Commission: Gallaudet at risk of losing accreditation

(AP) CNN ^ | February 21, 2007

[KneelBeforeZod]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The nation's only liberal arts university for the deaf could lose its accreditation unless it addresses concerns about weak academic standards, ineffective governance and a lack of tolerance for diverse views, an education oversight group warned.

Gallaudet University was rocked by student demonstrations last fall that shut down the university for several days and forced the board to revoke the appointment of a new president.

Afterward, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education said it was delaying a decision on whether to renew the school's accreditation because of concerns raised during the protests and because of a 2005 federal report that rated Gallaudet "ineffective." The federal Office of Management of Budget this month gave Gallaudet an improved evaluation, to "adequate."

[MinorityRepublican]

Ping!

[iowamark]

Gallaudet receives more than $100 million annually from the federal government. Its graduation rates have consistently been below 50 percent.

100 million(!) per year for about 1600 students. About $60,000 per student!

And the results are terrible academically. I have no personal knowledge of Gallaudet but I sense corruption at the expense of these deaf students. I would like to see a comparison of the academic success of deaf students, with proper support, at other colleges vs. Gallaudet.

[wallcrawlr]

Deaf/Hard of Hearing ping list
with interests in health and society

[merry10]

I don't know if it's really corruption for the deaf students. Personally, I am not sure if the removal of Jane Fernandes was right or wrong. If her goal was to improve the accredidation score by focusing on and embracing technology, and she never had a chance to do so, then that is not good for the University. Is Robert Davila going to be better? I don't know. And, I know kids at Gallaudet. I heard the freshmen class dropped out - by half - after the first semester. One kid I know is going to JC for 2 years and then going back to Gallaudet. I think more kids are going to RTID in Rochester vs. Gally now.

[The Great RJ]

The protests about the new President were basically that he was "not deaf enough". We had a similar problem at our state school for the deaf as some parents of deaf students, who were deaf themselves, did not like the Principal's support of students getting cochlear implants to virtually correct their deafness.

[wallcrawlr]

"compensate" maybe is a better word than "correct" :)

I'm glad the Princ spoke up in support of those that choose a CI but it really bugs me that others didnt like it.

We still have a long ways to go...

[untenured]

I don't know the first thing about Galluadet. But based on my own experiences in academia I wonder how much of the problem is because the university curriculum and student life is full of a lot of politically correct nonsense - "Hi, I'm Joe from Gallaudet and I'M DEAF!," that kind of thing.