| Valley briefing
Aurora University will offer information on adult degree completion programs at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Perry Theatre in the Aurora Foundation Center for Community Enrichment, 1305 Kenilworth Place. University representatives will discuss admission procedures, academic programs and financial aid. Adult degree completion programs are available in accounting, business administration, communication, criminal justice and nursing. Call (630) 844-5294 or e-mail AUadmission@aurora.edu. Fox Valley Extension launches 'Hortanswers' site A new Web site that allows home gardeners and professional horticulturists to gain information about plant pests, diseases, and performance in the USDA's hardiness zones 4, 5, and 6 has been launched by University of Illinois Extension.
Schools unhurt by admissions change
Four prominent universities that ditched their early admissions programs have answered questions about whether the move would hurt their popularity. That answer is no. All are reporting record applications this year. Harvard, Princeton and the University of Virginia attracted widespread attention with announcements in 2006 that they would stop holding a separate, early round of admissions in the fall. They argued the practice contributes to anxiety and disadvantages students who need financial aid. This year, they began considering all applicants in a single pool with a January deadline. The University of Florida later made a similar announcement and moved to a single deadline of Nov. 1. Most selective schools kept some form of early admissions. Now, the results are in.
Candidates debate whether election rides on power plant
The potential split vote among candidates that are skeptical of the power plant is a concern to Highwood Generating Station opponents. Kahn said some coal-fired plant foes asked her to drop out of the race, a move that would have given McKnight a better chance against Stebbins. Kahn declined to do so. Kahn said that the coal-fired facility wasn't the only issue that made her run. Kahn said that as she campaigned door to door in her neighborhood, the power plant issue was tops. But, she said, a number of people complained about how the city treated the Humane Society of Cascade County when the city took over the local animal shelter in July. Meanwhile, coal plant opponents may hold a bit of an edge in the commissioners' race, according to at least one candidate. "It's the math," McKnight said.
Loan Scandal Escalates
When Andrew M. Cuomo started asking questions about the relationships between lenders and colleges, many in higher education scoffed (off the record) that this was a case of an ambitious politician looking for headlines and that there wasn’t much for his inquiry to find. There’s no doubt that Cuomo, New York State’s new attorney general, is an ambitious politician looking for headlines, but he’s finding more and more to investigate. And some experts on aid are increasingly worried that the scandal is going to scare some students and families away from borrowing or from getting advice from financial aid offices. .
Governor proposes lean operating budget
After a bruising special session to address Maryland's chronic deficits, Gov. Martin O'Malley proposed one of the leanest state budgets in the past two decades, relying on cuts in open space and road maintenance and a slowdown in an education spending initiative to place the state on sound financial footing.
The governor proposed a 4 percent increase in the state's operating budget - the lowest in five years and one of the lowest in the past 25 years. A 7.5 percent increase was approved by the General Assembly last year.
O'Malley, a Democrat in his second year in office, has been working to put his stamp on the state's government but has been constrained by a structural budget deficit, projected at $1.7 billion for the fiscal year that begins in July.
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Senators' bill would delay WASL further
Currently, this year's high-school seniors have to pass both sections of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) to earn a diploma. This bill would postpone that requirement to 2012. The math section of the exam was delayed to 2013 during last year's legislative session. Some have speculated that holding the hearing on the holiday commemorating the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a nod to the civil-rights movement. Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell and chairwoman of the K-12 Education Committee, co-sponsored the bill with senators Craig Pridemore, D-Vancouver; Dan Swecker, R-Rochester; James Hargrove, D-Hoquiam; and Ken Jacobsen, D-Seattle. "Anything I can do to lessen the WASL's impact on kids, I will do," said Pridemore, who graduated from Fort Vancouver High in 1979.
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