University Business - January 2007 - (Page 13)

Warning : session_start : The session id contains invalid characters, valid characters are only a-z, A-Z and 0-9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 9 Warning : session_start : Cannot send session cache limiter - headers already sent output started at /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php:9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 9 Warning : Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by output started at /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php:9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 10 B E H I N D the NEWS Spellings Faces the Accreditors Are new ways of measuring higher education in the works? TRUE TO HER PROMISE MADE IN THE FALL, U.S. SECRETARY OF EDUCA tion Margaret Spellings is continuing to address issues in higher education. In late November she convened an accreditation forum in Washington, D.C., with more than 60 representatives from disparate higher education institutions, councils, and associations. The Council for Aid to Education, the University of Texas System, and the American Association of Community Colleges are a sample of organizations represented. Her buzzwords, as expected, were accessibility, affordability, and accountability. The forum, specifically, discussed the goal of aligning the current system of accreditation with proof of student learning. Student learning outcomes may eventually be part of a national database of information, which will allow students and parents to compare overall student performance at accredited colleges and universities. Spellings has been very critical of the accreditation system. This was reflected in the final report written by her Commission on the Future of Spellings Higher Education. Her September speech introducing the report, given at the National Press Club, questioned whether IHEs are doing enough to ensure that students are graduating with the skills they need. In their defense, the higher education accrediting bodies say that they have already begun improving processes and making changes. Following 1998’s Congressional directive to make “success with respect to student achievement” a top priority, several regional accrediting bodies, including members of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, shifted their emphasis away from metrics that view financial solvency or how many faculty members have doctorate degrees, to direct measures of student learning. At University of the South Tenn. , the English department has devised a way for all professors to measure similar student work in all classes. The new method of measurement goes into effect next fall. The change follows a directive from the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges, the university’s accrediting body, which insisted that more focus on student learning outcomes was necessary. Spellings and her team will admit that improvements to the accreditation process were in the works before the commission released its final report, but they contend that the changes have not come fast enough. The outcome of November’s forum is mixed, says attendee Judith Eaton, president of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. “There are no details, but there are plans to take the next steps and have individual meetings with accreditors.” Eaton is taking a positive approach to the changes. “We believe these are the right issues to be discussing, but we need to take the right positions.” What she resists—and what many fear—is a federal fiat impacting all of U.S. higher education. —Jean Marie Angelo SOUND BITE U The NAACP is challenging Johns Hopkins’ response to a student incident. Not-So-Happy Halloween THE STUDENT CONDUCT BOARD AT THE Johns Hopkins University Md. placed the Sigma Chi fraternity on probation until January 2008 and suspended a student for posting a party invitation that invoked stereotypes about AfricanAmericans, AIDS victims, and Baltimore residents. Party organizers followed administration orders to remove the invitation, which was posted on Facebook.com, but then reposted it a few hours later. Reports also indicate the frat’s social chair was suspended for a year, but details about this individual student are protected by FERPA. The Baltimore Chapter of the NAACP says it’s not enough. Marvin Cheatham, local NAACP president, met with Johns Hopkins President William Brody and suggested educational and volunteer opportunities for the students. “We’re not looking for punishment, we’re looking for rehabilitation,” Cheatham says. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education FIRE says the punishment is too much and is repressing free speech. Dennis O’Shea, university spokesman, says officials were “happy to have input from a number of responsible parties” and will take the recommendations under consideration, “but we have to base our response on university policy.” —Linda Avila, director of staff affirmative action at University of California, Los Angeles. ‘A ffirmative action is alive and well and it’s not going to go away. ‘ —Ann McClure universitybusiness.com January 2007 | 13 Update01.indd Update01.indd 13 12/18/06 11:49:35 AM Warning : Unknown : The session id contains invalid characters, valid characters are only a-z, A-Z and 0-9 in Unknown on line 0 Warning : Unknown : Failed to write session data files . Please verify that the current setting of session.save_path is correct /var/lib/php/session in Unknown on line 0 http://universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - January 2007

Contents
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Editor's Note
Sense of Place
Stats Watch
People Watch
Viewpoint
Human Resources
Money Matters
Marketing
Financial Aid
Community Colleges
Missed Connections
Escuse Me: Can you Spare a Million?
The Associate
Media Relations Boot Camp
Admissions Administrators Speak Out
Business Technology
What's New
Calendar of Events
Direct Connect
End Note

University Business - January 2007