Disqus - Friends of cupton

Re: Butler replaces student newspaper adviser with university spokesperson

muffyt — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 08:12:18 -0000

I wonder if anyone remembers (or even knows about) the lawsuit Butler University launched against its own student during the 2009-2010 school year for posting information on an online news site that the administration viewed as negative toward the university. Very little was said about the situation at the time in the Indianapolis press, and few on campus seemed to know about it or were willing to speak about the obvious infringement on freedom of speech. Sounds to me like the arrogance continues, even under different leadership. It might be worth noting that the current president did not come to Butler with liberal arts leadership credentials, but rather from a business school.

Re: Butler replaces student newspaper adviser with university spokesperson

muffyt — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 12:18:43 -0000

Ask the 2010 graduate who ran an independent blog about campus life how that went. He wrote about events the administration didn't like, so the Butler administration hired a fancy downtown Indianapolis law firm to sue the student to shut him up. I believe he did graduate and was planning to attend law school. By now he must be a lawyer, so maybe he could represent the students at Butler who want to write honestly about their school. As a side note, I hope parents of high school students who are applying to Butler find this article to see what the administration there is really like, and not simply be razzle-dazzled by the slick brochures put out by the marketing department/admissions office.

Re: White House Unveils College Scorecard That Replaces Its Scuttled Ratings Plan

muffyt — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 11:20:50 -0000

I took a quick look at the website. Apparently, the President and Department of Education think they work only for low-income families. This website contains college cost information that applies to families earning $0 to $48k a year. What about the rest of us, who can expect to pay a whole lot more than these cost of attendance numbers? I sure would like my kids to be able to attend the likes of Williams, Colby, Bowdoin, Harvard, etc. for the prices quoted on this website.

Re: My Love-Hate Relationship With TurnItIn

muffyt — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 11:30:56 -0000

A report that recently came out about turnitin shows an astounding percentage of false positives and false negatives. In other words, turnitin has a high rate of finding plagiarism when it does not in fact exist, and also a high rate of not finding plagiarism when it does exist. I am surprised that anyone uses it instead of reading and grading the papers yourselves. As a parent paying tuition in the $40k range, that's what I am paying for--faculty expertise, grading and input. If I wanted my kids to have their papers graded electronically, or even just checked for cheating electronically, they could simply sign up for online courses for a whole lot less money.

Re: White House Unveils College Scorecard That Replaces Its Scuttled Ratings Plan

muffyt — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 18:01:34 -0000

Just over $48k in annual family income is a pretty low standard for "wealthy." There are a whole lot of families out there who have no clue how these numbers work and who could use some help in figuring out what the cost to them of college actually would be. What the Department of Education just put out will not help them and will just add to the confusion. The Department of Education works for all Americans, not just the poorest. And those of us paying the taxes that pay for said Department should be included in their analysis.

Re: My Love-Hate Relationship With TurnItIn

muffyt — Mon, 14 Sep 2015 10:07:46 -0000

Some high schools use Turnitin in English and other paper-writing classes. From the perspective of a college professor, I wonder how useful you think this practice is in preparing students for college-level writing.

Re: My Love-Hate Relationship With TurnItIn

muffyt — Tue, 15 Sep 2015 08:37:57 -0000

I do understand that professors grade papers. As a part of that process, I would assume that the professor checks for authenticity, and that a plagiarized paper would have a high chance of earning a grade of "F" from the professor. The point I was making has to do with the reliability of Turnitin for this purpose. See this article https://www.insidehighered.... If Turnitin has a significant chance of not finding plagiarism, and also a significant chance of finding plagiarism where it does not in fact exist, then I question its usefulness to faculty in providing input to their grading process, and to students in providing input to their learning about proper citation.

Re: My Love-Hate Relationship With TurnItIn

muffyt — Tue, 15 Sep 2015 10:15:39 -0000

You are a scholar in your field and, as such, are equipped to use Turnitin with its limitations because you are already familiar with the literature students may be using. I wonder what you think, though, of high school teachers' use of Turnitin. My student was accused of cheating after his English teacher ran his paper through Turnitin. She did give him a chance to make a revision, without which she would have awarded an F on the paper. He swore he did not plagiarize the material and that he did not understand why it was wrongly used in his original paper. Perhaps she was correct that he had copied the material and his story was a lie. On the other hand, what if he was correct and he had not copied the material, but was instead a victim of Turnitin's false-positive results? I do think high school students have a challenging time understanding when attributions are necessary, and what they are taught does not necessarily coincide with what is expected of them when they get to college.
I have another point that will sound naïve. Why do students bother spending their time and money at college cheating, anyway? What happened to an academic honor code and the desire to learn something?

Re: Thousands of welfare recipients still using cards at liquor stores

muffyt — Sat, 19 Mar 2016 20:32:49 -0000

Why are they using SNAP cards to get a cash withdrawal? That is allowed? I thought the cards could be used only for food.

Re: Oberlin College to grant credit to high school students through online research project program

muffyt — Sat, 15 Oct 2016 10:51:50 -0000

As a parent of three college students at expensive private colleges (not Oberlin), this sounds fishy to me.

All I know is what is presented is this article. So my analysis is as follows: Oberlin gives access to its library and an Oberlin transcript to students who have not been vetted through its admissions process, for studying with faculty who are not at Oberlin, in exchange for cash and a heads-up on potentially full-freight-paying Chinese and other high school students.

I wonder whether Oberlin is willing to provide a transcript and credit for equally enterprising (and more than likely, not as wealthy) high school students who are attending their local community college. In Ohio they can enroll in the dual enrollment program and their local school districts will pay their community college tuition. It would be an even better deal for those kids if they could also wind up with an Oberlin College transcript for their efforts.

As a prestigious, highly selective, and wealthy private college, I find it very odd that Oberlin would jump on this bandwagon. I could imagine other small colleges that are struggling with enrollment and finances trying something like this. But Oberlin?

I doubt the alumni are going to think much of this plan.

Re: Oberlin College to grant credit to high school students through online research project program

muffyt — Sat, 15 Oct 2016 12:45:12 -0000

If Oberlin wants to reach out to deserving first-generation students who would benefit from its small liberal arts program but are unfamiliar with Oberlin, it has to look no further than down the highways of eastern and southeastern Ohio.

Oberlin (and its private peers) enjoy huge support from the American taxpayer. In exchange, its focus should first be on helping American students realize their potential and dreams. This program appears to be designed to recruit Chinese students. Why is finding and importing smart Chinese students who otherwise would not know about Oberlin an important goal for Oberlin?

The Pioneer Program well may be an excellent one. It makes sense to me that Oberlin might grant credit to an incoming student who successfully completes a project in the Pioneer Program, just as credit might be granted for a student who successfully completes an AP course in high school. By participating in this program, though, it strikes me that Oberlin is simply cashing in on its brand name--selling an Oberlin transcript to Pioneer students, who can then shop this prestigious credential to other college admissions offices. Other colleges to whom these students apply will be smart enough to realize that the students didn't actually attend an Oberlin program.

Re: Oberlin College to grant credit to high school students through online research project program

muffyt — Sun, 16 Oct 2016 10:11:54 -0000

If Oberlin's faculty are mentoring the Pioneer students, it would perhaps make sense for Oberlin to give them a transcript. Without its own faculty teaching the Pioneer students, though, it appears that Oberlin has decided to sell its prestigious name for a franchise fee. I think it's called cashing in on the brand in business circles.

I would also like someone to explain why it is so important for American institutions to go out of their way to attract students from China, South Korea, Russia, and Afghanistan to compete against American students for eventual admission to American institutions. American colleges enjoy financial support from Americans in many forms, including receiving federal financial aid dollars that keep colleges in business, tax-free investment earnings on their endowments, and the privilege of not contributing to the day-to-day operation of their local communities because they are exempt from property taxes on their extensive facilities, to name a few. As long as there are smart students in America who could benefit from this type of mentoring and assistance to direct them to a fine college, how can you justify going after foreign students?

Re: An assessment of the impact of the early FAFSA on college applications (essay)

muffyt — Thu, 19 Jan 2017 12:26:51 -0000

A couple of comments on the early FAFSA:
1) Isn't anybody concerned about the fact that colleges will now be able to evaluate the finances of an applicant before making an admissions decision about that person? Aren't students from families that can pay going to have a large advantage under this new scenario? And how about students who can't pay? Need-blind admission policies will go out the window with this new FAFSA timetable.
2) How is the financial aid office going to award a complete financial package to students under this new FAFSA timetable when some of them will be submitting portfolios or doing music auditions for merit awards? Music departments typically have auditions between January and March, and make decisions about scholarships late, sometimes not until early April. Students in the arts receive academic and music awards, with the latter often being substantial. For them, an early award of federal financial aid is only part of the picture, and they will still not know the whole cost of attendance until very late in the process, perhaps not until the end of March or early April.

Re: An assessment of the impact of the early FAFSA on college applications (essay)

muffyt — Sun, 22 Jan 2017 11:09:33 -0000

My experience is with my own students, all of whom were accomplished musicians when they applied to college in recent years, including one last year. All of them received large merit packages most places where they applied. The academic awards (i.e. tuition discounts) came with their college acceptances or soon afterward, and were based solely on their high school records, test scores, etc. Auditions then were held requiring trips all over the country, every weekend from mid-January through March. Talent awards then trickled in through April, some coming directly from music departments, and others through the financial aid offices. There was no point until the bitter end, meaning early to mid-April, when we could sit down and compare all of the offers side by side. My point is that unless the financial aid offices have the power to corral the musicians into holding auditions early in the fall, an unlikely proposition, the early FAFSA is not going to make much difference for students who are looking for a music award to help pay for their college experience.

I would like to make another important point from the perspective of your family customers. Even after receiving the full award package, including any financial aid, loans, and most importantly, merit awards, the family still has to make a college decision somewhat in the dark. This is because many colleges and universities do not announce next fall's tuition, room and board, and fees until after the universal college acceptance deadline. There may be many reasons for this delay, but something should be done to change this situation. When you offer a financial package to a family, you know everything about their finances. Yet the poor family is making one of its biggest financial investments without even knowing the cost of the first year, let alone the cumulative inflation that will be added over the subsequent 3 years.

If FAFSA acceptance begins in October, colleges should publish their next year's comprehensive fees at the same time so that families have the full financial picture and plenty of time to figure out where their student can go to school without debt, which should be everyone's goal.

Re: With IRS Data Tool Down, Lawmakers Ask Department of Ed to Assist Students

muffyt — Tue, 28 Mar 2017 12:16:20 -0000

Not having this data retrieval tool is not a hardship for families completing the FAFSA. Everybody has to keep copies of their tax returns and documentation for many years in case they are audited. All folks have to do is get out their copy and type in the numbers in the correct slots on the FAFSA. It is not difficult!

The scary part of this story is that crooks were apparently able to use the data retrieval system available through the FAFSA to access victims' tax return data. From there, they would access the necessary information to file false tax returns and get refunds, and generally wreak havoc through identity theft. It probably worked pretty well, especially for victims who had not created a FAFSA. With some basic information, the crook could set up a FAFSA and get an FSA number, unbeknownst to the victim. Then, the crook could import the tax information into the FAFSA using the retrieval tool, and find out even more details about the victim, including AGI. From there, the crook could get tax refunds as mentioned above, but also just think of the possibilities to open credit once the crook had access to the victim's AGI. The security implications of this debacle go far beyond families applying for federal student aid--anybody who filed a tax return and who had not set up a FAFSA, which would be most of the folks in the country.

Re: With IRS Data Tool Down, Lawmakers Ask Department of Ed to Assist Students

muffyt — Thu, 30 Mar 2017 12:23:03 -0000

#1 According to the IRS, the system that generates a tax transcript is secure and operational, unlike the data retrieval tool. People who need tax information can now use the transcript process if necessary. #2 There is no reason to estimate your "tax details" as of last fall because now the FAFSA allows applicants to use taxes from 2 years ago. #3 Why don't they file taxes? Either they owe tax, which requires that they file, or they don't owe tax because they are low income. In the latter case, they get a refundable earned income tax credit, which requires that they file a tax form. If they don't qualify for the EIC and they owe no tax, they have to file a tax return in order to get withheld taxes refunded. Responsible citizens file their taxes and keep a copy. It's that simple. If they can't carry out that basic responsibility of citizenship, I would question whether they are suitable college candidates.

Re: With IRS Data Tool Down, Lawmakers Ask Department of Ed to Assist Students

muffyt — Thu, 30 Mar 2017 12:31:20 -0000

If parents don't want to share their personal tax information with their own kids, then why is it that the IRS will do it anyway, against parental wishes, through a direct data transmittal? That is just plain wrong. If you have ever filed a FAFSA, you know that a copy of all data entered is sent back to the student. Personally, I am not going to share my income and tax information with my kids, all 3 of whom are currently in college.

As for the chance of getting audited, so be it. A tax transcript can be retrieved out of a separate and secure IRS system. That is functional and available, even though the data retrieval one has been taken off-line.

Let's discuss personal responsibility when it comes to your third point. If people want to go to college, they have to step up to the plate and be responsible. That includes keeping copies of their tax returns so they can apply for federal financial aid if that's what they want to do. If they want to dip into taxpayer resources to help pay for their college, the least they can do is have the necessary financial information on hand so they can apply. It's a no-brainer. There is literally no excuse for not having your own tax return. Students and families have plenty of time during high school to learn about the FAFSA and federal aid and what will be required of them. They literally have 4 years to prepare for this.

Re: With IRS Data Tool Down, Lawmakers Ask Department of Ed to Assist Students

muffyt — Fri, 31 Mar 2017 11:58:25 -0000

If parents don't care about their children, are financially illiterate, and/or are intellectually unable, what relevance is their financial information going to have to their students' ability to pay for college for all practical purposes? The expected family contribution will be calculated based on parental tax data retrieved from the IRS, yet as you suggest, those parents you describe aren't likely to pay a dime. The reality is that in our country, parents have an obligation and responsibility to help their children who want to go to college until students are 24, at which point they are considered emancipated for financial aid purposes.

As an aside, I wonder how illiterate and unable many of these people are when the reality is that a lot of them are able to figure out how to navigate the system enough to file a tax return and receive an earned income tax credit. If they can do that, they can figure out how to help their own kids apply for college financial aid, don't you think?

Re: IRS tool for financial aid applicants could be down until next aid cycle

muffyt — Fri, 31 Mar 2017 16:34:03 -0000

Why is it the Education Department's and IRS' responsibility to provide taxpayers with their own tax data so they can fill out the FAFSA? The tax data originates with the taxpayer. Surely people keep a copy of their own tax returns before submitting them to the IRS. And in the case where parents supposedly lack the wherewithal to fill out a FAFSA, how does retrieving their data from the IRS help the student? The FAFSA requires information beyond income, such as assets and recent pre-tax retirement contributions, and none of that is in the IRS system. Even if the tax retrieval system were working, how could an expected family contribution be computed without parental asset information?

Re: Senators Want Pell Eligibility for Dual Enrollment

muffyt — Mon, 10 Apr 2017 12:37:24 -0000

It's interesting that Senator Portman is sponsoring this idea. In Ohio, his home state, we already have a dual enrollment program by law, and local school districts and the state pay the tuition. It seems to me that this proposal to expand Pell Grants to pay for this college tuition is nothing more than an attempt to shift the cost from Ohio taxpayers to all American taxpayers. Access is already there--Senator Portman is just sponsoring a proposal to get someone else to pay for it.

And let's not fool ourselves. Most teenagers, no matter how smart they are, are not at the same maturity level of college students. Taking the general ed (or any other courses) as middle or even high school students for the vast majority is not going to be the same education as taking those courses in college. If the desired goal is simply to get a degree-credential for everyone as quickly as possible, then go for it. But if the desired goal is to get a good and well-rounded education characterized by serious critical thinking and writing, then pushing young teenagers into college is misguided. And besides, what happened to high school courses? Are we now saying that there is no role for courses that are designed and appropriate for high schoolers?

A final thought. Here in Ohio, school districts are allowed to have their own teachers with a Master's Degree teach these dual enrollment courses. I would run the other way if one of my kids wanted to do that. A high school teacher might be teaching college-level material in the high school classroom, but in no way is that the same thing as a college professor/scholar teaching that course in a college. So Senator Portman's idea amounts to a new funding source for local school districts to compete against colleges. It's just a bad idea.

Re: Senators Want Pell Eligibility for Dual Enrollment

muffyt — Tue, 11 Apr 2017 11:01:44 -0000

The concept strikes me as unlikely to be productive or successful. Students who qualify for Pell grants are likely to be the least qualified and prepared for success in college classes. Many attend our worst public school systems. So how does it make any sense to push these kids into college early by providing free tuition? And, what about the social aspects of sending such young students, most of whom will be minors, into colleges? I, personally, would not want my 16-year old daughter in a college class with young adult males who have a lot more independence than a high-school age girl living at home under parental supervision. It's simply a recipe for a lot of problems. No matter how you look at it, high school age kids are not mini-college students, no matter how smart they are.

Re: Protests Greet Charles Murray at Indiana

muffyt — Wed, 12 Apr 2017 08:49:01 -0000

I'd be willing to bet that the majority of these student protesters have never read any of his work and, as a result, have no idea what they are talking about. This man is a scholar who is completely aware of the controversial nature of his positions, and he is ready to engage in thoughtful discussion with thoughtful people. These protesters are spoiled babies who do not get the whole point of debate, free thought, or even why they are paying big bucks to get a college education.

Re: College apologizes for recruiting to its pep band by attacking music majors

muffyt — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 11:31:31 -0000

These people have no idea what they're talking about. And I guess that's par for the course, because I've never heard of Goldey-Beacum College.

But I have three kids who are serious musicians, trained in a major music conservatory preparatory department, and I can tell this outfit a few things about musicians. One is that a student with a passion for music would never satisfy that passion with a business major and playing in a newly-formed pep band, especially strings (for these dopes, that means violin, viola, cello, and double bass) players. Two is that a measly $2000 scholarship for playing in a pep band is hardly an enticement to attend their college. Because of their music accomplishments, all of my kids received scholarships from half to three-quarters of the annual cost of private school tuition ($19,000 to $33,000/year) at schools with serious music programs where they can also pursue other serious academic interests. And three, musicians clean up in the scholarship department. The reason? Musicians almost always are highly accomplished and smart students, so they qualify for large academic scholarships (another $20,000 or so on top of the numbers above), that get added to their large music scholarships. Smart musicians are able to go to college with little or no debt because their total non-need based aid is in the form of merit scholarships, and even in this day of high college costs, the combination of music plus academic money often in the six figures for a 4-year college.

There are many fine colleges and universities that will be overjoyed to accept student musicians turned away by these fools.

Re: Fannie Mae Allows Home Owners to Swap Student Loan Debt for Mortgage Debt

muffyt — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 14:15:30 -0000

This is a terrible idea for several reasons. 1) It converts debt that cannot be gotten rid of in bankruptcy to debt that can be eliminated, creating the opportunity for scheming borrowers to dump their debt on Fannie Mae, i.e. the taxpayers. 2) Student loan interest is not deductible on income taxes but mortgage interest is. So this plan creates yet another unbudgeted subsidy from the taxpayers to student debt holders. 3) Just wait for the real estate bubble this could create as property values are inflated to justify mortgages that contain the student loan debt in addition to the home purchase. When values eventually fall to real levels, these people will be crying about how they are under water--their mortgage loans will exceed the value of their houses--and be demanding some "relief" from guess who, the taxpayer.

Taking out student loans is a way for someone who does not have the savings to get an education. Paying these loans back is the responsibility of the borrower, and this is likely to reduce the person's standard of living during the payback period compared to someone who did not have to take loans to pay for his/her education. If that means having to put off buying a house until the student loans are paid back, so be it. That was the deal when they signed up to take taxpayer-funded loans and borrowers need to live up to their end of the bargain rather than trying to squeeze even more out of the rest of us as Fannie Mae is now allowing.

Re: Fannie Mae Allows Home Owners to Swap Student Loan Debt for Mortgage Debt

muffyt — Fri, 28 Apr 2017 09:53:48 -0000

Thank you for the correction. However, my original point that this policy creates a new subsidy for student aid borrowers from taxpayers remains largely the same. Deductions for student loan interest are currently limited, both because of a cap on the amount of student loan interest allowed to be written off each year, and because the deduction is phased out once income reaches a certain level. This Fannie Mae refinancing through a mortgage policy change appears to have no limit on the amount of interest that can be written off per year, nor does it appear to have an income limit. So by refinancing student debt through a mortgage, borrowers will be able to write off unlimited student loan interest for 30 years, regardless of how high their income goes. Because the phase-out of the current interest deduction occurs at a fairly low income level ($65-$80k), likely the minimum required in many areas of the country to even qualify to buy a home, people who are not now able to write off this interest as a tax deduction now will be able to do so under this new Fannie Mae scheme. That, my friend, constitutes a new subsidy from taxpayers.