the ouster of the chancellor and an ongoing...

Missouri instructor fired after making suicide joke.
May 7, 2007... OZARK, Missouri (AP) -- A Missouri college fired a geography instructor and filed a report with police after students complained the man had joked about being a suicide bomber. Ozarks Technical Community College spokesman Joel Doepker said...

Remediation planned after 30 Miss. students flunk exam.
May 7, 2007... JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- Expanded remediation programs could start this summer due to the high number of nursing students who failed their exams, Hinds Community College officials announced. Earlier this month, 30 of the 65 associate degree...

Ad for strippers in college paper irks students.
May 7, 2007... BREMERTON, Wash. (AP) -- A full-page ad in the Olympic College student newspaper calling for female students to apply for dancing jobs at a strip club is drawing strong protests from students. The ad is for Toys Topless in nearby Gorst and...

Colorado college offers buyouts to 86 employees.
May 7, 2007... GREELEY, Colo. (AP) -- Trustees of Aims Community College have voted to offer voluntary early retirement packages to 86 people, or nearly a fourth of its employees. Aims President Marsi Liddell said the vote was aimed at promoting...

Philadelphia president urges funding increase.
May 7, 2007... PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Community College of Philadelphia students will face higher tuition and reduced programs next year if a cut in funds proposed by Mayor John Street is allowed to stand, the college president said. Street proposed a...

Arizona lifts ban on arming college police.
May 7, 2007... MESA, Ariz. (AP) -- Gov. Janet Napolitano has signed a bill into law prohibiting any government body from preventing state-certified police officers from carrying a gun. Currently policy doesn't allow certified officers who patrol Maricopa...

Wyoming college to augment Hathaway Scholarships.
May 7, 2007... CASPER, Wyo. (AP) -- Casper College plans to begin offering scholarships beyond what the state's new Hathaway Scholarship is providing. Under the school's Hathaway Plus program, students can get an additional $250 to $1,000 per semester,...

Personal computers can save your time, and waste it.(technology today)
May 7, 2007... As I write this, I realize that I've waited too long to tackle it, not necessarily until the last minute, but longer than would have been ideal to give it all the time that it deserves. I've procrastinated. Procrastination can be a problem...

Indian River Community College in Ft. Pierce, Fla., has earned first place for innovative use of technology in education from the American Association of Community Colleges and the Center for Digital Education for the third year in a row.(Bits & Bytes)
May 7, 2007... Indian River Community College in Ft. Pierce, Fla., has earned first place for innovative use of technology in education from the American Association of Community Colleges and the Center for Digital Education for the third year in a row. The...

Officials at Rose State College in Midwest City, Okla., say they have become the only two-year institution in the country to offer all six federal certificates in Information Assurance and Cyber Security.(Bits & Bytes)
May 7, 2007... Officials at Rose State College in Midwest City, Okla., say they have become the only two-year institution in the country to offer all six federal certificates in Information Assurance and Cyber Security. The distinction means Rose State...

Undercover sting leads to drug arrests of Alabama students.
May 7, 2007... TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -- A month-long undercover investigation led to the arrest of ten University of Alabama students and one Shelton State Community College student on felony drug charges. Tuscaloosa Police Lt. Steven Anderson said the...

Wyoming president announces retirement plans.
May 7, 2007... ROCK SPRINGS, Wyo. (AP) -- Tex Boggs, president of Western Wyoming Community College, says he plans to retire on June 30, 2008. Boggs made the announcement at the college's Board of Trustees meeting. "I'd like to go out kind of close...

Director and producer Victoria Vorreiter discussed and showed portions of Music and the Cycles of Life, a video documentary series highlighting the vibrancy and diversity of age-old tribal music, while demonstrating humankind's commonalities at Elgin Community College in Ill.(around campus)
May 7, 2007... Director and producer Victoria Vorreiter discussed and showed portions of Music and the Cycles of Life, a video documentary series highlighting the vibrancy and diversity of age-old tribal music, while demonstrating humankind's commonalities at...

Daytona Beach Community College.(around campus)
May 7, 2007... Graduates of the Emergency Services Institute at Daytona Beach Community College in Fla., are shaping the community. They are the paramedics assisting an accident victim, the police officer apprehending a suspect or the firefighter...

Rose State College.(around campus)
May 7, 2007... The National Basketball Association's New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets recently sponsored a prom dress giveaway for local high school students in collaboration with Rose State College in Midwest City, Okla. The event attracted young girls and...

Indian River Community.(around campus)
May 7, 2007... Indian River Community College in Fort Pierce, Fla., is planning for a new, seven-building, 50-acre training complex for the main campus. The Treasure Coast Public Safety Complex, a multi-structure interdisciplinary training center, will serve...

Miami Dade College has announced that is has raised a record $1.1 million for student scholarships and educational support.(Grants & Gifts)
May 7, 2007... Miami Dade College has announced that is has raised a record $1.1 million for student scholarships and educational support. The money was raised at Miami Dades's 2007 Alumni Hall of Fame Gala event and is based on more than $500,000 collected...

Owens Community College.(Grants & Gifts)
May 7, 2007... FedEx Express has donated a Boeing 727-100 freighter jet aircraft to Owens Community College in Toledo, Ohio, where it will be used to provide hands-on educational experiences for first responders at the Owens Center for Emergency Preparedness....

Ruth Peeling Barbour has given a gift to Carteret Community College in Morehead City, N.C., that will affect future generations with the creation of the Barbour-Henry Endowment for a faculty chair in marine technology education.(Grants & Gifts)
May 7, 2007... Ruth Peeling Barbour has given a gift to Carteret Community College in Morehead City, N.C., that will affect future generations with the creation of the Barbour-Henry Endowment for a faculty chair in marine technology education. The endowment...

Clark College in Vancouver, Wash., has received a $15,387 grant to fund a community feasibility study for a licensed practical nurse program.(Grants & Gifts)
May 7, 2007... Clark College in Vancouver, Wash., has received a $15,387 grant to fund a community feasibility study for a licensed practical nurse program. The funds were provided through the Promise of Nursing for Washington Nursing School Grant Program,...

In launching the Excellence in Teaching Awards, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees honored three faculty members.(Honors & AWARDS)
May 7, 2007... In launching the Excellence in Teaching Awards, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees honored three faculty members: * Donald E. Graves, a biology instructor at Rainy River Community College, for commitment to...

Benjamin Sargeant.(Honors & AWARDS)
May 7, 2007... Benjamin Sargeant, an engineering student at Piedmont Virginia Community College, has been named one of the top 20 community college students in the country. A member of the All-USA Community College Academic First Team sponsored by USA TODAY,...

Terry Britton.(Honors & AWARDS)
May 7, 2007... Terry Britton, president of Rose State College in Midwest City, Okla., received the Outstanding Leadership Award from the Oklahoma Career and Technical Education Equity Council. Lt. Gov. Jari Askins presented the award to Britton at the state...

Tom Gorecki.(Honors & AWARDS)
May 7, 2007... College of Southern Maryland Professor Tom Gorecki has been named the distance educator of the year by the Maryland Distance Learning Association. A professor for 23 years, Goreeki has been a longtime advocate for providing distance learning...

Scholars for the National Science Foundation's Science Talent Expansion program and its Computer Science, Engineering and Mathematics Grant programs have been announced at Eastfield College in Mesquite, Texas.(Honors & AWARDS)
May 7, 2007... Scholars for the National Science Foundation's Science Talent Expansion program and its Computer Science, Engineering and Mathematics Grant programs have been announced at Eastfield College in Mesquite, Texas. The following students were chosen...

Ivy Tech Community College-Central Indiana and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis have selected Peggy Apple to serve as a joint faculty member for the two institutions.(faculty lounge)
May 7, 2007... Ivy Tech Community College-Central Indiana and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis have selected Peggy Apple to serve as a joint faculty member for the two institutions. This is the first joint faculty appointment established by...

Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship.(faculty lounge)
May 7, 2007... Charles Wilson, who heads the department of machine tool technology at Greenville Technical College in South Carolina, has been selected by Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao to serve on a Labor Department advisory board. Wilson was appointed by...

Los Angeles Community College District.(APPOINTMENTS)
May 7, 2007... The Board of Trustees for the Los Angeles Community College District announced it has appointed Angela J. Reddock to fill the seat vacated by Michael Waxman, a trustee who resigned from the elected office earlier this year. Reddock received her...

American Society for Engineering Education.(APPOINTMENTS)
May 7, 2007... Ashok Agrawal, dean of mathematics, science, engineering and technology at St. Louis Community College-Florissant Valley, has been elected a fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education. He will officially be inducted as a fellow of...

Macomb Community College.(APPOINTMENTS)
May 7, 2007... Sam Lamb has been named the new women's basketball head coach at Macomb Community College. Lamb has been the lead assistant of the women's program for the past two seasons. Lamb played college basketball at Orchard Lake St. Mary's. He prepped...

Commission for a College Ready Texas.(APPOINTMENTS)
May 7, 2007... Jonathan Lee, associate professor of history at San Antonio College, has been appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to serve on the Commission for a College Ready Texas. The purpose of the commission is to provide leadership and guidance to the State...

Calendar.(Calendar)
May 7, 2007... MAY May 20-22, 2007 NACADA Mid-South Region 3 Conference Asheville, NC Call: (785) 532-5717 nacada@ksu.edu www.nacada.ksu.com May 20-23, 2007 NISOD International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence Austin, TX...

Former Miami Dade VP loses First Amendment lawsuit.(around the nation)
May 21, 2007... MIAMI, Fla. -- A former Miami Dade College vice president has lost her lawsuit claiming that the president wrongfully refused to renew her contract in retaliation for speaking out about alleged ethical and legal violations. A federal...

N.M. colleges strike deal to slash tuition by 80 percent.
May 21, 2007... SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) -- The College of Santa Fe has a deal for students who graduate from Santa Fe Community College with an associate degree--an 80 percent tuition discount. Instead of $11,925 per semester, eligible full-time students would...

Charges possible in cash-for-grades scam.
May 21, 2007... PLEASANT HILL, Calif. (AP) -- Diablo Valley College handed over to prosecutors the names of dozens of suspects in a cash-for-grades scam in which students allegedly altered their classmates' computer transcripts for as much as $600 per grade....

Contract for interim chancellor approved.(around the nation)
May 21, 2007... DECATUR, Ala. (AP) -- The state school board approved Renee Culverhouse's contract as interim chancellor on a 5-4 vote and took no action on two policies proposed by Gov. Bob Riley, who called the delay an attempt to maintain an unacceptable...

Double dipping ban in Alabama going nowhere.(around the nation)
May 21, 2007... MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- Gov. Bob Riley's bill to ban double dipping by legislators got a chilly review during a public heating by a state Senate committee. "It's dead," said the bill's sponsor, Sen. Scott Beason, a Republican, after the...

California ballot initiative aims to boost college funding.(around the nation)
May 21, 2007... SACRAMENTO (AP) -- A ballot initiative that would provide California's community colleges with hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funding, while cutting student fees, has qualified for the state's Feb. 5 presidential primary ballot,...

Audit finds tech contract suffering from poor DOE oversight.(around the nation)
May 21, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Poor oversight has created a long list of problems in a $46 million plan to coordinate information technology at the federal Department of Education, according to an audit report by the department's Office of Inspector General....

Soldering on: Congress is pushing to expand college benefits for veterans.(Cover story)
May 21, 2007... Soldiers in the U.S. armed forces may be marching into community colleges. Not to quell a conflagration or keep the peace, but to further their own educations. The all-volunteer force, stretched thin with assignments in Iraq and...

Bush uses Miami Dade speech to push for immigration reform.
May 21, 2007... MIAMI (AP) -- One of the country's most ethnically-diverse community colleges was used as a setting by President Bush to push for a breakthrough on broad immigration reform. Bush delivered the commencement address at Miami Dade College,...

Governor urges no-holds-barred look at Wyoming colleges.
May 21, 2007... CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- Don't he tentative in examining Wyoming's community colleges and the way that system is operated and funded, Gov. Dave Freudenthal told a commission he has named to look at how the colleges train the state's work force....

Wyoming nursing students embracing patients' religion.
May 21, 2007... CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- Nursing programs in Wyoming are increasingly training students to take patients' religion into consideration in determining their treatment. Carol Kabeiseman, director of the nursing program at Laramie County...

Lack of training, growing duties blamed for student aid woes.(dateline washington)
May 21, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Student aid administrators had a message for congressmen seeking to assign responsibility for the current student loan scandals: Don't blame us. Dallas Martin, president of the National Association of Student Financial Aid...

Panel seeks input on financial aid procedures.(CAPITOL briefs)
May 21, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance is seeking public testimony for its June 5 hearing in Washington, D.C. The hearing will be held at the Holiday Inn, 425 New Jersey Ave., N.W. The hearing will cover...

Expanding Noyce scholarships prevails in House.(CAPITOL briefs)
May 21, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives has approved the National Science Foundation Act of 2007, which would open the Robert Noyce Scholarship Program to community colleges for the first time if they partner with four-year institutions. ...

Reed bill aims to improve teacher preparation.(CAPITOL briefs)
May 21, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., believes a revised Higher Education Act should improve teacher preparation. Reed has introduced the Preparing, Recruiting and Retaining Education Professionals Act. The measure would increase funding...

Survey will measure college distance education.(CAPITOL briefs)
May 21, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The Institute of Education Sciences plans a survey of online and distance education courses at colleges. The institute wants to survey 1,600 two-and four-year institutions on the prevalence and delivery of distance education in...

Plan calls for boosting tax credits for college savings.(CAPITOL briefs)
May 21, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., has introduced the College Saver's Credit Act, which was referred to the Senate Finance Committee. The measure would allow a 50 percent tax credit for Section 529 college savings plans....

Legislation would mandate emergency plans.(CAPITOL briefs)
May 21, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., introduced the Campus Law Enforcement Emergency Response Act in the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre. The bill, referred to the Senate Education Committee, would require...

Audit finds glitches in federal grant program.(CAPITOL briefs)
May 21, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Colleges with grants from the Office of Postsecondary Education might not have gotten proper audit instructions. That's because the office has not routinely informed grantees about the Office of Management and Budget audit...

Financial picture brightens for Mississippi colleges.
May 21, 2007... HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) -- Wayne Stonecypher, executive director of the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges, said none of the state's 15 junior colleges plans to raise tuition this year. "Every time we raise tuition we jeopardize...

Sentencing delayed for former Alabama official.
May 21, 2007... BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- A federal judge postponed the sentencing of former state Rep. Bryant Melton to allow him to help in a federal investigation into the state's two-year college system. U.S. attorneys filed a motion asking that U.S....

First black college president in N.C. to retire.
May 21, 2007... DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- The first black to serve as president of a community college in North Carolina said he plans to retire this year, ending a 30-year career at the same Durham school. Phail Wynn Jr., 59, has been president of Durham...

Mid-South president defends regional workforce skills.
May 21, 2007... WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (AP) -- The head of Mid-South Community College said the workforce in eastern Arkansas can be competitive nationally and internationally despite criticism sparked when Toyota by passed the region to build a plant in northern...

Montana college plans 21 percent hike in tuition, fees.
May 21, 2007... KALISPELL, Mont. (AP) -- Tuition and fees paid by full-time students at Flathead Valley Community College will increase by 21 percent. College trustees recently approved the increase, effective at the start of the 2007-08 academic year....

Applications jump at Maine community colleges.
May 21, 2007... AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) -- Enrollment applications have risen sharply at Maine's seven community colleges, resulting in pleas for more funding and creating concerns that waiting lines for popular programs will grow longer. Applications for the...

Vermont colleges students face tuition increase.
May 21, 2007... MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) -- Tuition is on the rise again at Vermont's five state colleges, with increases ranging from 4 percent to just over 6 percent to become effective with the fall semester. State Colleges Chancellor Robert Clarke said...

Steps can solve the riddle of getting found on the web.(technology today)
May 21, 2007... If a tree falls in a forest, and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? This old riddle might be updated for the information age: If you build a Web site, and no one sees it, have you done anything? When it comes to Web...

Owens Community College.(around campus)
May 21, 2007... Owens Community College officially opened its new $20.5 million Center for Emergency Preparedness, which college officials say will train thousands of first responders. The college recently showcased the center's many capabilities with an array...