L. Anthony Sutin
Anything going wrong "big time" for this anti-arms socialist group right now? Brady told her minions to lie, cheat, steal, and do anything they could think of to get arms away from the citizens.
Are their donations way down?
Has legislation been past that sets them way back?
Has anyone heard where the kids at MLK school got their gun?
I'm not saying the shooters shouldn't be punished to the full extent of the law. By golly, give 'em life!
Have you ever had "just a feeling" that jumped right out even though it had absolutely no connection to anything?
Gee, maybe I'm psychic!
They rehabbed the Grundy Junior High School to make this school.
Grundy is 138 miles west of Roanoke, Virginia, 50 miles east of Pikeville, Kentucky.
This recently set-up law school -- that probably few people outside Grundy VA heard of before today -- http://www.asl.edu -- with the intriguing statement on its website that it has no street address (check for yourself) may be a "proprietary school" (see article below, which gives some background, though is overly restricted to the community college paradigm). Many "non-traditional degree sources" are proprietary schools. Well, so what?
Proprietary schools have an owner and are designed to make money. Again, so what? Isn't this a good thing?
It might be, except for two things: most of them make their money directly from Federal aid checks (see below for percentage of students getting aid; they are basically living off DoE grants) and (the biggie post 9-11) they recruit very heavily overseas, trading on their ability to underwrite student visas, and providing a little-scrutinized backdoor for a lot of foreigners to get student visas - not that the front door is scrutinized that well either. THE FLIGHT SCHOOLS THAT THE 9-11 TERRORISTS TRAINED ON WERE ALL PROPRIETARY SCHOOLS. Note that at least some of them are also Middle-Eastern owned!
This was a tragedy which may have accidentally highlighted a broader issue in the whole student-visa problem. A further question would be how many foreign student visas is ASL sponsoring out of the 170 students they have.
http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed400003.html
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ERIC Identifier: ED400003
Publication Date: 1996-09-00
Author: Lee, Lucy
Source: ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges Los Angeles CA.
Community Colleges and Proprietary Schools. ERIC Digest.
THIS DIGEST WAS CREATED BY ERIC, THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ERIC, CONTACT ACCESS ERIC 1-800-LET-ERIC
Should publicly supported community colleges and proprietary schools (including most for-profit vocational schools as well as two-year "career colleges") try to better understand one another? Some educators argue that policy and practice should emphasize the areas in which they are alike. Others contend that significant distinctions remain between the two types of postsecondary institutions. This digest presents a discussion of some of the inherent advantages and disadvantages in encouraging greater mission convergence between community colleges and proprietary schools.
Clowes describes proprietary schools as the "silent partners" in higher education--while little has been written about them, they enroll 6.1% of all postsecondary education students who are awarded a large share of federal grants and loans. These students have also been disproportionately responsible for loan defaults. Critics of today's proprietary schools echo many of the early concerns about the financial aid and fundraising practices historically associated with for-profit trade schools.
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ON PROPRIETARY SCHOOLS
Proprietary institutions have a long history of attracting controversy while at the same time filling a need in their communities. The 17th-century precursors of today's proprietary schools advertised to attract students to vocational programs that promised quick preparation and transition to work. For 200 years, their descendants operated independent of other forms of education in the United States. At the turn of the 20th century, however, the Progressive Era led to a focus on public education, accompanied by governmental reforms in education and the first efforts to regulate the private vocational schools.
Veterans enrolled in proprietary schools in record numbers after World War II, thanks to federal subsidies available on the G. I. Bill. Engaged in ever-more-aggressive advertising for students, the schools were accused of making educational goals subordinate to the bottom line. Scandals surrounding fraudulent accounting practices with regard to student aid in the 1950s served to further tarnish the reputation of the for-profit sector (Honick). The rivalry between community colleges and proprietary schools surged with the post World War II boom in college attendance. Existing public institutions expanded their facilities, new campuses sprouted all over the country, and enrollments increased dramatically. As they faced new pressures to compete for students and financial aid, proprietary institutions were also increasingly targeted for criticism. During the last 50 years, efforts to coordinate oversight responsibility for the proprietary sector among the state higher education agencies, accrediting bodies, and the federal government have fallen short. Confusion remains about such fundamental issues as arriving at a common definition of the proprietary or "career" colleges (Chaloux). For example, as recently as 1994, the Carnegie Foundation's "A Classification of Institutions of Higher Education" combined "community, junior, and technical colleges (including proprietary schools)" into one category called "Associate of Arts Colleges."
CURRICULUM, STUDENTS, AND GOVERNANCE: SOME COMPARISONS
Those who argue for mission convergence perceive increasing similarities in curricular offerings at proprietary schools and community colleges. The historic function of the proprietary school has shifted away from an exclusive emphasis on preparing students for post-graduate employment, toward offering courses that also emphasize general competencies. Community colleges, in their turn, have initiated curricular changes in response to students who are more interested in career preparation than traditional degrees (Hyslop and Parsons).
Student populations at both community colleges and proprietary schools are among the most diverse in the nation. Literature on the interaction of race, socioeconomic status (SES), and academic background of proprietary school versus community college students is contradictory. Referring to data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Cheng and Levin report that women and white students are somewhat more likely to enroll in career college than community college programs. Also, as parental income and education increase, so does the likelihood of attending a college or university rather than a propriety school or career college. Their study reveals that students attending proprietary schools appear to have lower degree aspirations but better success in actually attaining the license, certificate, or two-year degree they set out to pursue than do students with similar limited aspirations enrolled at community colleges. Nonetheless, evidence suggests that proprietary school students are far less likely to move on to baccalaureate study; the NCES data indicate that differences in the academic preparation and aptitude of proprietary students are factors. Prager also expresses concern that there are no guarantees that earned credit at a career college will be accepted by a community or senior college, a practice which might also inhibit transfer.
Some of the most fundamental differences between the two types of institutions exist in governance. Obviously, the distinction of public versus private status remains significant. Nonetheless, events such as the G.I. Bill, amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1972 and 1992, changes in accreditation and standards, and fluctuations in the economy have prompted proprietary schools and community colleges to take on areas previously considered the exclusive domain of one or the other (Hittman).
FINANCING AND GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT
The not-for-profit, degree-granting schools have typically applied for regional accreditation, while for-profit, degree-granting schools have usually sought sanction by national accreditation associations. Prager holds that accreditation processes, though they vary across the different regional and national associations, now generally require that proprietary schools meet the same or similar standards as community colleges, while Chaloux says that evaluative criteria have differed for degree-granting and non-degree-granting institutions. Accreditation for degree-granting institutions has focused primarily on quality of the education, while that for the non-degree-granting has focused on employability of graduates.
Prager also notes that while accrediting standards merit further study with regard to all types of institutions, significant questions remain about policies regarding proprietary accreditation and its acceptance by other postsecondary institutions. She asks if accountability and outcome measures can be used to insure that greater numbers of students are admitted to and succeed in baccalaureate programs, regardless of where they begin their postsecondary training. Is loss of credit for proprietary school education upon transfer discouraging students who have attended proprietary schools from continuing their education in more traditional degree programs?
CONVERGENCE OF MISSION: FORCED OR ORGANIC?
Moore presents a problematic scenario, arguing that the apparent convergence of community colleges and proprietary schools masks persistent, consequential differences. Moore outlines two approaches to what he terms the "illusion of convergence," defining it as either "organic" or "forced." He describes the "organic convergence hypothesis" as the presumption that the boundaries between community colleges and proprietary schools are becoming blurred as part of a natural evolution. "Forced convergence" is influenced primarily by the federal role in awarding student financial aid. Nearly 80% of proprietary school students receive aid, as opposed to 29% of all students. The boom in proprietary schools in the 1970s and '80s was followed by reduced access to federal funds for schools with high default rates. Efforts to improve student loan default rates have required that proprietary schools behave more like community colleges, a forced convergence.
The fundamental differences between proprietary schools and community colleges--in size, cost, mission, governance, time to program completion, links to the rest of higher education, and market orientation--present a formidable barrier to any natural convergence, according to Moore. He mentions that proprietary schools will always be motivated by market-driven ends, while community colleges will always have more diverse and complex goals. Hawthorne agrees that any shift toward convergence, since it has been prompted primarily by external forces, cannot be viewed as a true merging of mission.
Nonetheless, Clowes points out several ways in which community colleges and proprietary schools are growing more alike. Low graduation and transfer rates raise doubts about the validity of distinguishing community colleges by their degree-granting function. Similarly, community colleges can no longer claim that the general education focus remains at the heart of their curricula, in distinct contrast to that of proprietary schools. Presumed differences in organizational culture are not evident from the existing research and funding differences have faded as proprietary school students receive more public monies via grants and loans. Also, both sectors face increasing pressure to develop innovative methods of evaluating the effectiveness and quality of programs that deliver education through new technology (Chaloux).
CONCLUSION
Public community colleges and proprietary schools have been profoundly affected by changes in student demographics, the climate of federal and state support, accreditation policies, and advancing technology. Current research suggests, however, that the apparent movement toward greater similarity in mission and practice at community colleges and proprietary schools has not, thus far, produced any definitive commitment toward cooperation, or, conversely, clearer differentiation of mission. A major obstacle to greater convergence of mission may be the academic establishment's philosophical bias, which resists any equating of for-profit vocational schools with public higher education institutions. However, the long tradition of proprietary schools in the United States, as well as their increasing influence, should prompt a closer examination of this under-studied segment of our diverse higher education system.
REFERENCES
This Digest is drawn from New Directions for Community Colleges, Number 91, edited by Darrel A. Clowes and Elizabeth M. Hawthorne, published in Fall, 1995: "Community Colleges and Proprietary Schools: Conflict or Convergence?" The cited articles include: "State Oversight of the Proprietary Sector," by Bruce N. Chaloux; "Who are the Students at Community Colleges and Proprietary Schools?" by Xing David Cheng and Bernard H. Levin; "Community College and Proprietary Schools: Conflict or Convergence?" by Darrel A. Clowes; "Proprietary Schools and Community Colleges: The Next Chapter," by Elizabeth M. Hawthorne; "Changes in Mission, Governance, and Funding of Proprietary Postsecondary Institutions," by Jon A. Hittman; "The Story Behind Proprietary Schools in the United States," by Craig A. Honick; "Curriculum as a Path to Convergence," by Cheryl Hyslop and Michael H. Parsons; "The Illusion of Convergence: Federal Student Aid Policy in Community Colleges and Proprietary Schools," by Richard W. Moore; and "Ties that Bind: Default, Accreditation, and Articulation," by Carolyn Prager.
The ERIC Clearinghouse operates under OERI Contract No. RI 93-002-003. The opinions expressed in this digest do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of OERI and no official endorsement by OERI should be inferred.
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Title: Community Colleges and Proprietary Schools. ERIC Digest.
Note: Drawn from "Community Colleges and Proprietary Schools: Conflict or Convergence? New Directions for Community Colleges Number 91," edited by Darrel A. Clowes and Elizabeth M. Hawthorne; see ED 387 193.
Document Type: Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073);
Available From: ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges, University of California at Los Angeles, 3051 Moore Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1521.
Descriptors: College Curriculum, College Role, Community Colleges, Educational Finance, Educational Trends, Institutional Mission, Organizational Objectives, Private Education, Proprietary Schools, Student Costs, Student Financial Aid, Two Year Colleges
Identifiers: ERIC Digests
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January 16, 2002
GRUNDY, Va. (AP) -- A law school student upset about his grades went on a shooting spree Wednesday, killing three people and critically wounding three others before he was wrestled to the ground by students, officials said.
The victims included the dean of the Appalachian School of Law and a professor who were gunned down in their offices. The third person slain was a student, said Ellen Qualls, a spokeswoman for Gov. Mark Warner.
"When I got there there were bodies laying everywhere," said Dr. Jack Briggs, who has a private practice a half-mile from the school in this tiny western Virginia community.
Briggs said he had treated the suspect in the past year. He described the gunman as a Nigerian in his early 40s who had flunked out last year and been allowed to return. "I think they were getting ready to tell him that he had not made the grade this year," Briggs said.
Dean L. Anthony Sutin and the professor were "executed" in their offices, Briggs said. He said the gunman then went downstairs into a common area and opened fire on a crowd of students, killing one and wounding three others. He was tackled by four male students as he left the building. "They just wanted the guy," Briggs said. "They weren't worried about their own personal safety."
Other details were not immediately available, but Qualls said the weapon used was a .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun. The three wounded students were taken to Buchanan General Hospital, Qualls said. The governor said they were in critical condition.
"We knew before we heard there was a shooting that something was wrong," said Tiffany Street, who works at a nearby motel. "There were fire trucks, ambulances, state police and cops all heading toward the school. "I've never seen anything like this," said Street, 20. "Grundy's a very small town, and I've been here all my life."
The private law school has an enrollment of about 170 students. The governor, who had served on the school's board until he took office last week, said he was shocked and saddened by the shooting. "I commend the students who acted swiftly to apprehend the suspect, who is now in custody," Warner said. "My heart goes out to the school and the community. I know that such a close-knit community will feel such a tragedy especially deeply."
Sutin, a 1984 graduate of Harvard Law School, was also an associate professor at the school. He left the Justice Department to found the school after working for the Democratic National Committee and Bill Clinton's campaign in 1992, according to the Web site of Jurist, the Legal Education Network.
The school opened five years ago in a renovated junior high school in Grundy, a town of about 1,100 just a few miles south of the Kentucky and West Virginia state lines. School founders hope to ease a shortage of lawyers in the coalfields of southwest Virginia, help change the region's image and foster renewal in Appalachia. The American Bar Association rejected the school's first application for accreditation in 1999. The school graduated its first class of 34 in 2000.
There are about 15 faculty members, including alumni of law schools at the University of California at Berkeley and Columbia, Harvard and Howard universities. "You read about it in other areas, but when it comes home it really hurts," said state Del. Jackie Stump of Grundy, fighting back tears as he hung his head and walked away from a news conference in Richmond.
Has the "gun used to halt shooting" story spread very far? That was the first I'd heard of it.