Northwest Education Law Blog : Northwest Education Lawyer & Attorney : Williams Kastner Law Firm : Tacoma, Seattle, Portland

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Citing what it calls a "leadership deficit" in the nation's schools, Harvard University is introducing a doctoral education program aimed at attracting top talent to transform the U.S. education system by shaking up the status quo. The Doctor of Education Leadership, announced Tuesday, is the first new degree to be offered in 74 years by the Harvard Graduate School of Education and comes as American students continue to lag behind their peers worldwide.

The degree is designed for people who want to be top-level managers - such as superintendents of large districts or state education agency heads - and seeks to attract upper-echelon candidates who normally would choose other, more lucrative fields.

"Education is getting better, it's just not getting better fast enough," said Robert Schwartz, the school's academic dean. Harvard acknowledges "a widely shared view that U.S. schools are failing," in a description of its new program. It also blames "a leadership deficit in education" for making things worse. Schwartz said too many school leaders don't know what good teaching looks like. They are unpracticed at navigating the policy-making process that allocates major education funding and unprepared to remake large, complex and always-changing organizations, he said.

The first year of studies is devoted to a rigorous core curriculum. The next year, students chose from a slate of courses at the three schools - such as "Managing Human Capital" at the business school or "Marketing for Non-Profits and Public Agencies" at the Kennedy school. Schwartz compares the final year to a medical residency. Students lead a "high priority" project at a school district, nonprofit organization or another program partner. Partners so far include the Atlanta and New York school districts and Teach for America, which recruits promising college graduates to teach in urban and rural areas.

The Harvard program will start in the fall of 2010 with just 25 students. It's tuition-free and includes a living stipend to attract a broader range of students.  [Seattle PI]

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Zakiya Williams had found a perfect fit at Spelman College. But when the tough economy hit the sophomore and her family hard, she packed her bags, ready to drop out.

"I was not able to get loans, nor were my parents," she said. "It became really difficult because I felt all my avenues were exhausted."

"Every college and university is asking the question, 'What will our enrollment be next year?' not because of a change in institution, but because families are really being hit by the economy every day," Spelman College President Beverly Tatum said.

Since 2004, $238 million in federal funding has been earmarked annually for historically black colleges. In the last two years, those institutions benefited from an extra $85 million each year under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. When that program ends in May 2010, the institutions may feel the squeeze even more.

The White House budget office says Obama's proposed budget calls for a 5 percent increase in permanent funding for historically black colleges. But many in the black college community wanted more. [CNN]

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Few parts of their jobs seem to annoy professors more than grading. The topic consumes gripe sessions, blog posts and creates plenty of professorial angst (not to mention student angst).

Cathy Davidson has decided that the best way to change grading is to take herself out of it. Davidson, a Duke University English professor, announced on her blog last week that she was going to give students the power to earn A's or some other grade based on a simple formula in which she wouldn't play much of a role.

Her approach? "So, this year, when I teach 'This Is Your Brain on the Internet,' I'm trying out a new point system. Do all the work, you get an A. Don't need an A? Don't have time to do all the work? No problem. You can aim for and earn a B. There will be a chart. You do the assignment satisfactorily, you get the points. Add up the points, there's your grade. Clearcut. No guesswork. No second-guessing 'what the prof wants.' No gaming the system. Clearcut. Student is responsible."

That still leaves the question of determining whether students have done the work. Here again, Davidson plans to rely on students. "Since I already have structured my seminar (it worked brilliantly last year) so that two students lead us in every class, they can now also read all the class blogs (as they used to) and pass judgment on whether they are satisfactory. Thumbs up, thumbs down," she writes.

"If not, any student who wishes can revise. If you revise, you get the credit. End of story. Or, if you are too busy and want to skip it, no problem. It just means you'll have fewer ticks on the chart and will probably get the lower grade. No whining. It's clearcut and everyone knows the system from day one. (btw, every study of peer review among students shows that students perform at a higher level, and with more care, when they know they are being evaluated by their peers than when they know only the teacher and the TA will be grading)."

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The folks over at TeachingDegree.org have posted a handy list of over 100 "cheat sheets" on their website. The site lists them as 100 Terrific Cheat Sheets for K-12 Teachers, but a lot have application past the K-12 classroom. Like "The Teacher’s Cheat Sheet: Getting Students to Write Good Research Papers in Any Subject." Or, "Technology Integration Cheat Sheet" which gives tips on how and what to include when teaching and integrating technology in the classroom.

While cheat sheets have a bad rap, as the website points out, "it’s time for them to have a more positive place in education. Cheat sheets can offer a succinct way for students to study their lessons and provide an excellent boost to what you are already teaching them in class. Cheat sheets can provide helpful information for teachers too."

Access all the cheat sheets here.
 

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The Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization put out a joint statement today with suggestions for combating diploma mills around the world.

The statement is short on details, instead outlining a set of general goals. For instance, it says that higher-education leaders should confirm that providers are “in good standing with recognized accreditation and quality-assurance bodies” in other countries. But often the rub is knowing which bodies are recognized and which are bogus.

It also suggests developing “an international network for information and alerts about degree-mill activity.” But how such a network would work — and who might run it — is left to the imagination.
[The Chronicle of Higher Education]

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On Monday, a procession of career college lobbyists urged the U.S. Department of Education officials to give their schools more discretion to limit the amount of federal loans students can take out to cover their living expenses. The industry representatives made their remarks at a public hearing the Education Department held at the Community College of Philadelphia to gather ideas for strengthening federal student aid rules to improve the integrity of the programs.

"Schools are trying to limit borrowing," said Richard Dumaresq of the Pennsylvania Association of Private School Administrators, which advocates for proprietary institutions in the state. "But it's not enough to stem the tide of over borrowing, especially in a down economy." His comments were echoed by Harris Miller, the president of the Career College Association, and lobbyists for some of the largest publically traded chains of for-profit colleges, such as ITT Educational Services Inc. [The New America Foundation]

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A judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed by a former Regent University law student who was suspended after posting a picture on the Internet of school founder Pat Robertson making what appeared to be an obscene gesture.

U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Friedman of Norfolk rejected Adam Key’s claims that Regent and Robertson, the school’s chancellor and president, violated his free speech and due process rights.

Key, a Houston native, was suspended from Regent for one year in 2007 for violating the school’s code of conduct after posting the picture. The picture was a frame of a YouTube video in which Robertson was scratching his face.

Although Regent is a private university, Key said the school received some state and federal funds and therefore was subject to the free-speech and due process standards that apply to the government. Friedman disagreed, writing in his June 5 ruling that a school’s receipt of public funds alone does not make its decisions acts of the state.

Along with the constitutional claims, Key alleged that Robertson defamed him by saying Key had manipulated the photo, and that the school broke its contract with him by not living up to promises made in recruiting materials.

The judge rejected those arguments as well. He said that by presenting a single frame of a video out of context, Key did manipulate the image — and since Robertson’s statement was true, it could not be defamatory.

Friedman also said the “generic recruiting correspondence” received by Key did not amount to a binding contract. [Richmond Times-Dispatch]

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Most of us have had the experience of receiving e-mail with an attachment, trying to open the attachment, and finding a corrupted file that won't open. That concept is at the root of a new Web site advertising itself (perhaps serious only in part) as the new way for students to get extra time to finish their assignments.

Corrupted-Files.com offers a service -- recently noted by several academic bloggers who have expressed concern -- that sells students (for only $3.95, soon to go up to $5.95) intentionally corrupted files. Why buy a corrupted file? Here's what the site says: "Step 1: After purchasing a file, rename the file e.g. Mike_Final-Paper. Step 2: E-mail the file to your professor along with your 'here's my assignment' e-mail. Step 3: It will take your professor several hours if not days to notice your file is 'unfortunately' corrupted. Use the time this website just bought you wisely and finish that paper!!!"

The site promises that students can stop using "lame excuses" like the deaths of grandmothers or turning in poor work.

While the Web site attempts to distinguish its service from cheating, it also advises students on how its services could make it easier for them to get away with turning in a file they know won't open. "This download includes a 2, 5, 10, 20, 30 and 40 page corrupted Word file. Use the appropriate file size to match each assignment. Who's to say your 10 page paper didn't get corrupted? Exactly! No one can! Its the perfect excuse to buy yourself extra time and not hand in a garbage paper. Cheating is not the answer to procrastination! - Corrupted-Files.com is!" [Inside Higher Ed]

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March 23, 2009
By Amy Lavalley, Post-Tribune correspondent
After 31 years as a welder at Union Tank Car in East Chicago, David Alicea lost his job in May when the company shut its doors.

In January, the Valparaiso resident, 51, started at Portage Adult Education to brush up on his skills.

These days, he has his commercial drivers license permit. He hopes to get his full license and begin driving sometime this year.

"That's my plan," he said, adding though he already had his high school diploma, adult education helped him refresh his math and reading skills so he could move on to another career.

Alicea is part of an influx of students seeking to further their education through the adult education program, as more people return to school to retool their skills and find new jobs in today's tough economy.

"We have 21 sites and we have about 2,400 students right now, because our enrollment has been increasing very rapidly," said Frank Vernallis, director of adult education, which has sites in Porter, Lake, LaPorte, Newton, Jasper and Starke counties. "Particularly in the GED program, we are getting a lot of people who have been employed a number of years."

Adult education has gained about 120 students since December, as more people lose their jobs and return to get their diplomas or the equivalency, Vernallis said. The growing number of students further increases the financial burden on the already struggling program, which Vernallis said is seeing new students almost on a daily basis.

Though a full analysis of the new students is not yet available, Rebecca Reiner, director of the Portage Adult Learning Center, the largest site in the system with about 350 students, said the largest increase has been in students between the ages of 35 and 55.

"The biggest increase that I'm seeing is people who have worked since they were 16 years old and because of downsizing, lost their jobs," she said. "They've worked full-time, raised families and are now unemployed for the first time ever, and they're competing with 18-year-olds, 20-year-old, for the same jobs."

Like Alicea, Johanna Castellanos, 61, of Portage, enrolled at the learning center, though with a different goal. Married at 16, she never finished high school. She decided to open a day care center with her daughter-in-law and granddaughter and found out that, for the facility to be state licensed, she would need her GED.

Castellanos took the equivalency test 20 years ago when she was studying to be a beautician, and fell short by 1.5 points toward her GED. Her instructor in cosmetology told her not to bother trying again then, a decision that Castellanos still regrets.

"I should have went right back and taken it," she said.

She expects to complete the GED this spring, something she wouldn't have done without the learning center, or the encouragement of Reiner and others on the staff.

"It's going to help me because my husband is going to retire in March 2010. It's really going to further my career," she said. [Post-Trib]

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According to the Seattle Times, the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will offer increased financial aid to low- and middle-income students this year. The changes are temporary, though, and the future is uncertain. The stimulus bill offers the following changes:

• Pell Grants: Funding has increased and eligibility requirements have changed. The maximum allowance for 2009-2010 is $5,350; the maximum allowance for 2010-2011 is $5,550. Eligibility requirements have changed, too, meaning that an additional 800,000 students will be eligible to receive a Pell grant. In 2011-2012, the maximum allowance drops to $5,250, unless new legislation is enacted
• Tax Credits: Under the American Opportunity Tax Credit, the maximum tuition tax credit is raised from $1,800 to $2,500 (100% reimbursement for the first $2,000 spent on higher education and 25 percent of the next $2,000 spent on qualified educational expenses). Income levels will vary the amount of credit that can be claimed.  After 2011, the credit reverts to 2009 levels.
• School-specific Aid: Work-study funding is increased by $200 million, providing approximately 81,000 more students with work-study jobs. Absent new legislation, work-study funding will go back to 2009 levels after the 2010-2011 school year.

[Seattle Times]

See the related stories 10 Tips for Getting the Best College Financial-Aid Package and Economic stimulus offers relief to career college students.

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President Obama spoke to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and outlined his plan for improving education, listing five pillars of reform: 

1) Raise the quality of early learning programs;
2) Encourage better standards and assessments;
3) Recruit, prepare, and reward outstanding teachers;
4) Promote innovation and excellence in America's schools; and
5) Provide every American with a quality higher education (college or technical training)

See the President's remarks here.

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On February 27, Idaho Governor Otter received legislation that, if signed into law, “will revise the current criteria and process for school surety bonding and student tuition recovery funding. These changes are necessary to ensure against loss of tuition previously collected, so that appropriate student reimbursement can be made in the event of a school closure or default. The new language will be easier for students and school administrators to understand and for the state staff to manage and implement. No change to the current staffing level or appropriated funding will be required.”

Specifically, the legislation would amend existing law to increase the State Board of Education's discretion in determining annual registration fees and grounds for submitting demand upon Proprietary Schools' sureties. "Postsecondary Educational Institutions" (schools offering course of studies leading to degrees (including degree-granting private career colleges)) and "Proprietary Schools" (schools providing courses of study, but not degrees) annual registration fees will be determined entirely by Board rule, rather than previous criteria which provided that such fees would not exceed $5,000.

The proposed law also adjusts the existing law’s surety bond requirement to provide that the Board may submit a demand upon Proprietary Schools' bonds for any "failure by such proprietary school to satisfy its obligations pursuant to the terms and conditions of any contract for tuition or other instructional fees," eliminating the former limitation that such bonds would only be collected upon for "fraud or misrepresentation."

The legislation brings further changes to the manner in which Proprietary Schools may solicit students. Agents of Proprietary Schools will be required to obtain "certificates of identification" issued by the school the agent works for, rather than the former "permits" issued by Board. Proprietary Schools must annually review agent applications and reissue certificates of identification only where appropriate. If an agent will have unsupervised contact with potential students who are minors, before issuing a certificate of identification the Proprietary School must perform a complete criminal history check on that agent, which will be valid for five years. Proprietary Schools will be required to maintain records of application, issuance, denial , termination, suspension and revocation of agents' certificates of identification for five years. In addition, as a new component of the annual registration process, Proprietary Schools must release to the Board the names and results of criminal history checks for each agent to whom the school has issued a certificate of identification.

For further review of these and other changes introduced by the new legislation, click here.