Quick Takes
Low-Income Students Unaware of Aid Options, Report Says
Many low-income students who could benefit from higher education don't apply to college because they don't know they could get financial assistance or they are intimidated by the process, says a new report, "Promoting Economic Mobility by Increasing Postsecondary Education," released Tuesday by the Pew Charitable Trusts. The report argues that simplifying the aid application process is crucial if more disadvantaged students are ever to have a shot at college.
Call for Better Assessment at Community Colleges
Community colleges need better measures of student learning, measures that yield more information than tests, according to a study issued Tuesday by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The report is based on three years of research, supported by Carnegie and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, on the teaching of basic math and English skills at 11 California community colleges. The research explored a wide variety of assessment techniques. Techniques studied included traditional tests and also "think aloud protocols" (audio and video records of students talking about their thought process while trying to read texts or solve problems), focus groups and surveys.
Quinnipiac AD Admits Coaches Rigged Rosters
Jack McDonald, athletics director at Quinnipiac University, on Tuesday admitted in court that some men's coaches rigged rosters to try to make the institution look better on gender equity than it really was, The Connecticut Post reported. The testimony came in a suit in which women's team members charge the university with gender bias violations, and the specific allegation was made earlier in the trial, by a women's coach. McDonald admitted that rosters were rigged as the coach said they were -- with men's coaches dropping some men from their squads a few days before statistics were reported, and then adding the men back a few days after the reports were filed. The reports thus didn't reflect the full range of athletic opportunities available to male students, and the gap between those opportunities available for male and female students. While McDonald admitted that the manipulation took place, he said that the university never tolerated the practice and has addressed it. "Nobody told coaches that, 'This is how you get around it guys,' " the Post quoted him as testifying.
NCAA Punishes South Alabama Tennis for Major Violations
The National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I Committee on Infractions banned the men's tennis team at the University of South Alabama from postseason competition next year in response to several major violations of association rules. The infractions panel found that the university's former coach had engaged in unethical conduct by providing more than $12,000 in impermissible financial aid to international athletes, giving cash to another player for a visa, and refusing to cooperate with NCAA investigators. The NCAA also concluded that the university had failed to monitor the conduct of the tennis program. South Alabama faced tougher penalties than it might have otherwise because this was its second major infractions case this decade; in addition to the postseason ban, it must vacate all games in which the ineligible athletes participated.
Crackdown on Bathroom Cheating at Syracuse Law
Syracuse University's law school, responding to reports that students were using bathroom breaks during final exams to cheat, has decided to limit students to one restroom visit per exam, The Syracuse Post-Standard reported. Exams can last up to four hours. Some students were reportedly using bathroom breaks to use their cell phones to send and receive text messages. The newspaper said that students who present documentation of medical conditions requiring more frequent bathroom visits will be exempted from the new rules.
