Moscow Education (Idaho)

As reported in the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

Washington State University's Board of Regents could soon call a special meeting to consider approval of a proposed Voluntary Early Retirement Incentive program.

Board Chairman Francois X. Forgette said the program looks like something the board would support, but regents had a few questions.

"We needed further exploration," he said. "This is something that we want to hear more of."

The program could help the university save as much as $52 million. There currently are 637 employees eligible for the program, including anyone who is 55 or older and has been enrolled in the university's retirement plan for 10 years or more.

The maximum cost for implementing the program would be about $11.5 million, and it could allow the university to avoid laying off employees due to deep state budget cuts. 

Great news for UI — but also not a surprise. Whenever the economy slumps, many people take that time to go back to school for retooling.

From the University of Idaho’s Argonaut:

Enrollment numbers released each semester on the 10th day of classes show spring enrollment is up 1 percent. Steve Neiheisel, assistant vice president for enrollment management, said University of Idaho enrollment has increased by 2 percent statewide to 11,192 students. There are 10,048 enrolled on the Moscow campus. He said both increases are attributed to a combination of improved retention, increased student continuation and new students.

Neiheisel said enrollment numbers are down from fall of this year, but this is normal and has in most universities he has been affiliated with.

“We always have less returning students,” he said. “We graduate a lot in December, and then they go find their jobs and live happily ever after.”

These factors, Neiheisel said, make the comparison of fall semester to spring semester unfair. Thus, enrollment numbers are compared on a seasonal semester to equalize the comparison.

“We get apples to apples and not apples to oranges,” he said.

Neiheisel said the rise statewide could be contributed to increased attraction to UI’s outreach centers.

The Idaho Falls center received a 32 percent increase, Boise is up 3 percent and Coeur d’Alene is up 6 percent.

The numbers include both full-time and part-time students. 

From the L.A. Times:

After a Lutheran school expelled two 16-year-old girls for having “a bond of intimacy” that was “characteristic of a lesbian relationship,” the girls sued, contending the school had violated a state anti-discrimination law.

In response to that suit, an appeals court decided this week that the private religious school was not a business and therefore did not have to comply with a state law that prohibits businesses from discriminating. A lawyer for the girls said Tuesday that he would ask the California Supreme Court to overturn the unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal.

…

John McKay, who represented the Riverside County-based California Lutheran High School, said the ruling correctly acknowledged that the school’s purpose was to “teach Christian values in a Christian setting pursuant to a Christian code of conduct.”

The girls were expelled in their junior year for “conducting themselves in a manner consistent with being lesbians,” said McKay, who added that the girls never disclosed their sexual orientation during the litigation. Hanson said the girls had been “best friends” and, citing their privacy, declined to discuss their sexual orientation. They are now in college, he said.

…

In ruling in favor of the school, the appeals court cited a 1998 California Supreme Court decision that said the Boy Scouts of America was a social organization, not a business establishment, and therefore did not have to comply with the Unruh Civil Rights Act. That case also involved a discrimination complaint based on sexual orientation.

“The school’s religious message is inextricably intertwined with its secular functions,” wrote Justice Betty A. Richli for the appeals court. “The whole purpose of sending one’s child to a religious school is to ensure that he or she learns even secular subjects within a religious framework.”

The school is affiliated with synods that believe homosexuality is a sin, the court said. The school’s “Christian conduct” code said students could be expelled for engaging in immoral or scandalous contact, on or off campus.

As reported in today's edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

The Moscow School District's dream of fields may soon become a reality. In a joint plan with the city of Moscow, the district has come up with a $1.6 million proposal to develop its property at Mountain View and Joseph Street. 

And the land still sits there…

Great investment in taxpayer’s money.

As reported in today’s online edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

A Voluntary Early Retirement Incentive at Washington State University will go to the Board of Regents for approval Friday.

According to a memo sent out internally on Tuesday and obtained by the Daily News today,the university could save up to $52 million with the Voluntary Early Retirement Incentive.

The memo indicates that 637 employees are currently eligible for VERI. The program would also place $18,000 into a tax exempt medical expense plan-which is roughly equivalent to three years of medical coverage for a single individual.

VERI helps bridge the Medicare eligibility gap, according to the WSU memo.

Someone needs to stand up and tell those parents that half their kids are below average!

What would happen if schools gave grades that kids deserved instead of grades that parents wished they had?

Via Yahoo! News:

To the grade grubbers go the spoils. And the grade grubbers in this case are rabble-rousing parents in Virginia's Fairfax County. Residents of the high-powered Washington suburb have been battling the school district's tough grading practices; chief among their complaints is that scoring a 93 gets recorded as a lowly B+. After forming an official protest group last year called Fairgrade and goading the school board into voting on whether to ease the standards, parents marshaled 10,000 signatures online and on Jan. 22 gathered nearly 500 supporters to help plead their case. After two hours of debate, the school board passed a resolution, a move critics consider a defeat in the war on grade inflation. (Read about students getting paid for good grades.)

Notice the difference between MSD and CV. In CV, they make up all of the classes that they missed. In Moscow, they tag 2 minutes onto the end of every school day — imagine having two minutes of math, two minutes of chemistry, two minutes of…

From KREM News in Spokane:

Central Valley School District officials decided to make some of the school days missed this year because of the snow.

The district will make up three of five days missed.

The CV School Board is applying for the state to waive the other two days as part of the Governor’s emergency declaration.

The added days are June 15-17.

From the Associated Press:

The state Department of Education will likely eliminate $21 million in maintenance for Idaho public schools during the next fiscal year, which begins in July.

Public schools chief Tom Luna submitted a list of ideas for cutting costs to the state Board of Education during a meeting on Monday.

Luna says state matching funds given to Idaho schools for repairs, such as fixing leaky roofs, could be postponed during the next two years.

The governor has recommended public schools get about $75 million less than they did during the current fiscal year, which means education funding would slip to about $1.4 billion.

If lawmakers approve the proposal, Luna told The Associated Press this would be the first time public schools in Idaho have gotten less than they did the previous year.

Maintenance is always the first thing to be cut.

Of course, it’s not nearly the largest budget item. And cutting maintenance expenses doesn’t fix anything (pardon the pun).

From KREM News in Spokane:

The Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity at Washington State University has been suspended pending the outcome of an investigation.

The executive director of the international fraternity is currently on campus investigating the WSU chapter, which has been on probation since last summer for alcohol violations.

Last week, a regional SWAT team raided the house and found marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

One person was arrested during the incident.

They send a SWAT team in because of marijuana?

Give me a break.

From the Magic Valley Time News:

The University of Idaho's Agricultural Research & Extension Service plans to permanently close at least two of its 13 facilities due to budget cuts. Such moves will lead to reducing programs and jobs, school officials told legislators Monday.

Under Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter's budget proposal, the agency would receive a 7 percent reduction from its original 2009 appropriation. The research and extension offices plan to close two facilities, eliminate 15 open positions and reduce travel by 25 percent, said John Hammel, dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

"We're gonna have to do less," said Hammel, who disclosed the news to two separate committees Monday. "We're going to have fewer people and we're going to have fewer programs."

It's unclear which of the 13 centers will be shuttered. Three are in the Magic Valley: in Twin Falls and Kimberly, where the focus is agriculture and farming; and in Hagerman, which is the state's primary aquaculture research center.

A review is already under way - it might be finished within several months - and will result in some layoffs, primarily in staff and perhaps in faculty, as well as force research priorities to be adjusted, Hammel said. Officials are reviewing a number of issues, including whether there's a duplication of programs offered at separate centers.

About 90 percent of the agency's general fund budget goes toward personnel-related costs, and closing two centers will save half the money needed.

As I’ve said before: when 90% of your expenses go toward labor costs, you cannot balance the budget by cutting the other 10%

The following is from the online edition of the Lewiston Tribune.

The presidents of Lewis-Clark State College and the University of Idaho met with the Legislature’s joint budget committee this morning to discuss various options for handling the 2010 budget reductions.

LCSC President Dene Thomas said she and her staff are considering alternatives such as cutting staff, tuition increases, larger class sizes, reducing the number of athletic scholarships available each year, deferring maintenance needs and eliminating low-demand programs.

Interim President Steven Daley-Laursen said the UI will consider eliminating up to 80 faculty and staff positions, or about 5 percent of its work force. Many of those positions are currently vacant, he said.

The university has previously proposed closing 41 low-demand degree programs. It also plans to eliminate $538,000 in travel, or almost half its travel budget, as well as $2.3 million in operating expenditures and $500,000 in capital projects.

“These funding reductions will be felt university-wide, by students, faculty and staff,” Daley-Laursen said.

Compare and contrast the following two articles.

The following one by Daivd Johnson ran in the Lewiston Tribune.

Saying he was uncomfortable with shared bathroom space for students of opposite gender, University of Idaho interim President Steven Daley-Laursen Thursday announced the discontinuation of a co-ed housing plan.

"After reviewing the actual physical configuration of the suites that had been proposed for co-ed housing in the future, I have determined that the suites are not appropriate for this purpose," Daley-Laursen announced in a prepared statement.

UI officials recently said the co-ed living option would be offered in one on-campus residence hall for students with sophomore standing or higher. The concept, aimed in part at reducing a 20 percent vacancy rate, drew some criticism, but Daley-Laursen did not mention that in his statement.

"While the suites offer private and secure sleeping accommodations," the statement read, "they also feature a shared, secure bathroom space, which I am not comfortable offering to students of opposite gender. Consequently, I have ordered the discontinuation of the plan for these accommodations at the University of Idaho."

The plan had restricted mixed-gender housing to suites in the university's newest residence hall complex called the Living Learning Community. No other announcements were made about ways UI plans to encourage students to live in on-campus housing.

Here’s a common-sense approach to the matter. Perhaps the UI President is more interested in dealing with the 20% failure in the new freshman class than social reengineering?

And here’s a letter from the Director of UI Housing:

I am responding to the Lewiston Tribune article "Guys, gals to get cozy at UI" in which reporter Joel Mills inaccurately represented the University of Idaho's intent and purpose in offering mixed-gender housing [Jan. 14]. I want to clarify the facts for your readers.

University Housing will offer an option for interested upper-class men and women to reside in the same "suite-style" apartment in one 70-bed facility next year. "Suite-style" apartments means that men and women would each be assigned to their own secure bedrooms, but share a common area space much like a traditional co-ed floor anywhere throughout our system.

Our intent is to offer an alternative living option for older students who may feel more comfortable with this living option because they are simply more comfortable with members of the opposite sex. As educators, we also believe this is an opportunity for students to continue to learn how to effectively foster positive relationships with the opposite sex.

With that clarification, let me now voice my concern about how the article was written. Mr. Mills never sought to interview me regarding his assertions about increasing occupancy rates, and therefore he made unsubstantiated assumptions as to our intent. Further, by the use of quotations and paraphrasing in transitions, Mr. Mills created the illusion that the university supported his conjecture.

Mr. Mills was contacted to verify the facts of the original article. He sticks with what was said and what he wrote.

The University of Idaho heard students voice a demand for more inclusive housing and responded to that need. We look forward to assessing how successful we are in this endeavor compared to similar offerings at Eastern Washington University, Boise State University and Oregon State University. I hope that in the future Mr. Mills would consider the facts, rather than write with such disregard.

Ray Gasser
Director
University Housing
University of Idaho
Moscow

Michael J. O'Neal mentioned in his Op-Ed an article in The Atlantic by “Professor X” titled “In the Basement of the Ivory Tower.”

It’s well worth reading. He addresses the issue of remedial education at college.

Re-teaching 7^th grade English grammar or 7^th grade Algebra to students who never “got it” because now they are are college is common today. It would have been unthinkable 50 years ago.

But here we are.

The following editorial by Michael J. O’Neal appeared in today's edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

O’Neal asks all the right questions and gives all the right (though politically incorrect) answers.

Enjoy a great read!

The juxtaposition of two articles on the front page of the Daily News (Jan. 14) provides food for thought. And indigestion.

Above the fold was an article titled "Funding for gifted program could be in jeopardy." The article discussed the financial woes of the Pullman School District's Highly Capable Program, which provides enhanced opportunities for smart kids who wander bored through the normal curriculum.

Then one's eye fell to the article just below it: "UI offers help for struggling freshmen." The article notes that some 400 freshmen, out of an entering class of about 1,700, were on academic probation, unable to compile a 2.0 grade point average during their first semester. That's a C average - in an era when the "hook" is routinely awarded for mediocre work turned in by students whose principal achievement is having parents with checkbooks. In this context, 400 more students would likely be on probation were it not for gift grades.

These students, however, were not bored. As one noted, "You have all these social things to do; why would you want to study?"

Why indeed.

The same student, lamenting the challenges of freshman year, goes on to note, "I think to find that balance is the most difficult thing." Hmmm, let's see, binge-drinking or binge-studying? Library or gym? How does a poor freshman strike the right balance?

Admittedly, some students are on academic probation through no fault of their own. They had a protracted illness or a family crisis. Perhaps in some instances, the student really tried but lacks the necessary academic skills.

But let's also acknowledge that the contemporary concept of "balance" is pure psychobabble. Here's a radical notion: There should be no balance in the lives of university students. Society invests considerable resources in higher education, but "balance" is too often an excuse to neglect schoolwork in favor of "all these social things to do." University students, given the privilege of attending an institution of higher learning - with emphasis on "higher" - should live, breathe and eat their studies. They've got all summer, plus Christmas and spring break, to find balance in their lives, which, when you're 19, means protracting an adolescence that has already gone on for too long.

But the larger issue is the misallocation of societal resources, what an economist would call opportunity cost. Taxpayer money is being spent in an attempt to rehabilitate students who can't make the grade. And not just in Idaho. Required reading for anyone with a vested interest in higher education - lawmakers, faculty, college administrators, taxpayers, parents - should be an article by "Professor X" in the June issue of Atlantic magazine. Writing, as he puts it, "from the basement of the ivory tower," the anonymous English professor concludes:

"Telling someone that college is not for him seems harsh and classist and British, as though we were sentencing him to a life in the coal mines. ... I subscribe to the American ideal. Unfortunately, it is with me and my red pen that that ideal crashes and burns."

The point being that in too many cases, "higher" education is lower education. It's remedial. And it's a waste of scarce money that could be better spent.

Meanwhile, the gifted-and-talented program in Pullman struggles for lack of funds. But many taxpayers probably shrug with a "So what?" Aren't gifted-and-talented programs elitist, they ask, serving only the gentrified sons and daughters of the swells up at the manor house at the expense of incipient coal miners? Interestingly, we have no quarrel with "elite" in the context of sports. NCAA basketball teams aspire to reach the "elite eight" in the tournament. North Carolina and Duke are among the nation's "elite" programs.

Use "elite" in the context of education, though, and you're an antidemocratic prig, defiling the American dream of pulling people up by their bootstraps.

But whose bootstraps? And what if there are no bootstraps to pull?

According to a friend of mine over at WSU, a previous Daily News that I posted concerning the 20% cuts at WSU is incorrect.

It’s a scenario being considered, but it’s not a given.

Here’s the correction in the Daily News:

Due to a Daily News error, a breaking news update posted on DNews.com on Thursday failed to make it clear that budget-reduction figures being considered by Washington State University were preliminary and not final.

Attached is a follow-up article in the Daily News.

State Senate asks university to prepare for larger-than-expected cuts to biennial operating budget

Washington State University President Elson S. Floyd said numbers for the university's 2009-11 biennial operating budget are constantly changing.

Floyd told the Faculty Senate on Thursday that university officials received an advisory from a state Senate committee Wednesday afternoon asking university officials to consider a different scenario than the one presented in Gov. Chris Gregoire's biennial budget proposal.

Gregoire's proposed budget called for an annual state allocation reduction of 12 percent for WSU, which would amount to about $31 million based on the university's $508.6 million operating budget for the 2007-09 biennium.

"In the context of the biennial (operating) budget, rather than looking at $31 million we will be looking at a reduction of $47 million," Floyd said. "The numbers are changing constantly, but ... none of these numbers are final."

The university initially planned to request $646 million for its 2009-11 biennial operating budget and $207.3 million for its capital budget.

The state Office of Financial Management has asked the university to trim its current fiscal operating budget by $10.5 million.

WSU Executive Director of Planning and Budget Joan King said deans, vice presidents and other senior leaders have been asked to submit 12-percent and 20-percent budget reduction scenarios to her office by the end of the month. The state Senate has given WSU a Feb. 5 deadline to submit specific details of how a reduction of that size would affect the university.

Floyd said the university will have to make tough decisions.

"I don't want to place our faculty and staff in panic regarding this, but this is a serious issue," Floyd said. "We will be as transparent as we possibly can ... each step of the way as we go with the response to the governor and the Legislature."

He repeated that he is not a fan of an across-the-board reductions. Still, he said at this point no areas within the university are protected from the budget cuts.

"Everything is on the table," he said. "It has to be at this point."

Yet more bad news for the University of Idaho.

From the Idaho Statesman:

A group of University of Idaho retirees has raised about $25,000 to pay for their lawsuit against the Moscow school over early retirement benefits.

Harvey Neese, one of four former employees who filed the initial claim, says approximately 100 retirees have donated money to help finance the lawsuit against the university in northern Idaho and the state Board of Education.

The board is named in the case because it governs the university.

About 270 retirees sued the school in July, claiming unauthorized changes were made to early retirement agreements offered in 1999 and 2002. Retirees say the value of life insurance policies was reduced and they were forced to chose between reduced medical benefits or paying a monthly premium to retain the same medical benefits.

In October, a judge ordered the group of 268 retirees be designated as a single class in their lawsuit.

Attorney Ron Landeck is representing the retirees and says both sides will ask 2nd District Judge John Stegner in July to make a summary judgment in the case.

Wow! I won’t want to miss this one!

And check out the dates: 4–5 Feb. The last time Moscow tried to have a global warming conference in the winter, it was cancelled due to a huge blizzard.

That, plus all the data showing that we’re in a global cooling cycle, and temperatures have fallen to pre-1980 levels.

You just have to wonder what the faithful are going to say.

UI has joined hundreds of institutions committed to changing the future!

Join Idaho legislators, UI President Steven Daley-Laursen, and UI students, faculty, and staff for a two-day exploration of the most current issues related to global warming.

Over 600 colleges, universities, high schools, faith organizations, and civic groups are participating in a national teach-in on global warming on February 5, 2009. We stand at a unique moment in human history. The window for action on global warming is measured in months, not years. Decisions that we make-or fail to make-in 2009 will have profound impacts not only for ourselves but also for our children and grandchildren.

February 4-5, 2009, at the beginning of the first 100 days of the new Obama administration, the National Teach-In on Global Warming will engage over a million Americans in a solutions-driven dialogue. As educators, students and citizens, we owe our nation a focused conversation about the critical decisions that will determine if our descendants will inherit a prosperous or an impoverished planet.

As evidence of UI's commitment to this effort, we are organizing two days of activities aimed at raising awareness about global warming. We will begin on WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4TH, with a webcast, "Solutions for the First 100 Days," about the critical decisions President Obama faces in the first few months of his administration. This ? hour discussion will focus on the recommendations from The Presidential Climate Action Project. Following the webcast, we will host a simulcast video-dialogue with Idaho Congressmen Walt Minnick and Mike Simpson to talk about global warming policy. A full day of presentations and panel discussions is scheduled for THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5TH. A tentative agenda is laid out below and also attached as a PDF document.

For more information about the National Teach-In, go to http://www.nationalteachin.org/index.php. Contact the Environmental Science Program at hoene@uidaho.edu with questions about the activities listed below.

Tentative Agenda for National Teach-In, Feb. 4-5, 2009 • Moderator: Dr. Stephen Mulkey, Environmental Science Program Director

February 4th SUB Borah Theater Time TBD Webcast: "Solutions for the First 100 Days" Featuring David Orr, Hunter Lovins, Betsy Taylor, Ray Anderson, Dianne Dillon-Ridgely, Jessy Tolkan, Billy Parish and Wahlea Johns Time TBD Dialogue with Decision Makers: A simulcast Q&A session with Idaho lawmakers Tentative: Congressman Walt Minnick and Congressman Mike Simpson

February 5th SUB Silver/Gold Room
9:30-10:30 Climate Change 101: What is it and How Will it Affect the Palouse? • Two 20-minute talks with Q&A session to follow Von Walden (Geography) and Karen Humes (Geography)
10:45-11:15 How Do We Know We're Not Wrong? Scientific Consensus and the American Denial of Global Warming Stephen Mulkey (Director, Environmental Science Program)
11:15-12:00 Designing for Climate Stability • Panel discussion with faculty and students from the College of Art and Architecture Potential speakers are being contacted
12:00-12:45 Poster session and break for lunch
12:45-1:15 Welcome UI President Steven Daley-Laursen and Mayor Nancy Chaney have been invited
1:15-2:00 Keynote Address: "Climate Change and Society: Social Impacts, Adaptation, and Mitigation Strategies" Gary Machlis (Forest Resources)
2:10-2:30 Every Day Solutions: Simple Steps to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint UI Sustainability Center Student Programs staff
2:30-3:00 How Do We Measure Up? Assessing the Carbon Footprint of the University of Idaho and City of Moscow Darin Saul (UI Sustainability Coordinator and Sustainability Center Director) Heather Smith (senior, Landscape Architecture and Sustainability Intern at the City of Moscow)
3:15-4:00 What Motivates Action? • panel discussion Leontina Hormel (Sociology), Adam Sowards (History), Lissa Firor (UI Sustainability Center) – tentative, Jim Ekins (Career and Professional Planning), Jason Johnstone-Yellin (Philosophy)
4:15-5:00 Ecological Future of the Palouse: Planning for a Climate Destabilized World • panel discussion with UI scientists Lisette Waits (Fish and Wildlife Resources), Penelope Morgan (Forest Resources) • additional speakers have been invited

As reported in today’s online edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

Washington State University will now have to cut 20 percent from its 2009-2011 biennial budget, an increase over the previous figure of 12 percent.

President Elson S. Floyd said Thursday the university will now have to cut $47 million from its budget request, instead of $31 million.

He also said the $10.5 million the university has to cut from its current fiscal year budget, which ends June 30, could increase or decrease.

Floyd has put a freeze on all salaries that are $100,000 or more. 

Thanks to all my readers who contacted your state legislators and spoke your mind about this.

The pressure on the UI admin was tremendous enough to get them to back down.

But I wonder how long it will be before they resurrect the idea…

The following is from the online edition of the Lewiston Tribune.

The University of Idaho has dropped plans to offer co-ed housing in some of its dormitories.

In a prepared statement issued this afternoon, President Steven Daley-Laursen said he reviewed the plan and decided the proposed suites didn’t provide the proper bathroom accommodations for students of opposite gender.

University officials last week announced the co-ed housing plan as a means of getting more students to opt for campus housing. UI’s residence halls have a reported 20 percent vacancy rate. 

That’s a political way of saving face.

But it worked.

The UI is shooting itself in the foot yet again. During a recession with serious budget cuts, they want to initiate this kind of policy. Brilliant.

Feel free to email your legislators and tell them that if the UI wants to pull these kinds of shenanigans, they can take the financial cut and pay for it themselves.

From One News Now:

Bryan Fischer of the Idaho Values Alliance says the exposure of a co-ed housing plan is touching nerves.

The University of Idaho is planning to launch co-ed dorm rooms this Fall, and then allow for co-ed bedrooms by special request. Fischer informed state lawmakers of the change in the university's housing policy, resulting in what he says was quite a bit of agitation among Idaho legislators over the new policy.
 
"And evidently wind of that got back to University of Idaho administrators because by 3:00 that very same afternoon every [state] legislator had received a letter from the dean of students at the University of Idaho defending their new policy," he shares.
 
The university's defense was that the policy did not apply to freshman or sophomores -- only to upper classmen. Fischer calls that a "very shallow and superficial" line of defense.
 
"ecause a 20- or 21-year-old female student can contract sexually transmitted disease or get pregnant just as easily as an 18- or 19-year-old student," he says. "And we just think that a taxpayer-funded institution like the University of Idaho simply should not be in the business of fostering environments that encourage this kind of sexual experimentation."
 
But Dean of Students Bruce Pitman further defended the policy by stating that the policy is meant to "effectively foster positive relationships with the opposite sex." Fischer responds, saying it is "inexcusable" for taxpayer dollars to be used in this fashion. "t puts Idaho's young women at risk in a number of ways," he emphasizes.
 
Fischer says besides the risk of sexually transmitted disease and pregnancy, young women will be subject to an increased risk of date rape and other violent domestic crimes.

I mentioned previously that I’m reading EduBubble. It’s a blogsite by an Ivy League teacher who has seen the ugly side of the education-industrial complex.

Now Kathy Kristof over at Forbes has an incredible article on the hoax of higher education. This is from the current (2 Feb 09) edition.

Her argument: “Higher education can be a financial disaster. Especially with the return on degrees down and student loan sharks on the prowl.”

There’s so much good stuff in this long article . Here is one snippet to interest you:

Misguided easy-money policies that are encouraging the masses to go into debt; a self-serving establishment trading in half-truths that exaggerate the value of its product; plus a Wall Street money machine dabbling in outright fraud as it foists unaffordable debt on the most vulnerable marks.

College graduates will earn $1 million more than those with only a high school diploma, brags Mercy College radio ads running in the New York area. The $1 million shibboleth is a favorite of college barkers.

Like many good cons, this one contains a kernel of truth. Census figures show that college grads earn an average of $57,500 a year, which is 82% more than the $31,600 high school alumni make. Multiply the $25,900 difference by the 40 years the average person works and, sure enough, it comes to a tad over $1 million.

But anybody who has gotten a passing grade in statistics knows what's wrong with this line of argument. A correlation between B.A.s and incomes is not proof of cause and effect. It may reflect nothing more than the fact that the economy rewards smart people and smart people are likely to go to college. To cite the extreme and obvious example: Bill Gates is rich because he knows how to run a business, not because he matriculated at Harvard. Finishing his degree wouldn't have increased his income.

All the while students have been lulled into thinking of the extra $1 million that will be theirs, they have been forced to disgorge an ever larger fraction of it in pursuit of the degree. While the premium that college grads earn over high schoolers has remained relatively constant over the past five years, the cost of acquiring a degree has risen at twice the rate of inflation, dramatically undermining any value a sheepskin adds.

Offsetting that million-dollar income discrepancy is the $46,700 four-year cost of tuition, fees, books, room and board at a public school and $99,900 at a private one--even after financial aid, scholarships and grants. Add all this to the equation and college grads don't pull even with high school grads in lifetime income until age 33 on average, the College Board says. Even that doesn't include the $125,000 in pay students forgo over four years.

"I call it the million-dollar misunderstanding," says Mark Schneider, vice president of the American Institutes for Research, of the prevailing propaganda.

Not only are college numbers spun. Some are patently spurious, says Richard Sander, a law professor at UCLA. Law schools lure in minority students to improve diversity rankings without disclosing that less than half of African-Americans who enter these programs ever pass the bar. Schools goose employment statistics by temporarily hiring new grads and spotlighting kids who land top-paying jobs, while glossing over far-lower average incomes. The one certainty: The average law grad owes $100,000 in student debt.

"There are a lot of aspects of selling education that are tinged with consumer fraud," Sander says. "There is a definite conspiracy to lead students down a primrose path." 

I’m shocked! Shocked, I tell you! No discussion about raising property taxes to lower the student-teacher ratio? That’s totally out of character for MSD.

As reported in the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

Moscow School District teachers will be uncomfortable for a few more months as they wait for word of staff reductions for the 2009-10 school year.

The Moscow School Board voted 4-0 Tuesday to activate a Reduction In Force policy in the district for the month of March.

Superintendent Candis Donicht recommended the board activate the policy in anticipation of a decrease in student enrollment for next fall linked to the opening of a new public charter school, and to counteract state budget woes.

Why is no one asking the hard question: why are kids bailing out every time a new charter school starts? What is there about MSD that parents and kids want to have alternatives?

As you know, I’m all for school choice. And this will save taxpayers a lot of money. Studies have shown that charter schools operate for 30% cheaper than regular government schools.

"Our RIF policy must be activated just to reduce the number of positions in our system," Donicht said. "Whether or not somebody actually gets the pink slip is a whole 'nother matter."

Donicht said she expects at least 50 Moscow students to enroll at Palouse Prairie Charter School, which has spots for 87 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. With 50 fewer students, the district would need to downsize by about two teachers.

Donicht also expects the district to feel the effects of reduced state appropriations for next year but doesn't yet know the extent of the reductions.

"The economic forecast from Boise is, as you know, not good," Donicht told the board. "All across the state we're facing a situation we've never faced before.

"Also with the magnitude of the reduced appropriation of the state, downsizing along with the use of some reserve funds are going to be necessary to balance our 2009-2010 budget."

Donicht said she hopes to avoid laying off staff, and she already has received notifications of retirement from two district teachers. The activation of the RIF policy also will halt another policy that requires the district to immediately work to fill any open positions. 

Classic Seinfeld.

What makes it funny is how it hits so close to home.

(takes a few seconds to load; but it’s worth the wait)

Yet another organization is proposing what I’ve been saying for years: vouchers can save the States 30% or more on their largest budget items: government school expenditures.

From National Review Online:

The primary reason that vouchers save states money is that private schools cost less than public schools. According to U.S. Department of Education data from 2003–04, the most recent period for which figures are available, the average private-school student paid $6,600 in tuition; 85 percent of them paid less than $10,000. In contrast, the average per-pupil expenditure for public schools in the U. S. in that same year was $10,561. So while an individual student using a voucher decreases a state’s total public-school budget by $6,600 on average, their schools have one fewer student to teach. Assuming per-pupil spending remains constant, that voucher saves the state about $4,000.

The magnitude of the cost savings depends on the program. University of Arkansas professor Robert Costrell recently found that the 18,500 students using vouchers in Milwaukee—just 2 percent of students in Wisconsin—saved state taxpayers about $31.9 million last year alone. A new report by a special unit of the Florida legislature finds that the state’s corporate-tax-credit voucher program (under which corporations can redirect some of their taxes to a modestly funded voucher program for low-income students) saved state taxpayers $1.49 for every dollar lost to the tax write-off.

Obama is calling for change.

Perhaps we should start with the failing education system, the root causes for that failure, and the easy fix.

The House Republicans sent a letter today to Speaker Nancy Pelosi:

We applaud your recent decision to require the “Big Three” automakers to submit a restructuring plan to Congress before either chamber would consider legislation providing additional federal aid to the auto industry.  Unfortunately, the $87 billion allocated for more Medicaid money for states doesn’t appear to hold them accountable for ensuring that the tax dollars are spent wisely.  Similar to what was requested of the automakers, we believe it is necessary to require our nation’s Governors to submit formal budget plans for their respective Medicaid programs detailing how additional funds will be spent before Congress considers any legislation to provide a temporary increase in the federal Medicaid match.

I’m totally against bailing out anyone (the economic Darwinist that I am). But if we are going to use tax money to bail out, this request seems perfectly reasonable.

Do you think that the Governors will like this requirement?

Personally, I don’t think Pelosi and the Dems will attach any strings for bailing out the blue state Governors….

From the Associated Press:

Washington's new superintendent of public instruction wants to replace the Washington Assessment of Student Learning with two separate tests, and use a computerized testing system.

Superintendent Randy Dorn said Wednesday that he wants to start using the new tests next year. One test would cover grades 3-8, and the second would cover high school.

…

The president of the teacher's union supports a more efficient testing system, but did raise one concern.

"We also firmly believe no single test, no single assessment should serve as a barrier to graduate from high school," said Mary Lindquist, Washington Education Assoc.

Which translates as: business as usual. Graduate kids that the unions don’t actually teach anything to.

But please send more money.

I don’t even know what to say.

Perhaps because UI is a 3^rd tier institution we are seeing numbers more frequently associated with “junior colleges”.

Or perhaps because of trying to increase enrollment so bad, UI has allowed academically anemic students in.

Either way, this is bad for the UI.

From the University of Idaho’s Argonaut

Twenty percent of the University of Idaho’s 2008 freshman class is on academic probation this spring, and that stark figure, released by the Office of the Dean of Students last week, put UI officials on a mission to help these students boost their academic performance and get back on track for graduation.

A total of 405 UI freshmen were placed on academic probation as a result of their fall semester or cumulative grade point averages falling below 2.0, Laura Hutchinson, director of campus life and student conduct, said. Students on probation are required to file improvement plans, and those who fail to boost their grades could be suspended or disqualified from the university.

The study marks the first time the university has systematically tracked the achievement of its freshman class, and Hutchinson admitted the high percentage of underperforming freshmen raised difficult questions.

“We asked ourselves, ‘Are we doing all that we can to ensure new students are ready for college?’” Hutchinson said.

OK, this is what ticks me off. It’s not up to the universities to ensure that incoming students are ready for college. It’s up to the high school.

And given that we’re spending $10k+ per year per kid, you would think that anyone would be ready for college.

WSU did it. It was just a matter of time before UI did it as well.

Some of the cuts/consolidations make sense to me. They should get rid of all the non-productive, underwater basketweaving courses.

But given the state of math/science in the US, I really wonder if cutting strong academic programs makes sense.

The following is from the online edition of the Lewiston Tribune.

 The University of Idaho will try to close or consolidate 41 degree programs in the face of current and proposed budget cuts.

If the measures are approved by the State Board of Education, no departments will be closed and no jobs will be immediately lost, said interim UI President Steven Daley-Laursen.

Students currently enrolled in the programs would finish their degrees before their closure or consolidation, as per state board policy, the UI said.

Public higher educational institutions in Idaho have already sent millions back to the state during the current fiscal year, and are facing a permanent 10 percent reduction starting in July. The proposal announced by the UI comes after a lengthy process of assessing what programs it can afford, both monetarily and strategically.

Tuesday’s recommendations were crafted by Provost Doug Baker and his Provost’s Council, the Faculty Council and other university leadership, according to the UI, and they are subject to further review before any final recommendations are forwarded to the state board.

The first round of University of Idaho degree programs that may be closed or consolidated in the face of continued budget cuts:

College of Education
• Education Specialist in Counseling and Human Services
• Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction
• Education Specialist in Education
• Master of Science in Educational Leadership
• Master of Science in Physical Education
• Master of Science in Professional Technical

Technology Education
• Bachelor of Science in Technology and Training Development (Moscow only)
• Education Specialist in Special Education
• Master of Science in Special Education

College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences
• Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies
• Bachelor of Science in Communication Studies
• Bachelor of Arts in German
• Master of Arts in Teaching German
• Bachelor of Arts in Justice Studies
• Bachelor of Science in Justice Studies
• Master of Arts in Teaching French
• Master of Arts in Teaching Spanish
• Master of Arts in Teaching History

College of Art & Architecture
• Master of Science in Landscape Architecture
• Master of Science in Architecture
• Master of Arts in Teaching

College of Science
• Bachelor of Arts in Physics
• Bachelor of Science in Physics
• Master of Arts in Teaching Chemistry
• Master of Arts in Teaching Earth Science
• Master of Arts in Teaching Geography
• Master of Arts in Teaching Physics
• Master of Natural Science in Biology

College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
• Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Science and Technology
• Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Systems Management
• Bachelor of Science in Agroecology, Horticulture and Environmental Quality
  (combine three degrees above)
• Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumer Sciences Education Option
• Bachelor of Science in Range and Livestock Management (shared with College of Natural Resources)
• Master of Science in Veterinary Sciences

College of Natural Resources
• Master of Science in Forest Products
• Master of Science in Range Resources
• Master of Science in Forest Resources
• Master of Science in Fisheries Resources
• Master of Science in Wildlife Resources
• Master of Science in Conservation Social Science
  (All six combined into one Natural Resources Master of Science)

College of Engineering
• Master of Science in Geological Engineering

At New York's Kennedy airport today, an individual later discovered to be a public school teacher was arrested trying to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a set square, a slide rule and a calculator.

At a morning press conference, Attorney general John Ashcroft said he believes the man is a member of the notorious al-gebra movement. He is being charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction.

"Al-gebra is a fearsome cult," Ashcroft said. "They desire average solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in a search of absolute value. They use secret code names like 'x' and 'y' and refer to themselves as 'unknowns', but we have determined they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country.

As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, 'there are 3 sides to every triangle'."

When asked to comment on the arrest, President Bush said, "If God had wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, God would have give us more fingers and toes."