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Sunday, March 8, 2009

Caption Contest Announced



Bloggie announces a Caption Contest for the above artful rendering. Submit your ideas on the "Comments" function immediately below.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Some more web coverage

Here's another article re: HEH pulling out of discussions about delivering UT master's programs online, this time from The Chronicle.

Wired Campus: Faculty Opposition Derails Plans for New Online Programs at U. of Toledo
http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/article/3644/faculty-opposition-derails-plans-for-new-online-programs-at-u-of-toledo

There's not much more news per se, but what I find interesting about the online articles are the comments. Now that's interesting reading.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Inside Higher Ed - Deal Dead in Ohio

March 4, 2009

A private company that sought to help the University of Toledo for a share of tuition revenues has “deferred” its negotiations, citing a lack of “alignment” between faculty who opposed the plan and administrators who embraced it.

In an e-mail circulated on campus Tuesday, Provost Rosemary Haggett lamented the end of talks with Higher Ed Holdings and criticized faculty for their objections.

“The fact that they felt the need to take this action in the midst of exploratory conversations is something I believe reflects poorly on our university because we could not have reasonable dialogue about this proposal,” she wrote. “What could have been a truly compelling dialogue about opportunities to broaden the number of graduate education students benefiting from the expertise of College of Education faculty was never allowed to get under way by those who would seek to demonize those that disagree with them rather than debate what is best for the institution in a thoughtful and professional way.”

Haggett went on to say that she hoped to "begin discussions on other potential models that might help us achieve our mission."

Jon Strunk, a university spokesman, declined to discuss the matter further, saying “the e-mail speaks for itself.”

Tom Evans, vice president of Higher Ed Holdings, did not return a call for comment Tuesday.

The company, which was started by the Texas entrepreneur Randy Best, had proposed a partnership in which Higher Ed Holdings would help the university deliver two master's-level education programs online. In exchange for its support, the company was asking for 70 percent of the tuition revenues the program generated, according to faculty familiar with the negotiations.

Faculty in the college were critical of the plan, saying it appeared to emphasize profit generation over quality. Higher Ed Holdings had promised to expand enrollment in the Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Leadership programs by hundreds of students, relying upon the company’s “coaches” to engage most directly with the students. Through its distance model, which has been implemented already at Lamar University, in Texas, the company planned to offer the degrees for roughly $5,000, about half of what students pay on campus, a faculty member said. In addition to being less expensive, the programs would also have been offered in a compressed time frame.

Faculty reaction to the provost’s e-mail Tuesday was harsh. Leigh Chiarelott, chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, said he thought it was unfortunate that Haggett chose to blame faculty for opposing a deal that raised legitimate academic and financial concerns.

“We’re a little upset by the tone [of the e-mail], the sense that we dug our heels in and we weren’t open to this when in fact pretty much the opposite is true,” he said. “We had hours and hours of meetings and tried to make it work.”

The deal with Higher Ed Holdings was characterized by administrators as part of a broader effort to expand “access,” but meetings with company officials left little impression that Toledo would be reaching new students in underrepresented areas, Chiarelott said. The company was planning to aim its marketing at major cities like Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati, he said.

“Obviously that’s where the big numbers are, but the idea of bringing accessibility to the state of Ohio is really a big misnomer,” he said.

Faculty were also concerned about the history of Higher Ed Holdings, which was founded by Best, a major fund raiser for President George W. Bush. Best endured charges of cronyism when he won lucrative federal contracts for testing programs designed by one of his companies. The programs were later criticized for showing little evidence of effectiveness.

A Toledo faculty member, who asked not to be identified, said objections to the company were well founded.

“Although we’re pleased that the administration is going to allow us the time to explore other options, it is disappointing that the [provost’s] letter suggests that the faculty members in the College of Education did anything wrong by wanting to be involved in shared governance, asking questions about data and questioning the reputation of Randy Best with Higher Education [sic] Holdings,” the faculty member said. “Faculty are pleased that the provost is going to have further discussions with us, explore other options.”

Tuesday was not the first time Haggett sparked controversy with e-mail. Last spring, Haggett wrote to President Lloyd Jacobs, advising him not to meet with a faculty group that had voted “no confidence” in their dean, saying that doing so “actually rewards bad behavior.”

Conflict of Interest Concerns

Faculty who opposed going into business with Higher Ed Holdings also raised conflict of interest concerns. Scott Scarborough, the university’s chief financial officer, once sat on the company’s corporate board. Scarborough said he had no financial interest in the company, but that assurance did little to quell criticism that the company was considered by Toledo officials only because of its connections to a key administrator -- not its reputation for quality.

Gregory Stone, an associate professor of research and measurement, said he was relieved to see the deal not go through. That said, Stone supports an expansion of distance learning models, and says he looks forward to more discussion about reform.

“You can look at this as a negative or positive. I tend to look at it as a positive that we want promote new and novel ideas like this,” he said. “But we want to do so in a careful, deliberative and thoughtful way, and not necessary [just focus on] how cheaply we can do this, making the biggest buck.”

Even if the university had hopes of increasing revenues, the plan gave little promise that Toledo would realize much in the way of gains, according to Chiarelott, who analyzed how the proposal might benefit the department he chairs. In order to accommodate the new influx of students that would be required to make the venture profitable for Higher Ed Holdings, the university would incur infrastructure costs that weren’t discussed, he said. Furthermore, there were sensible objections to a public university in Ohio sending 70 percent of tuition revenues to a private company in Texas, Chiarelott said.

“I looked at the financial aspect of this and didn’t see how it would work,” he said.

Students: President “Is A Threat”

The debate over Higher Ed Holdings has re-ignited criticism of Jacobs, president at Toledo. Jacobs is taking barbs for an e-mail he sent to the provost, insisting that the next dean of the College of Education be a business-minded leader from “outside the ‘educational establishment.’ ”

Student activists, who had already criticized Jacobs as insensitive to the role of liberal arts at the university, are now calling for his resignation in a critical two-page flier being distributed by the thousands on campus. “Lloyd Jacobs is a Threat to Your Future,” the flier declares in bold black typeface.

The flier gives a laundry list of objections, calling the Higher Ed Holdings deal a plan to transform Toledo into a “diploma mill,” and criticizing Jacobs for his $390,000 salary and generous bonuses. In a call to action, the flier presses students to contact trustees and “tell them Enough Bullshit, Jacobs Must Quit!”

Evan Morrison, a history major who is helping distribute the fliers, said the latest controversy in the College of Education is just another example of Jacobs’ poor leadership.

“This isn’t an isolated event,” said Morrison, a senior. “If we’re able to put a stop to this it would just be a matter of time before something else comes up.”

— Jack Stripling

Original Inside Higher Ed article and reader comments:

Deal Dead in Ohio
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/03/04/toledo

These articles in the Blade may also be of interest:

Company drops discussions with University of Toledo after faculty outcry
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090303/NEWS04/903030252

UT professors halt online grad program
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090304/NEWS04/903040338

Accounting 101

The lucky folks who inhabit the A & S Council evidently got some rather interesting insights into our financial difficulties here at the Bank of Toledo. First they were told that the financial problems are not the result of the state taking money away, and are not the result of any revenue stream drying up. No, it was something else entirely. I am sure you're on the edge of your chair wondering what possibly could be so dramatic that Jake would ask people to take an unpaid leave????? Well, it seems previous administrations didn't handle the money well. Yep that's the excuse. Wow, so we're going to blame Dan Johnson.

It reminds Dr. Tinkle of the three envelopes story. A new CEO has just taken over the firm. The outgoing CEO says "I left three envelopes in the desk drawer. Each time you run into trouble, read one." So about a year goes by and things are getting difficult so the new CEO takes out the first envelope and reads the letter. It says, "blame me." He then blames the troubles on the previous leadership. Another couple of months go by and trouble reappears. He takes out the second envelope and reads the letter. It says, "Reorganize." He does and it works for a while. A few more months go by, trouble reappears and he takes out the third envelope and reads it. It says, "Get three envelopes." We have seen the attempts at both reorganizing and blaming previous administrations. It's probably time for our glorious leader to get three envelopes.

I suggest you might send them to him as a courtesy.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

"I have some ideas ..." -- Lloyd Jacobs

And that is the problem Mr. President. Your ideas over the past three years have tossed us, and suddenly you, into a Great Pickle. As you are on your way out, now A&S and UT in general must turn to polishing up its tarnished (thanks to your caustic Big Ideas) reputation. Why did you ever think that turning our fine public higher education institution into a Fordist mass production line selling cheap degrees would make UT "great"? Because you read a silly five-step book titled From Good to Great (Collins, 2001)? And now you and Provost Haggett and Dean Nina will be coaching A&S students to learn whatever curriculum reconfiguration and implementation that emerges from your sponsored Zemsky Report’s "five-step" tango-to-greatness! Wake up, Sir! The Fordist system is in ruins! Bankrupt, failed -- kaput! Look to Detroit to see the future of UT if it continues to be shaped by your rusty Fordist pipe dreams posed as New Paradigm. Even stuffed with microchips, your Big is doomed! Your New Entity is Postmodern Jurassic education! However, with your rehabilitation or departure on the near horizon, I remain optimistic that A&S and UT can still be saved from the legacy of your initial follies. UT’s A&S College should not be under siege by you and your minions at this celebratory time. Instead, it should be proud of the 100 years of Goodness embodied in every earned degree it ever awarded while advancing quality public-sector liberal education. Goodness will always trump Greatness, Lloyd. Goodness nurtures and erects resilient economic stability, productivity and civic responsibility on its strong ethical foundations. Greatness – as embodied in your outdated and simplistic notion that "bigger is better," and given spin as a New Paradigm -- is, in contrast, just noisy carnival, founded on a fescennine fantasy that feeds raw ambition to an administrative cadre raised on a disciplined diet of corrupt practices. We can no longer abide your relentless striving for a Greatness that sows injury and disenchantment among students, faculty, staff and alumni. In the end, your Greatness will revert to mediocrity at best and at worst -- oblivion. In sum, you President Jacobs and your swill ideas are transforming UT into a dinosaur. You are a clear and present danger to A&S and UT. Leave it to concerned UT students to themselves come up with a better idea for the immediate and long-term future of our beloved institution. They are fed up and finally demanding you sell your snake oil someplace else.

Monday, March 2, 2009

UT Senior Administration Responds to Student De-Lloyding Campaign


Above is depicted the official UT administrative reponse to the students' campaign to dump Lloyd Jacobs. This is "communication" a la Jacobs' Administration, and would seem to epitomize his "one communication model fits all" style of management.

UT Students Commence De-Lloyding Program

The following pamphlet is being circulated on campus this week, 4,000 copies have been made already it is reported, and is wholly attributable to UT students. Reproduced here is its content and not its format:


Lloyd Jacobs
Is A Threat To Your Future

Keeping your head down and working towards graduation won’t protect you!

There are very few “conventional students” at UT, many of us are commuters, or part-timers, or returning after years in the workforce. You, whatever your situation, need to take part.

Lloyd Jacobs’ decisions are going to haunt you whether you ignore him or not. If you take action you’re taking your future into your own hands and you have the opportunity to change what is happening.

Jacobs is working to turn the University of Toledo into a diploma mill. This will devalue your degree and make it harder for you to be competitive in the job market or go on to a higher degree. You have worked too hard to have that happen to you without a fight.

Since he was handed the office of the president Lloyd Jacobs has disregarded the will of students, faculty, parents, alumni and even dissenters within his administration in his quest to dismantle the University of Toledo and reform it in a business model. If you try to fix want isn’t broken Lloyd, you break it.

We need an academic as president, someone who values higher education and academic pursuits. Someone who will work hard to raise money and find funding-not just make cuts to every degree but his pet departments. You can make this happen. You have to take action for your future.

YOU ARE UT!

Diploma Mill
Inside Higher Ed on February 26 reports that “administrators are exploring a partnership with a private company known for churning out quick and inexpensive degrees.”
This will follow you, whether you graduate now, or graduated ten years ago. President Jacobs is going to devalue your degree.
That isn’t all. In a letter President Jacobs “outlined the parameters for finding a new interim dean to replace Thomas Switzer, who is retiring. In the Jan. 27 letter, President Lloyd Jacobs told his provost that a ‘business orientation’ – not a background in education – was essential.
‘I strongly suggest a person outside the [College of Education]: indeed, a person outside the ‘educational establishment,’ wrote Jacobs, who is a medical doctor. ‘I have some ideas I would like to share with you.”
These are the latest in a long string of half-baked, harmful ideas to come from the Office of the President, and they won’t be the last as long as Lloyd Jacobs is the president of the University of Toledo.
Inside Higher Ed article

National Search
After 2008 and the resignation of Dean Lee in response to student and faculty protests, one would think that President Jacobs would refrain from implementing half-assed ideas during his tenure at UT.
Lloyd Jacobs is not the President of the University of Toledo because he was found to be the best candidate in a national search, something that is standard practice at all levels of hiring at the university -- no, his was a sweetheart deal pushed through during the merger of MUO and UT. He has been the president since July 2006 and it is time for a national search for a new president to start.

“”How much do you make?”
Any time that Dr. Jacobs is challenged on his policies or on the direction he is forcing the university in he whines “I could be making three times my salary in the private sector.” What his salary is, he can’t remember (it is over $390,000 a year, with a $450,000 bonus over 3 years for not looking elsewhere for work)
It’s time for Dr. Jacobs and the university to part ways. He gleefully rubs it in others faces how overqualified he is, now is the time for him to print up a few resumes and start looking for a new job.

WE can stop this!
This University will respond to the students, but only if we refuse to be ignored. Only if we make enough noise that they cannot make a decision without our input.

This won’t be easy. The Board of Trustees loves Lloyd Jacobs, they’re the group that hired him without looking anywhere else and just gave him a raise. But they are the only ones that can remove him. And you as a student are in charge of the decisions of the board.

Call the Board of Trustees office today and tell them Enough Bullshit, Jacobs Must Quit!

Office of the Board of Trustees
419.530.2814

Send an email to SaveAandS@gmail.com to help organize!