EDUCAUSE | Contributed by Organizations or Campuses; Articles, Papers, and Reports; and Policy and Law

Someone Didn’t Get the Memo

ckeller — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 10:11:00 -0600

As U.S. accreditation advisory panel — with Congress watching — seeks to show kinder, gentler side, some members take aggressive tack on regional agencies.

FBI-.edu security partnership trying to overcome decades of mistrust

ckeller — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 10:41:35 -0600

"Two weeks ago, we described a report from the National Research Council on the challenges of balancing an open academic research environment with the risks that the fruits of the research could be adopted by terrorists. One of the report's recommendations was the formation of a standing committee comprised of academics and members of the national security agencies. It turns out that the FBI had already heeded similar advice—back in 2005."

Raucous House Passes Student Aid Bill

ckeller — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 09:37:23 -0500

The House of Representatives approved legislation Wednesday that would slash payments to lenders and use the savings to cut interest rates and increase grant funds for students. Although debate over the budget reconciliation measure devolved into partisan nastiness that evoked the worst of the British Parliament, in the end 47 Republicans joined 226 Democrats to vote for the bill. The 273-149 tally, though, fell short of the margin needed to override President Bush’s threatened veto.

Librarians as Change Agents: How You Can Help Influence Public Policy in the 110th Congress

drupal — Thu, 03 May 2007 16:35:34 -0500

The author discusses the leaders of the 110th congress and what library issues that may be see legislative light with this congress.

Explaining the Accreditation Debate

drupal — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 14:09:47 -0500

"The federal rule making process on accreditation is a central part of the Education Department's strategy for carrying out the recommendations of the Spellings Commission, especially its core conclusion that colleges and universities need to do a much better job measuring and proving that they are successfully educating their students."

Right Under Her Nose?

drupal — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 10:18:00 -0600

"Margaret Spellings says higher ed must change because parentscan't find basic information. What if it exists -- often on herown Web site?"

U. of Phoenix Loses in U.S. Court

drupal — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 11:25:33 -0500

The case involves a provision in the Higher Education Act that prohibits colleges from offering bonuses or other incentive pay to admissions officers or recruiters based on specific enrollment goals, to discourage them from giving officials extra incentive to bring in any potential student, regardless of academic ability.

An Internet for the few or the many?

drupal — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 12:39:06 -0500

Michael Copps has a message for the technology industry when it comes to Net neutrality: Get involved.

Congress Renews Patriot Act

drupal — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 13:09:27 -0600

After a filibuster led to additional measures designed to protect civil liberties, the House and Senate have approved a renewal of the USA PATRIOT Act that President Bush is expected to sign before it expires Friday March 10, 2006. In all, the legislation renews 16 provisions of the bill passed in 2001 to help combat terrorism. Since its original passage, however, civil libertarians have criticized the law for sacrificing individuals' rights in the pursuit of information about terrorists.Supporters of the law argue that no evidence has been brought forth indicating that the powers of the legislation have been misused. The bill that is being sent to the president renews the federal authority to obtain usage records through National Security Letters, but the bill includes language that specifically exempts most libraries from the demands of the letters. Another change to the law allows those under investigation to formally challenge the part of the law that prevents them from revealing that they are under investigation.

Congress Thinks It Can Force Technical Changes on the Internet, but Congress Is Wrong

drupal — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 11:13:47 -0600

When this column began in the spring of 1997, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was a new law that had changed how communication services were provided in the United States, reflecting the new possibilities of what was then popularly called the Information Super Highway. Nine years later, Congress is now in the throes of rewriting that same law to reflect new realities and lessons learned, with the result that there is a lot of jostling for political position.