Archive for September, 2010
New law directs community college transfers to CSU campuses
September 30th, 2010
Gov Schwarzenegger signed into law a bill that next fall will allow students a streamlined, well-defined path for transfer from a community college to California State University, Fresno and the other California State University campuses.
The bill, signed Wednesday, Sept. 29, had the support of CSU Chancellor Charles Reed, Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott, the Campaign for College Opportunity, California State Student Association and Student Senate of the California Community Colleges.
Bernard Vinovrski, Fresno State’s associate vice president for Enrollment Services, said, “For the first time, students beginning at a California community college will have road map to follow.”
Students who follow that course to an associate’s degree will avoid taking classes that aren’t applicable to the bachelor’s degree from a four-year university, Vinovrski added, “and will undoubtedly shorten time to earn their BA.”
The statute establishes a transfer Associate of Arts (AA) for those students who have completed 60 transferrable units. Students who obtain the transfer AA will be admitted to the CSU with junior standing.
The CSU and community colleges estimate millions of dollars in savings by eliminating excess units that transfer students often accumulate in completing their degree. By simplifying the transfer process, seats are freed for other students, allowing both systems to serve 50,000 more students.
Students at Fresno State and elsewhere worked hard to gain legislative support for the Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act (STAR Act).
Selena Farnesi, a junior majoring in philosophy and anthropology who is executive vice president of Associated Students Inc., said enacting the legislation “is a huge victory for us, and we were strong advocates for its passage.”
She and other Fresno State students traveled twice to Sacramento to advocate for the legislation last spring.
Chancellor Reed said, “This is a watershed moment for future college students across the state of California, who will now be able to more easily reach their goal of attaining a bachelor’s degree.”
Companion legislation signed by the governor implements the same transfer system between community colleges and the University of California
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Tags: College, Community College
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Strasburg striking out in 2011
September 29th, 2010
Courtesy of the Associated Press
After a year of “stirring up the baseball world”, Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg won’t have the opportunity to do so next season. Unfortunately, blowing out his elbow this past August will set him back at least a year until he can begin to play again.
Reconstructive elbow surgery would be a devastating procedure for anyone to experience. It’d be even harder to imagine what it would be like when one of the most talented pitchers in professional baseball today has to go through it. Mind you he’s no Randy Johnson or Roger Clemens, who both pitched until their 40′s. Strasburg is only 22! It’d be much more understandable for an older player to have an injury like this after years upon years of pitching.
There is an unbelievable stress that this sort of activity puts on your body after an extended amount of time. For someone so young, this seems almost unheard of. It’s more than a torn ACL or a broken arm, it’s a surgery that takes a while to heal and Stephen Strasburg unfortunately has had to come to terms with what the next year will look like for him as a result of the surgery.
Perhaps his young age plays a factor in his upbeat attitude about this calamitous incident. According to an article published by the Washington Post, Strasburg seems to be the least bit discouraged about taking a year off baseball. His road to recovery appears to be going well and only time will tell what his future will look like in regards to his pitching abilities.
It’s sad to see such a talented player abruptly have to adjust to something like this, especially with only one year of Major League experience under his belt. No.1 draft pick in 2009, star pitcher for the Nats in 2010, and then in 2011 he must vanish from the baseball world to rehabilitate his shoulder and devise a plan for an all-star type comeback. But if Strasburg himself isn’t worried about it, then why should we be? Wishful thinking might go a long way in his books if he truly predicts to overcome such such an injury. Have no fear, Stephen Strasburg is (still) here ladies and gents.
Tags: Strasburg, Strasburg Striking
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Juanita hires Sherman Leach to coach baseball
September 28th, 2010
Juanita athletic director Tim Crowder announced Thursday the school hired Sherman Leach to coach baseball.
Leach was most recently as the JV coach at Inglemoor. He has ties to the Kirkland community, coaching numerous summer baseball and hockey teams in the area. His three kids all graduated from Juanita and participated in the school’s athletic programs.
“We are excited about the direction that his leadership will move this baseball program,” Crowder said in an e-mail.
Tags: Baseball, Coach Baseball, Sherman Leach
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What do Ed School profs think?
September 28th, 2010
This is an interesting opinion survey:
The Fordham Institute’s new national survey of education school professors finds that, even as the U.S. grows more practical and demanding when it comes to K-12 education, most of the professoriate simply isn’t there. They see themselves more as philosophers and agents of social change, not as master craftsmen sharing tradecraft.
And this:
More than eighty percent of the nation’s education professors think it’s “absolutely essential” that teachers be lifelong learners, but far fewer believe it’s as necessary for teachers to understand how to work with state standards, tests, and accountability systems (24 percent), maintain discipline and order in the classroom (37 percent), or work in high‐need schools (39 percent).
Uh oh. Given that our program teaches novices precisely about standards, tests, accountability, discipline, and prepares them exclusively for high-need schools. We might not be so popular.
A full 63 percent of education professors think programs like Teach For America are generally a good idea. Just 33 percent however, think it’s a good idea to recruit school leaders based on their success in other fields, and just 17 percent support teacher prep programs run by school districts or charter organizations.
Gulp.
Still, there are signs that some of the education faculty is warming to change, including a small cadre of reformers that are strongly dissatisfied with the status quo in their institutions.
Good. I see that, too. Deans and professors alike, in 1-on-1 conversations, describe a really complex set of internal political/money challenges, though.
It reminds me, in some ways, of district superintendents trying to drive change in their organizations. Some of those superintendents were ultimately given a lot of support: mayors, money, etc. Change-oriented Ed School folks need that, too.
Tags: Ed School, School
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Fresno State will admit qualified applicants for spring 2011
September 25th, 2010
California State University, Fresno will be able to admit about 1,000 new students for spring 2011 classes after the California State University approved admitting qualified applicants in spring 2011 at Fresno State and the other CSU campuses.
Bernard Vinovrski, the associate vice president for enrollment services, said notifications of admission will be sent to those who applied between Aug. 1 and midnight Sept. 27.
“I am so happy for these 1,000 qualified students,” said Vinovrski. “They won’t need to delay the continuation of their educational plans.”
He was referring to spring 2010 when lack of state financial support meant no new admissions could be taken for that semester. The result was disrupted plans for upper-division transfers, new graduate students and upper division returning students who weren’t enrolled in the previous semester.
The state budget continues to be negotiated and the associated state general fund support has not been finalized, but CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed said, “We remain optimistic that the Legislature is committed to higher education and that the final budget will restore the necessary funding to the CSU.”
“The restoration of funding is vital to allow us to serve these students,” Reed added.
Throughout the 23-campus CSU system, up to 30,000 students could be added in spring 2011.
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Tags: 2011, Qualified Applicants, Spring 2011
Posted in University Business | No Comments »