Congress finally passed the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act in late July, after five years of deal making and compromise. The bill will ostensibly set federal higher-education policy for the next five years. Here are some of the things the bill does— and some proposals that were suggested, but didn’t make the final cut.

Here are some things that the Higher Education Act does. The bill prevents the Education Department from dictating how accrediting associations measure student learning. It dismantles the education secretary’s 15- member advisory panel on accrediting agencies. In its place there is an 18-member panel, with six members each appointed by the secretary and the leaders of the House and the Senate. The act creates a code of conduct for relations between colleges and student-loan providers, and creates a “watch list” of colleges with the largest percentage increases in tuition and fees every year. Those institutions will have to report to the Department of Education on the factors that led to such increases. The act requires states to raise spending on higher education each year at least as much as the average increase over the previous five years. If they don’t, states could lose some federal funds. The act requires colleges to use technology on their computer networks to limit students’ ability to swap copyrighted music and video files. The act also requires textbook publishers to state the price of their works in marketing materials. The Higher Education Act makes Pell Grants available year-round so students can complete their educations faster.  

Here are some things that the Higher Education Act does not do. It does not streamline the application procedures for the panoply of federal student-aid programs or focus benefits on the neediest students. It does not set up a system to track a student’s progress toward a degree across the many different types ofcolleges and online programs. It does not force students to exhaust all possiblefederally guaranteed loan options and grants before obtaining private loans.The Higher Education Act does not require colleges to report gifts larger than$250,000 from U.S corporations.

Tags: Higher Education Act

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The Chronicle of Higher Education had an interesting article Universities Try to Serve a Generation of Those Who Seek to Do Good.

Institutions Prepare Students for Nonprofit Leadership In response to the high number of students seeking nonprofit careers, which has tripled over the past 20 years, a growing number of institutions are offering undergraduate courses and degree programs in nonprofit management, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education…

At Antioch University Los Angeles we’ve noticed this up-tick in interest from incoming students who traditionally have come from the nonprofit sector and usually once finished with their studies will continue to serve in the nonprofit sector. We at AULA are passionate about our core values (social justice, service to community, life long learning) and AULA has been preparing Teachers who graduate from the Teacher Credentialing or Master’s in Education; Managers and Administrators from the Master’s in Organizational Management; Counselors from Master’s in Psychology; and Writers and Activists from the MFA in Creative Writing programs.
» Read the full article from The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Tags: The Chronicle of Higher Education, Universities Try to Serve a Generation of Those Who See

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I’m pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Sylvia Rodriguez Andrew as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs for Antioch University Los Angeles (AULA), effective August 1, 2008.

Dr. Andrew received her BA from St. Edwards University and her MSW from Our Lady of the Lake University, both in Texas. She was awarded her PhD from the School of Social Work at the University of Texas, Austin, and her JD from Lincoln Law School in San Jose, California. She is due to sit for the California bar exam in July 2008. Dr. Andrew was also awarded a certificate from the Institute for Management and Leadership in Education at Harvard University.

With a long and honorable history as activist and scholar in the Texas and California Latino communities, Dr. Andrew has served previously as Assistant Professor of Social Work at Our Lady of the Lake University, Assistant and Associate Professor, Chair and Program Director at Texas Lutheran College, and Dean and Professor in the College of Social Work at San Jose State University. She also served as acting President of Evergreen Community College and Interim Chancellor of the Evergreen Community College District.

Dr. Andrew has a distinguished record of teaching, scholarly research and publication, professional and community involvement, and securing funds to support students and faculty. She served as president of the California chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, was appointed by Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson to a National Advisory Council on Substance Abuse, and by Texas Governor Ann Richards to the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse.

We will all enjoy Dr. Andrew’s expertise in faculty advocacy and professional development, diverse populations, accreditation, finance, grants and contracts, program evaluation, and community partnerships.

As AULA’s new Chief Academic Officer (CAO), Dr. Andrew will serve on the AULA Leadership Council, represent AULA on the Antioch University Academic Leadership Group (ALG), as campus Academic Liaison Officer (ALO) to WASC, and to a range of community and professional organizations.

In her cover letter in application to AULA, Dr. Andrew stated:

“My personal and profession life have always been guided by dedication to family, commitment to students, accountability, appreciation of faculty and staff, and a personal code of ethics.”

I’d like to express great gratitude to the search committee for their diligence and excellent work in conducting this search.

Special thanks to Interim Academic Dean Dr. Susan Nero and Interim Associate Academic Dean Dr. Andrea Richards, for their good work and service to AULA during this interim period.

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Andrew and her family to the AULA community.

Neal King, PhD
President
AULA

Tags: Dr. Sylvia Rodriguez, Provost, Vice President

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Last month while attending the annual American Council on Education meeting in San Diego, I was pleased to learn that AULA had been awarded presidential recognition within the 2007 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.

This honor is given to Colleges and Universities across the country in recognition of their contributions to service within their individual communities.

All in all, 528 schools across the country were named to this honor roll. Considering that there are well over 3000 accredited Colleges and Universities in the US, it’s obvious that our inclusion in this list is a great achievement.

Senator Barbara Boxed recently sent us a letter congratulating AULA on the recognition. I am proud of AULA for the important work that we all continue to do on a daily basis. Community service is at the very heart of our Antioch values. While we don’t do it for the recognition, it is certainly a shared accomplishment that we can celebrate together.

Tags: American Council on Education, Community Service, Honor Roll

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http://content.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges/

Some interesting comparative data at the link above, FYI.

Tags: College Cost, College Rankings, Kiplinger

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In May of this year, Dr. Dale Johnston, Dr. Susan Nero and I will visit four universities in central China: Henan University, Luoyang Teachers’ University, Sias International University, Zhengzhou University .  Our expectation is that we will return with partner/ exchange agreements with all four on behalf of AULA.

Two of these schools are well known to me (Henan and Luoyang), my having established partner agreements with Antioch University New England as well as another of my prior institutions. Luoyang sent two of their Management Faculty to spend a term with us in New England, I gave a guest lecture to psychology students at Henan, and we took an art exhibit to Henan from one of my prior institutions, to which Henan sent several students to study .

I have also placed two young Americans as English teachers at Henan. The current director of the International Exchange Office at Zhengzhou is an old friend who previously served in the same role at Henan. He has asked for our assistance in placing English teachers with Zhengzhou University (provided are: RT air, housing on campus, and a monthly salary that is very generous by Chinese standards. Please spread the word and let me know if you know anyone who might be interested).

Sias University is the first and only joint US-Chinese venture in Higher Education in China… Sias adjoins and is partners with Zhengzhou University. We are making this trip at Sias’ invitation, and will stay on their campus. We’ll visit the other three as well this trip.

We expect to return with a full report including the opportunities for exchange at all of these universities. As their websites will indicate, all have extensive partner networks internationally, including several others in the US… which we would also then be able to access as their new partners.

I intend to update my blog from China and look forward to sharing the details of this exciting trip with the community.

Tags: China, Exchange Agreements, Henan, International Exchange Program, Luoyang, Partner, Sias, Zhengzhou

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By any account, the past week was truly a Banner Week for AULA.

AULA was gracious and supporting host for the university CFOs, HR and Development directors as well as the University Leadership Council (ULC) and Board of Trustees (BOT). The Friday meeting of the BOT included a powerful presentation by faculty and students of the Bridge Program, which gave the university leadership a flavor of some of AULA’s excellent work.

While all this was going on, Friday and Saturday saw two poignant presentations of Vagina Monologues to packed houses in A1000, dedicated to putting an end to violence against women and children. (Special thanks and congratulations to Lesley, Kirsten and their colleagues for the great success of Vagina Monologues).

Saturday afternoon saw another packed house, at the Regency Club, as faculty and staff mingled with 200-300 of our alumni of all generations, and their families. Sharon Nightingale was honored for her 33 years of distinguished service to AULA, with three generations of her family in attendance. AU Chancellor Toni Murdock, BOT Chair Art Zucker, several members of the BOT, great AU friends Jon and Lillian Lovelace - all where in attendance. It was a festive occasion, were person after person from our 35 year history attested to the multiple ways that AULA has impacted their lives.

Also last week, ink was finally put to the two year, $1.25M training contract w/ LA DWP, which will be housed in the new AULA Center for Workforce Development, which in turn will now become one of the key building blocks of the emerging AULA Institute. Kudos and great thanks to Don Ford and Susan Nero for their fine work on this project.

THIS week, we have the coming out of UMOJA, our new AULA African-American Outreach Task Force, with Friday evening’s celebration on campus of Black Unity in music, food and community. Please attend if you can.

And tomorrow, we have a very substantive Community Meeting scheduled in A1000 at 10AM, where we will discuss both the preparations underway for our WASC report due in the fall, as well as the status of Antioch College and other larger university matters.

All in all I’d say, for a tiny little place that’s still far from ideal levels of resource or staffing - not bad AULA! In fact, BRAVO ALL - a very impressive array of activity and accomplishment that both compliments our everyday excellent work in the classroom and expresses beautifully the many facets of the mission we all so passionately serve.

Tags: Alumni, BOT, Bridge Program, Chancellor Toni Murdock, Community Meeting, DWP, Regency Club, Sharon Nightingale, ULC, UMOJA, Vagina Monologues

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Dear Colleagues,

We are hosting Antioch University’s CFOs (today), ULC (today through Saturday), Board of Trustees (tomorrow through Saturday), and HR Directors this week. On campus meetings have begun, with various groups meeting at different times throughout the week. The Saturday meetings will be held off campus.

In addition, we are hosting an AULA Alumni event this coming Saturday, February 23rd, from 2-4PM at the Regency Club in Westwood. All faculty and staff (and families) are invited. We will be honoring Sharon Nightingale for her 33 years of distinguished service to AULA, and hear from Chancellor Toni Murdock and other BOT members who are in attendance. At this writing we have upwards of 130 RSVPs from alumni, faculty and staff.

The latest agenda of BOT meetings calls for open meetings on Thursday, 9:45-10:15AM only, and on Friday from 9:15AM to 3:05PM. This schedule is subject to change. Catherine, Joanna and Sandy will be able to update everyone, so please check in with them as the week goes on if you’re interested in attending open meetings.

Thanks to Sandy, Joanna and Catherine for their assistance with advance preparations and during the meetings this week and to all in advance for your hospitality and welcome to our university colleagues.

Tags: Alumni, Board of Trustees, CFO, HR, Meetings

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Greetings. As we begin a new year, I want to let you know about some of the exciting things we’re looking forward to here at AULA.

I realize that our communication with you, our alumni, has been inconsistent over the years. It’s a priority for me to show you how much we value you, and endeavor to keep you connected with your fellow alumni and with Antioch LA. Moving forward, this is what you can expect from us:

• Two alumni events will be held each year.
  Following the success of the get-together in Torrance in March 2006, we’re going to be holding gatherings for all AULA alumni on a semiannual basis. Expect these occasions to happen each Spring and Fall. Alumni from all programs will be invited to each event. These events will be something of a “moveable feast,” taking place in different parts of the southland, to maximize your ability to attend.
• Please save the date for the first of these events, to be held on Saturday, February 23^rd, 2008, from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM at the Regency Club in Westwood. Sharon (Bland) Nightingale will be honored for her years of service to AULA. Antioch University’s Chancellor, Dr. Toni Murdock, will be the Guest Speaker. Members of the university Board of Trustees, as well as faculty and staff from AULA, will also be in attendance. You and your families (including children) are invited to attend and reconnect with other alumni and faculty. We’ll arrange for a special treat for all from the Regency Club’s famous desert menu.
• Only one university appeal will be made annually.
  Your support is the lifeblood of this institution, but we don’t want to burn you out with endless requests for money. While we’ll happily accept any contribution you would like to make at any time, you can expect to see only one general appeal from AULA each year. In the early Fall, we’ll be asking for your support in funding student scholarships. (Your response to our most recent appeal was terrific! We all thank you.) Smaller appeals may be made from your program, but only one appeal will come from the university.

You can look forward to more information coming from us throughout 2008. For example, we plan to begin publishing an Antioch e-newsletter within the next month. To make sure you stay connected, just send us an email containing your name to alumni@antiochla.edu.

These are small but significant steps in bringing us into a more rich relationship, and they are just the beginning. It was a pleasure meeting some of you at our inaugural events in October. I hope to meet many more of you soon. Best wishes for a successful and happy new year.

Tags: Alumni, Alumni Event, Reunion

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