Community College Week articles from October 2007

Community College Week archives from October 2007

Judge: fired Arkansas president deserves his day in court.(around the nation)
October 8, 2007... Ozarka College officials must defend themselves in court for allegedly violating a former president's rights to free speech and due process when they publicly fired him for "dishonesty, insubordination, failure to comply with state laws and...

Kansas State officials see threat from college merger plans.(around the nation)
October 8, 2007... SALINA, Kan. (AP)--Kansas State University could be forced to close its Salina campus if an area technical school merges with a community college that could offer cheaper classes, a Kansas State official says. Dennis Kuhlman, dean of Kansas...

Wash. Colleges to get financial incentives.
October 8, 2007... SEATTLE (AP) -- When a community college student does well, so will the college, under a plan to reward the institution for academic success. Washington's 34 community and technical colleges will compete for a share of $500,000. The...

Mother, daughter sentenced in Alabama scam.
October 8, 2007... BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- A mother and daughter who worked at the Alabama Fire College received separate sentences of prison and home confinement for their role in a property scam. Gail Phillips, 58, received a 15-month prison sentence,...

College helps bring art to visually impaired.
October 8, 2007... The Wayne County Community College District is working to help the visually impaired develop an appreciation for art with a cutting edge educational program. With the help of Lansing-based artist Suellen Hozman, the Detroit district's...

Alabama College presidents welcome chance to assist in recruiting businesses to state.
October 8, 2007... PRATTVILLE, Ala. (AP) -- College presidents are accustomed to recruiting students to their campuses, but Gov. Bob Riley also wants them to also help lure businesses to Alabama. Riley, speaking recently at the Alabama College System...

Penn. Markets pay employees to further education.
October 8, 2007... LEVITTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- Redner's Markets Inc. is using a new tuition reimbursement program to encourage employees at its local warehouse markets to go to college. Starting this fall, Redner's will pay employees who are also full-time Bucks...

A big catch: as the demand for seafood grows and ocean stocks dwindle, community colleges are teaching students how to farm fish.(Cover story)
October 8, 2007... If you find a sign that reads "gone fishing" on doors at some community colleges, it doesn't mean anyone has gone on vacation. Colleges around the country are increasingly beginning to offer programs that teach students how to grow and...

Forum speakers assail higher ed accreditation system as 'fundamentally flawed' and barrier to innovation.(dateline washington)
October 8, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The current accreditation system for higher education stifles innovation, is full of inherent conflicts of interest and operates as an oligarchy, according to speakers at a recent forum at the American Enterprise Institute for...

Military reservists could get loan relief.(capital briefs)
October 8, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The House approved legislation to permanently extend the waiver on student loan obligations for reservists called to serve overseas. The extension of the 2003 Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act, called Heroes,...

Extension of D.C. tuition program OK'd.(capital briefs)
October 8, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The Senate approved an extension through 2012 of the District of Columbia College Access Act, which provides about $47 million a year for college tuition for residents of the nation's capital. About 5,500 students a year...

Officials move to extend tax credits.(capital briefs)
October 8, 2007... WASHINGTON -- With tuition tax benefits scheduled to expire at the end of the year, members of Congress continue to line up to expand and extend them. Two bills went to the House's Ways and Means Committee. Rep. John Barrow, D-Ga.,...

New learning center is aim of legislation.(capital briefs)
October 8, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., introduced the Revolutionizing Education through Digital Investment Act of 2007, referred to the Committee on Education and Labor. The bill would create a non-profit National Center for Learning Science...

Bill would aid engineering students.(capital briefs)
October 8, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., introduced the Strategic Technology/Engineering Program Act of 2007. The measure would create both a scholarship program and loan forgiveness program for engineering students. The bill would...

Student debt continues upward climb.(capital briefs)
October 8, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Student debt increased an average of 8 percent between 2005 and 2006, according to a survey by the Project on Student Debt. But the figures don't include community college students or consider how the debt burden may differ for...

Spending bills stall in congress.(capital briefs)
October 8, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Anyone looking for an increase in federal education appropriations will have to wait at least a little while. Congress has not finished work on any spending bills for fiscal year 2008, which began Oct. 1. So the House passed a...

Education Dept. revamps web site.(capital briefs)(Website overview)
October 8, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The six-year old College Opportunities Online, or Cool, a U.S. Department of Education site that allows students to find out information about colleges, is being replaced by a new site called the College Navigator. The new...

Online education interactions flourishing in Arizona desert.
October 8, 2007... TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- The digital era is helping remove the need for college students to show up on campus. It's become more common for students to log on to the Web to apply for college, register, pay tuition, get tutorials and chat with...

Questions swirl around unusual Alabama pay arrangement.(ALABAMA UPDATE)
October 8, 2007... BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- While working for former Gov. Don Siegelman and U.S. Rep. Artur Davis, Gina Bailey McKell was being paid by Alabama's two-year college system, The Birmingham News has reported. McKell received nearly $73,000 a year...

Chancellor moves to dismantle Alabama college system foundation.(ALABAMA UPDATE)
October 8, 2007... MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- Two-year college system Chancellor Bradley Byrne made an unexpected discovery while researching foundations at post-secondary schools: the system had one, too. Byrne told members of the school board that he plans to...

Biblical interpretation leads to firing of Iowa instructor.
October 8, 2007... DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- A college instructor in Red Oak claims he was fired after he told his students that the biblical story of Adam and Eve is a fairy" tale and should not be interpreted literally. Steve Bitterman, 60, said officials at...

Maricopa delays arming campus officers with guns.
October 8, 2007... MESA, Ariz. (AP) -- Police who patrol Maricopa County Community College District campuses won't be armed until at least next year, despite a new state law requiring them to carry guns. Chancellor Rufus Glasper said the district will obey...

Minn. colleges aim to boost minority enrollment.
October 8, 2007... MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Minnesota colleges are working hard to recruit immigrants and minorities in anticipation of the upcoming decline in the college-age population. Hennepin Technical College has information in seven foreign languages on...

Iowa voters approve money for college upgrades.
October 8, 2007... DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) -- Voters in eight counties have approved a $33 million bond to upgrade campuses in the Eastern Iowa Community College District. The proposal, which passed with almost 64 percent of the vote, includes a 10-year plan in...

Student default rate on increase at Utah colleges.
October 8, 2007... LOGAN, Utah (AP) -- Utah's average rate of student loan default is exceeding the national average. On average, Utah's default rate for 2005 was 5 percent, above the national average of 4.6 percent. The state's community colleges have the...

Alabama cafeteria operator cleared of charges.
October 8, 2007... DOTHAN, Ala. (AP) -- A criminal charge against a Wallace Community College cafeteria operator suspected of taking $32,068 from the cafeteria has been dropped. Elaine Biddle, 53, was charged with first-degree property theft after the...

Internet use can both increase productivity and waste time.(technology today)
October 8, 2007... Personal computers at first glance may seem like the ultimate productivity enhancer. They let you plan and budget far more effectively than a calculator or table. They make it possible to keep track of people and things far more easily...

Around campus.
October 8, 2007... When science students Boris Alfaro and Jimmy Martinez looked out at the 60-foot-by-60-foot plot of ground situated behind Wilbur Wright College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago, near the campus parking garage, next to neat rows of new...

Future teachers who will graduate from the Dallas County Community College District in Texas are receiving help from the Credit Union of Texas. A $15,000 girl from the credit union, recently presented by members of its board of directors, will pay for student and marketing initiatives for the district's teacher education programs.(grants & gifts)
October 8, 2007... Future teachers who will graduate from the Dallas County Community College District in Texas are receiving help from the Credit Union of Texas. A $15,000 girl from the credit union, recently presented by members of its board of directors, will...

The National Science Foundation's Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) Program has awarded a grant for of $599,757 to Onondaga Community College, in Syracuse, N.Y.(grants & gifts)
October 8, 2007... The National Science Foundation's Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) Program has awarded a grant for of $599,757 to Onondaga Community College, in Syracuse, N.Y. The grant will be used to fund...

Parkland College in Champaign, Ill., was awarded one of the ten Hewlett Packard Technology for Teaching Grant: U.S. Leadership Grants in 2007.(grants & gifts)
October 8, 2007... Parkland College in Champaign, Ill., was awarded one of the ten Hewlett Packard Technology for Teaching Grant: U.S. Leadership Grants in 2007. The award package includes HP Tablet computers, cash and professional development programs with a...

The Board of Trustees of Bristol Community College, in Fall River, Mass., has named the college's new 3,500-square-foot enrollment center in honor of long-time supporters, Harold and Virginia Lash.(grants & gifts)
October 8, 2007... The Board of Trustees of Bristol Community College, in Fall River, Mass., has named the college's new 3,500-square-foot enrollment center in honor of long-time supporters, Harold and Virginia Lash. The Lash Enrollment Center was constructed to...

Florida's Manatee Community College faculty members Rex Willis and Melodie Dickerson collaborated to create a new CD, "Into the Sky," released this summer.(faculty lounge)(Sound recording review)
October 8, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Florida's Manatee Community College faculty members Rex Willis and Melodie Dickerson collaborated to create a new CD, "Into the Sky," released this summer. Willis, a classical guitarist, and Dickerson,...

Maricopa Community Colleges.(faculty lounge)
October 8, 2007... The Maricopa Community Colleges in Arizona and local companies are working together to prepare the next generation of technicians and engineers. The High Tech Workforce Initiative externship program, funded by the National Science Foundation...

Superintendent-President Dianne Van Hook.(honors & awards)
October 8, 2007... College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, Calif., announced that its professional development program and Superintendent-President Dianne Van Hook will be honored by the National Council for Staff, Program and Organizational Development for...

Edna V. Baehre.(honors & awards)
October 8, 2007... Edna V. Baehre, president of Harrisburg Area Community College in Pennsylvania, has been honored for her efforts to ensure opportunity, diversity and equality in education and leadership for all in the college community. Baehre is the recipient...

Bergen Community College.(APPOINTMENTS)
October 8, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Timothy Dacey has been appointed vice president of administrative services at Bergen Community College in Paramus, N.J. In his new role, Dacey serves as the business officer for the college and oversees the college's...

Edmonds Community College.(APPOINTMENTS)
October 8, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Cathie Agor is the associate director of recruitment and retention, a new position in the human resources department, at Edmonds Community College in Lynnewood, Wash. She will work to connect the community to a...

Center for Liberal Arts at Bellevue Community College.(APPOINTMENTS)
October 8, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Star Hang Nga Rush has been named director of the Center for Liberal Arts at Bellevue Community College, Bellevue, Wash. Prior to joining the college, Rush was an associate professor of English composition and...

San Diego Community College District.(APPOINTMENTS)
October 8, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Kim Myers was selected as the new vice chancellor of human resources of the San Diego Community College District, San Diego, Calif. Myers comes to San Diego from the San Joaquin Delta Community College District,...

College of Lake County.(APPOINTMENTS)
October 8, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] James D. Rock has been appointed interim president of the College of Lake County, in Grayslake, Ill. Rock served the Round Lake (Ill.) Area Park District for 21 years in a variety of leadership positions. Rock earned...

Calendar.(Conference news)(Calendar)
October 8, 2007... OCTOBER October 17, 2007 FLORIDA DEVELOPMENTAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION "Encourage, Engage and Empower" Orlando, Fla. http://www.valenciacc.edu/FDEA/ October 18-21, 2007 NACADA: Annual Conference Baltimore Convention Ctr & the Hyatt...

NISOD names replacement as Milliron starts consulting firm.(around the nation)
October 22, 2007... Family health issues prompted Mark Milliron to resign earlier this summer as director of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development. His replacement, Evelyn N. Waiwaiole, was named earlier this month. Milliron had...

Colleges turn to technology in applying lessons of Virginia Tech.(around the nation)
October 22, 2007... NEW YORK (AP) -- When a masked freshman came to campus at St. John's University with what police said was a loaded rifle sticking out of a bag, the school alerted students via cell-phone text messages within 18 minutes. And when a suicidal...

Students say fired Iowa instructor was insulting.
October 22, 2007... DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) --A fired community college instructor offended students more by his brash style than his remarks about the Bible, students said. Steve Bitterman, an adjunct professor at Southwestern Community College in Red Oak,...

Prosecutors, trustee try to locate $1.8 million unaccounted for from collapsed college.
October 22, 2007... LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) --About $1.8 million that belonged to a now-defunct college in Louisville cannot be located, leaving both prosecutors and a bankruptcy trustee trying to locate the funds. The money belonged to Decker College, a...

Calif. Court rules college failed to comply with environmental law.
October 22, 2007... The California state Court of Appeal has shot down an environmental impact statement that recommends the closure and removal of an all-weather shooting range near Modesto Junior College's west campus. In the latest round of a 6-year-old...

High-priced student loan explosion could haunt U.S. economy.
October 22, 2007... The near doubling of the cost of a college degree during the past decade has produced an explosion in high-priced student loans that could haunt the U.S. economy for years. While scholarship, grant money and government-backed student...

Priming the pipeline: new NCAA rules may send more athletes to two-year colleges.
October 22, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Time was that community colleges were a primary pipeline for athletes at two-year colleges who wanted to go on to big-lime Division I programs. During the 1980s and '90s, major college and university athletic...

It's Our Anniversary.(from the vaults of Community College Week)
October 22, 2007... It's Our Anniversary: We've come of age. It was almost 20 years ago to the date of this issue that Community College Week published its first edition. Over the course of the next year, as we recall the past two decades, we'll update some of the...

Junior colleges refute, address charges of athletic dumping ground.(from the vaults of Community College Week)
October 22, 2007... Critics have often accused junior colleges of being the dumping grounds for academically unprepared athletes, but proponents say that two-year institutions provide a valuable and often last-chance opportunity for those athletes to attend...

Earmarks taxing monitoring ability of education department.(dateline: washington)
October 22, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Egregious cases such as Alaska's infamous "bridge to nowhere" have provoked widespread anger about the longstanding practice of congressional earmarks being tucked into legislation. It turns out that the U.S. Department of...

New rules aid terror victims, families.(capital briefs)
October 22, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Survivors and victims of terrorist attacks can get theft Perkins loans discharged. The U.S. Education Department's Office of Postsecondary Education issued final rules implementing a law giving victims of the Sept. 11, 2001...

Bill focuses on educational aid to veterans.(capital briefs)
October 22, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Congress wants to know how our military men and women are using their tuition assistance. The Senate approved its version of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2008, with some differences from the version...

Senate seeks to bolster ranks of nurses.(capital briefs)
October 22, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The Senate approved an appropriation bill for the military for fiscal year 2008 that would, give the Army, Navy and Air Force $1 million each to start pilot programs to turn enlistees into nursing teachers. Projects could...

Bush swallows objections and signs student aid legislation.
October 22, 2007... WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush has signed legislation designed to make college more affordable for students from poor and middle-class families, swallowing objections to a bill that enjoyed veto-proof majorities in Congress. The new...

Senators eye added benefits for reservists.(capital briefs)
October 22, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Minnesota's two U.S. senators, Democrat Amy Klobuchar and Republican Norm Coleman, have introduced the National Guard and Reserve Education Benefit Fairness Act, which would provide benefits to the Selected Reserve based on their...

GOP details higher education proposal.(capital briefs)
October 22, 2007... WASHINGTON -- House Republicans have introduced their plan for reauthorizing the Higher Education Act. Their College Access and Opportunity Act, referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, would require colleges to publicize their...

Reduced tuition proposed for military families.(capital briefs)
October 22, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Military families would be entitled to instate tuition wherever they are stationed domestically, under legislation that Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Texas, proposed earlier this month. Under the Military Child College Affordability Act,...

Working Group to focus on Adult Education.(capital briefs)
October 22, 2007... WASHINGTON -- President Bush has established an Interagency Adult Education Working Group. The secretary of education will chair the body, which will also include the attorney general and secretaries of Treasury, Interior, Labor, Health...

Shelton State Foundation to sell college president's home.(ALABAMA UPDATE)
October 22, 2007... TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -- The Shelton State Community College Foundation will sell the college president's $560,000 residence and reimburse the college any state funds spent on the home, according to a a state audit report. An audit by the...

System's head finance official fired.(ALABAMA UPDATE)
October 22, 2007... MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- New two-year college system chancellor Bradley Byrne announced the termination of head financial officer Debbie Dahl, saying the organization needs someone who is "completely aligned" with rebuilding the system. ...

Shelton State finance chief placed on leave pending probe.(ALABAMA UPDATE)
October 22, 2007... TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -- The head of Shelton State Community College's finance office has been placed on paid leave pending a probe of financial operations by the office, officials said. The action against Karen VanLuvender, the two-year...

Ex-student pleads guilty in grade-changing scam.(Capital briefs)
October 22, 2007... MARTINEZ, Calif. (AP) -- A former Diablo Valley College student who worked in the records office has plead guilty to helping classmates get their grades changed on official transcripts in a scam that enabled some students to transfer to...

SUNY approves 3.5 percent college tuition increase.(Capital briefs)
October 22, 2007... ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- A key State University of New York board approved tuition increases averaging 3.5 percent for community colleges, a move that will cost students an average of $100 a year. The new tuition ranges from a high of $3,450 at...

Bond approval gives Ore. College a home.
October 22, 2007... NEWPORT, Ore. (AP) -- Oregon Coast Community College has been without a home for 20 years. Administrators rent office and classroom space wherever they can find it between Yachats and Lincoln City. English teacher Sharon Beardsley's...

AACC Gets $3.2 million grant for adult education programs.
October 22, 2007... The American Association of Community Colleges will develop a nationwide program to retrain the large number of adults who will need to keep working after traditional retirement age. The organization announced that it has received a $3.2...

Maine System celebrates growth as vote approaches.
October 22, 2007... SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- Just weeks in advance of a statewide bond issue vote that would benefit Maine's community colleges, state officials are trumpeting a 57 percent growth in enrollment to 11,801 degree-seeking students over the last...

Arizona ranks near bottom for financial aid for students.
October 22, 2007... PHOENIX (AP) -- The Arizona Board of Regents is considering ways to get additional state money for financial aid grants to college students. According to the latest survey by the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs,...

Idaho College to offer online course in casino gambling.
October 22, 2007... TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) -- Hit me! That's just one of the gambling and card playing commands students may soon be learning when the College of Southern Idaho's Community Education Center begins offering casino classes. Sylvia Jensen,...

Prevention is key to keeping your computer running.(technology today)
October 22, 2007... Among the worst things that can happen to a computer is for it to stop working. Computers have a knack for developing problems when you're in the middle of an important project. Unless you have an IT person or department to call on, you'll need...

Central Florida Community College.(Around campus)
October 22, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A good equine events manager can be hard to find, so the Florida Horse Park and Central Florida Community College in Ocala have partnered to develop their own. The college is offering an equine event planning track...

East Los Angeles College.(around campus)
October 22, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Construction recently began on the $12.8 million Student Services Center and Braun Administrative Center at East Los Angeles College in Monterey, Calif. The buildings will form the new "front door" of the campus, in...

Santa Monica College's Photography Gallery.(around campus)
October 22, 2007... A collection of student photos created as part of a project with the J. Paul Getty Museum will be exhibited at Santa Monica College's Photography Gallery. "Where We Live: Student Perspectives" is the culminating show of works created by 40...

Oakton Community College in Des Plaines, Ill., received a $125,000 grant to enhance its nursing program from the Joyce Foundation and Illinois Community College Board.(grants & gifts)
October 22, 2007... Oakton Community College in Des Plaines, Ill., received a $125,000 grant to enhance its nursing program from the Joyce Foundation and Illinois Community College Board. The grant will provide the opportunity for 18 students to become licensed...

The first $1 million corporate donation has been given to Seminole Community College in Sanford, Fla.(grants & gifts)
October 22, 2007... The first $1 million corporate donation has been given to Seminole Community College in Sanford, Fla. The donation was announced at the foundation's annual President's Club dinner. Insight Financial Credit Union President/CEO Lynn Owen III and...

Officials of Casper College, in Casper Wyo., announced that the college has received one of the largest monetary gifts in the school's history in a $1.8 million gift from the Jack McCann estate.(grants & gifts)
October 22, 2007... Officials of Casper College, in Casper Wyo., announced that the college has received one of the largest monetary gifts in the school's history in a $1.8 million gift from the Jack McCann estate. McCann was well known in the Casper community as...

LaGuardia Community College's Veterans' Program received more than $249,000 from the U. S. Department of Education's Upward Bound Veterans Program to prepare veterans for postsecondary education.(grants & gifts)
October 22, 2007... LaGuardia Community College's Veterans' Program received more than $249,000 from the U. S. Department of Education's Upward Bound Veterans Program to prepare veterans for postsecondary education. The college's veterans program, which has been...

Access to the Community College of Baltimore County's medical laboratory technician program got a little easier thanks to a $40,000 grant from the Maryland state Education Department.(grants & gifts)
October 22, 2007... Access to the Community College of Baltimore County's medical laboratory technician program got a little easier thanks to a $40,000 grant from the Maryland state Education Department.. Students from throughout the state can take college courses...

Anoka-Ramsey Community College.(faculty lounge)
October 22, 2007... Biology faculty members of Anoka-Ramsey Community I College's Cambridge Campus are illustrating how the college can integrate and collaborate with the communities in East Central Minnesota by assisting K-12 teachers with science instruction....

Sierra College.(faculty lounge)
October 22, 2007... The Sierra College Center for Applied Competitive Technologies in Rocklin, Calif., is conducting an event at Colfax High School, where students will have a rare opportunity to fabricate a mini-catapult, using lathes, mills, presses and other...

Dallas County Community College District Board of Trustees.(honors & awards)
October 22, 2007... Members of the Dallas County Community College District Board of Trustees were honored collectively by the Association of Community College Trustees for their efforts to support and promote equity and diversity within the district. The trustees...

Central Piedmont Community College's Saundra Martin.(honors & awards)
October 22, 2007... Central Piedmont Community College's Saundra Martin, real estate instructor for the financial services institute within corporate and continuing education, was named "Educator of the Year" by the North Carolina Real Estate Educators...

The Santa Monica College.(honors & awards)
October 22, 2007... The Santa Monica College Small Business Development Center announced that client James Cragg is the recipient of the first runner-up award for the national Small Business Development Center Client Success Story competition. The highly...