Download - Community College Week

www.ccweek.com March 22, 2010 3
around the nation
Index to news around the nation
2
15
4
1 SAVANNAH, Ga.
The Pentagon restores a
popular benefit program for military
spouses.
Page 3
2 PORTLAND, Ore.
An actor-turned-nursing-student
wins the CCBA essay contest.
Page 5
3 TAMPA, Fla.
Police officers are becoming a
prime target of diploma mills.
Page 9
4 BOISE, Idaho
The state is considering a plan
to give scholarships to students
who graduate from high school
early.
Page 10
5 FRANKFORT, Ky.
Legislative leaders are looking
for ways to spare higher ed from
more budget cuts.
Page 11
newsbriefs
Mich. College
Bans Convicted
Sex Offenders
11
BENTON HARBOR,
Mich. (AP) — A community
college based in Benton Harbor
is banning people convicted of
sex crimes against children
from attending classes on its
four campuses.
The Herald-Palladium
newspaper in St. Joseph reports
that Lake Michigan College
officials made the decision in
February after a registered sex
6
12
7
6 BATON ROUGE, La.
Gov. Bobby Jindal wants
colleges to be able to increase
tuition without state approval.
Page 12
7 JACKSON, Miss.
Some state colleges have
started tuition assistance
programs to offset rising costs.
Page 13
8 SOUTH BEND, Ind.
In tough economic times, an Ivy
Tech dental clinic is helping
families in need.
Page 14
9 CHATTANOOGA,
Tenn.
Despite a new law aimed at
smoothing the path for community
college transfers, the
process remains difficult.
Page 15
10 BRADENTON, Fla.
Blindness does not dampen the
dreams of a student who wants
to be a chef.
Page 16
offender tried signing up for
classes.
The school says three students
have been suspended
under the new policy. They and
other sex offenders will be
allowed to take online courses.
U.S. Department of Education
officials say they don’t
know if other colleges or universities
have similar rules.
An attorney with Legal Aid
of Western Michigan says the
Lake Michigan College policy
is too broad and could punish
people who pose no threat to
children.
8
9
13
3
10
5
14
1
11 POWELL, Wyo.
The president of a community
college vows to keep religion out
of his recruitment efforts.
Page 17
12 BLUE SPRINGS,
Miss.
Delays in the opening of a Toyota
assembly plant leave local
residents with few job prospects.
Page 18
13 MONTGOMERY, Ala.
Lawmakers take steps to save
the state’s prepaid tuition
program.
Page 19
14 CLEVELAND
Cuyahoga Community College
forges a partnership with the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Page 20
15 EUGENE, Ore.
A college gets sticker shock as it
tries to build an electric carcharging
station.
Page 21
Mo. Colleges
Report Jump
In Enrollment
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP)
— Missouri’s 12 community
colleges are busier than ever.
The Missouri Community
College Association says every
community college in the state
had increased enrollment this
spring. The overall average
increase was 13.1 percent when
compared with last spring’s
enrollment.
The association says
100,453 students are attending
the state’s community colleges
this spring — 11,638 more than
in last spring.
See Briefs, page 20, col. 1
DOD Resumes
Education Grants
To Military Spouses
BY RUSS BYNUM, ASSOCIATED PRESS MILITARY WRITER
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) —
Facing a phalanx of angry
military spouses, the
Defense Department said it will
resume payments for college
courses and job training for spouses
who had already applied for
grants when the popular program
was abruptly halted last month.
The official in charge of the
year-old program that pays up to
$6,000 for career advancement
also apologized for suspending the
grants without first notifying thousands
of military spouses enrolled.
He said grants were halted Feb. 16
because an unexpected spike in
enrollment busted the program’s
$174 million budget.
More than 136,000 spouses
who were already enrolled or had
applied for grants before the shutdown
are now able to resume signing
up for classes, said Tommy T.
Thomas, deputy undersecretary
for defense who oversees the
grants.
“When we determined that an
operational pause in the program
was critically needed, we failed to
notify our spouses in a timely and
appropriate manner,” Thomas
said. “As a result of our failure, we
know we will have to work hard to
restore their faith in us.”
The program — called Military
Spouse Career Advancement
Accounts, or MyCAA — started
in March 2009. Spouses of activeduty
military service members and
of reservists called to active duty
could apply for up to $6,000 to
pay for college tuition or costs
associated with professional
licenses and certificates.
The grants were intended to
help spouses find better jobs, since
frequent moves by military families
often hamper their careers.
The response was overwhelming.
By the time MyCAA was suspended
last month, 98,000 spouses
were enrolled and more than
38,000 more had applications
pending. The Defense Department
says it approved six times more
grant applications in January than
it had in previous months, and that
demand for February was also
well above average.
If all of the applicants received
the full $6,000 grant, the estimated
cost would exceeded $819 million
— nearly five times the program’s
budget.
Maj. April Cunningham, a
Defense Department spokeswoman,
said officials were able to
reprogram funds to meet
MyCAA’s immediate needs. But
new grant applications won’t be
accepted until the department
decides on a long-term plan for the
program.
The program’s sudden suspension
last month stunned and outraged
military spouses. Many who
were already enrolled found out
from college advisers after they
were unable to sign up for new
classes.
More than 1,200 military
spouses joined a Facebook group
to vent their outrage. Others began
planning a protest rally in Washington
or Norfolk, Va. Many
enlisted help from 67 congressmen
who sent a letter to Defense
Secretary Robert Gates.
“The spouses are extremely
happy — they feel that their voices
were heard,” said Rebecca Duncan,
wife of a Navy sailor stationed
in Corpus Christi, Texas,
whose pursuit of an applied sciences
degree was left in limbo by
the shutdown. “We spouses put the
pressure on them and we really
think that’s what spurred them to
turn around.”
Duncan, 36, had to put off taking
a class that started last month,
but said she would now be able to
enroll in another course starting in
late March. Others depending on
MyCAA to pay for their tuition
might have to wait longer, she
said, until their next class term
starts.
“The damage is done for
some,” Duncan said, “but hopefully
they’ll be able to scramble
back.”
The military says more than
681,000 Americans are married to
active-duty service members, who
move an average of every three
years. A 2007 Defense Department
survey showed 46 percent of
spouses of enlisted personnel held
civilian jobs, while 9 percent were
unemployed but looking for work.
“This was a program that was
designed to recognize the unique
challenges military spouses face in
developing and maintaining
careers,” said Joy Dunlap, a family
advocate for the Military Officers
Association of America. “It
was like, yes, they recognize us!
They realize what we’re experiencing
and they want to help us.”
Thomas said the response was
unexpected.
“These applications were
See Military, page 4, col. 1