FLOSS In School - Open Source Software in the Education System

Daytona State says switching to only electronic textbooks will lighten the cost burden on students.

Sabbaticals aren't just about writing books, writes Russ Olwell, who discusses the value he gained from his.

Maria Shine Stewart presents a paean to the adviser who, wordlessly, helps her navigate the world of professional writing.

Faculty members at Texas A&M University are objecting to plans to calculate a financial ranking for all professors, The Bryan-College Station Eagle reported. Under the plan, the university will calculate the revenue that faculty members bring in -- through grants and also through teaching. University officials say that the system will show the value provided by professors and the university. Peter Hugill, head of the university's chapter of the American Association of University Professors, said, "As being partly paid by the public purse, I believe we owe the public some degree of accountability -- I don't have a problem with that at all.... What I have a problem with is silly measures."

Lasell College has agreed to pay students $191,000 to resolve complaints from the Massachusetts attorney general that the college improperly encouraged students to borrow funds from a lender that was giving the institution's aid officials free trips, The Boston Globe reported. There were less expensive loans available at the time, and the college never revealed to students that its officials had ties to the lender they were sent to. The lender paid for trips by the financial aid director to resorts in Florida and Arizona to serve on an advisory board. College officials said that the travel was legitimate, but that they agreed to settle the case by paying funds back to students who borrowed. A statement by Martha Coakley, the attorney general, said: "Colleges and universities are in a unique position of trust and have a responsibility to provide lending advice that is in the best interest of students and untainted by conflicts of interest. Certainly, no school should ever attempt to restrict a student’s abilities to obtain more affordable loans.’’

With less than half of new political science Ph.D.s finding tenure-track positions, the discipline considers whether nonacademic work is the answer.

Some see new “D+” campaign as edgy, while others say it really flunks the branding test.

When Buffalo president announced he would step down, local board announced interim successor -- despite lacking the power to do so.

Philip Conroy, who was named president of Quincy College in June, has withdrawn from the position and will remain as vice president for enrollment management at Mount Ida College, The Patriot Ledger reported. Quincy's board is divided on many issues, including the presidency, which was offered to Conroy on a 6-to-5 vote and has yet to be followed up with a contract offer. "It has become increasingly clear to me that the board of governors is unable to unite behind a new president," said Conroy’s resignation letter. "[W]hile the offer of the position was extended there has been no movement toward a contract. Therefore, it is with a profound sense of sadness and disappointment that I respectfully decline the offer to serve as president of Quincy College."

Prompted in part by a March shooting by a fired maintenance worker, Ohio State University has announced several changes in hiring procedures. The Columbus Dispatch reported that the university will conduct background checks on all new hires, with a single company doing the work. In addition, civil service workers who are fired during their probationary periods will be required to leave work immediately. The fired worker in the March shooting, who shot two others before killing himself, had been had been told he was being dismissed but was still working at the time of the shootings.

A survey by an independent company has found that 85 percent of faculty members believe that trust between faculty and administration has broken down, and 80 percent say that there is no collaborative decision-making, The Albuquerque Journal reported. The survey was conducted following a faculty vote of no confidence in the administration and a report by the university's accreditor noting the breakdown in faculty-administrator relations. Many professors have complained that they have been given little say in dealing with deep budget cuts that have gone ahead while spending has gone up on administrative functions and athletics.

Andrew Cuomo, New York State's attorney general (and the Democratic candidate for governor), announced Thursday that his office has started an investigation into "deceptive credit card marketing practices" that focus on college students. He said that his office has sent letters to every college and university in New York State, asking for information on agreements and marketing deals so he can look for "problematic" practices. Cuomo's statement said he was concerned about reports of colleges giving credit card companies students' personal contact information without the students' permission and of cases in which the credit card companies "have bombarded students with solicitations at student centers, athletic events, orientations, classroom buildings, and other campus locations."

Researchers find that some kinds of community colleges are achieving more gains than others in diversifying the science and engineering student body.

Ron English, football coach at Eastern Michigan University, told the Associated Press that his comments have been misunderstood and that he has great respect for single mothers. English has been trying to quiet criticism over comments he made over the summer in which he said that he wanted football recruits whose fathers had been involved in raising them because they know how to be taught by a man. This week he told the AP that "I regret that some people thought I was attacking single moms," and he noted that his views come from his own experience. "I was raised by my grandmother. My father wasn't really a part of my life until I was a teenager. So, I have all the respect in the world for women raising kids on their own." And while saying he wouldn't discriminate against those raised in single-parent homes, he said it was legitimate to talk about the issue. "I received some great e-mails from women, telling me they didn't know how rational people couldn't understand what I was saying and encouraging me to stick by my guns," he said.