Education

UNC system wrestles with tuition increases

John Newsom — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 07:48:42 -0500

CHAPEL HILL (MCT) — UNC system officials are struggling to figure out what sort of price hikes for the state's public universities lawmakers will support this year because of rising unemployment and the recession

"I've heard some legislators say, 'If y'all raise tuition at all, you're out of touch,' " UNC system President Erskine Bowles said early into a tuition and fees discussion Thursday. "Other people say that if you erode the university's quality, ... you will do long-term damage. There is no consensus."

UNC's distance education enrollments soar

John Newsom — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 08:53:08 -0500

RALEIGH (AP) — The number of distance education students enrolled in the UNC system has shot up more than 20 percent in what could be another signal of the economic downturn.

More than 22,000 students were taking college courses online or at off-campus satellite sites last year. Although about 215,000 students attended UNC system schools in 2008, distance education students are a rapidly growing group, The News & Observer of Raleigh reported today.

Perdue: Economy will block free tuition in '09

mgrossman — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:52:12 -0500

RALEIGH (AP) - Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue is dialing down some expectations in her first year as North Carolina governor, including plans to offer free community college tuition.

Perdue said Wednesday she knows the state's bad fiscal picture means her campaign platform of free tuition at community college won't occur this year. She hopes there will be money to expand outgoing Gov. Mike Easley's college affordability program for students in low-income families.

Local pools making repairs to comply with safety rule

Jay Reddick — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 03:00:00 -0500

This story has been corrected.

There was no diving in the pool at Smith High School Tuesday, or swimming, and it’s not the only one. Indoor pool owners across the nation are scrambling to meet a new federal regulation requiring safer filtration systems.

The regulation, adopted in 2007, set a deadline of Dec. 19, 2008, for compliance. Though both outdoor and indoor public pools are affected, many indoor pools in use this winter are shutting down to make the needed repairs.

DA won’t file charges against A&T officials

mumbarger — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 03:00:00 -0500

GREENSBORO - Guilford County District Attorney Doug Henderson will not prosecute officials from N.C. A&T in connection with misused funds discovered in a 2007 audit of the university's finances.

GTCC job program doubles due to need

mumbarger — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 03:00:00 -0500

GTCC is doubling its short-form training program called Quick Jobs With a Future to respond to the rapidly increasing unemployment rate.

Guilford County's unemployment rate grew by nearly a percentage point to 7.7 percent in November, the state Employment Security Commission said Tuesday.

GTCC said the program, designed to help laid-off workers learn how to work in a new field in 90 days, will offer space for 320 students in 16 classes beginning this month.

State fast-tracks bonds for A&T, UNCG

Jay Reddick — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 03:00:00 -0500

The Council of State on Tuesday fast-tracked the sale of $744.2 million in bonds to help pay for new projects and renovations at state institutions, including UNCG and N.C. A&T.

The council, made up of the governor and other statewide elected officials, voted to speed up the sale of the bonds already approved by the legislature. According to Gov. Mike Easley’s office, about $65 million will be issued this spring, another $258 million will come in the fall and the rest will follow in later years.

DA: N.C. A&T officials won't be charged

mgrossman — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:15:26 -0500

GREENSBORO - Guilford County District Attorney Doug Henderson will not prosecute officials from N.C. A&T in connection with misused funds discovered in a 2007 audit of the university's finances, Henderson announced Tuesday.

Neither former A&T Chancellor James C. Renick nor Anna Anita Huff, a program manager who was fired in September 2006, violated any laws or enriched themselves with the misused funds, Henderson said. Renick left the university in 2006 to take a position at the American Council on Education in Washington

GTCC expanding Quick Jobs program

mgrossman — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:49:18 -0500

GTCC is doubling its short-form training program called Quick Jobs With a Future to respond to the rapidly increasing unemployment rate.

Guilford County's unemployment rate grew by nearly one percentage point to 7.7 percent in November, the state Employment Security Commission said Tuesday.

GTCC said Tuesday that the program, designed to help laid-off workers learn how to work in a new field in 90 days, will offer space for 320 students in 16 classes beginning this month.

Pools expected to reopen this week

Brian Ewing — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:42:11 -0500

There's no diving in the pool at Smith High School, or swimming for that matter and they're not alone. Indoor pools all over the nation are scrambling to meet a new federal regulation requiring safer filtration systems.

The regulation, adopted in 2007, set a deadline of Dec. 19 for compliance. While both outdoor and indoor pools are affected, many indoor pools are in use this winter and are shutting down to make the needed repairs.

School system sued for denying pacifist

John Newsom — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 07:17:31 -0500

NORTH WILKESBORO (AP) — The ACLU is suing a North Carolina school system it says has denied access to a pacifist who wants to talk to students about alternatives to the military.

The Winston-Salem Journal reported that Sally Ferrell represents North Carolina Peace Action and says Wilkes County schools haven't allowed her to present her message, even though military recruiters get time with students.

Ferrell wants to recruit for such groups as AmeriCorps, while also presenting information that might convince students not to choose the military.

HPU campus going tobacco-free

mfuchs — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:16:04 -0500

HIGH POINT - High Point University will become tobacco-free this year.

The transition begins June 1. Enforcement of the policy will begin Sept. 1.

The university will be offering smoking cessation classes during the spring and fall semesters.

The decision followed surveys sent out to students, faculty and staff in March that revealed more than 70 percent of more than 1,000 people favored a tobacco-free campus, according to a university press release.

The plan received unanimous support from the High Point University Board of Trustees.

Schools expect homeless rate to be higher this year

Brian Ewing — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:27:38 -0500

Homeless numbers are expected to increase in county schools this year, according to a report released by the system today.

Officials said about 930 students are currently homeless. The total number of students who experienced homelessness at the end of the 2007-08 school year was 1,282. Officials believe this year's total could surpass that.

Foster kids get a hand with college

David Hurt — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 03:00:00 -0500

GREENSBORO - If everything goes according to plan, Allen Coltrane will graduate from N.C. A&T this December.

When he puts on his cap and gown and walks across the stage, Coltrane will have already beaten long odds: Only 13 percent of U.S. foster children go to college, and about half of them drop out in the first year, according to statistics from the Orphan Foundation of America.

But here in North Carolina, those bleak numbers could change for the better soon.

Last fan sitting takes Wake Forest season tickets

mfuchs — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 07:44:24 -0500

WINSTON-SALEM (AP) - Fans of Wake Forest University football face a Friday deadline to enter a contest giving the winner free season tickets for 15 years.

The Winston-Salem Journal reports that Demon Deacon fans can show how badly they want the tickets by sitting in the stadium longer than anyone else.

Starting early Monday morning, contestants will begin sitting in a portion of the football stands at BB&T Field. The last fan sitting wins seats of his or her choice for up to 15 years, a prize worth about $22,000.

No shoes? No problem: Wake Forest part of growing trend of online admission interviews

rseals — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:25:39 -0500

RALEIGH (AP) - For her college interview, Avery Cullinan put on her best outfit but didn't bother with shoes.

She sat in her living room, smiled into her computer's webcam and told an admissions officer more than 800 miles away that Wake Forest University was right for her.

"It's hard to part with money for a half-hour interview," said Cullinan, who avoided a costly trip from her home in Newburyport, Mass., thanks to the pilot program at Wake Forest. She was later accepted to the Winston-Salem school.

Former Western coach faces sex charge

Holly Lux — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 03:00:00 -0500

GREENSBORO — Police arrested a former Western Guilford High basketball coach Tuesday on a sex charge.

Karl Lemart Wells II, 27, of 4003 Old Oak Ridge Road is charged with indecent liberties with a student.

Wells is a former assistant teacher for exceptional education and former assistant girls’ basketball coach at Western Guilford High School. He turned himself in to authorities and was released on a written promise to appear, according to police.

A Guilford County Schools spokesman said Wells was hired in September 2003.

Update: Assistant teacher, coach charged with taking indecent liberties

mgrossman — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:56:50 -0500

GREENSBORO - Police arrested a high school basketball coach Tuesday on a charge of indecent liberties with a student.

Karl Wells, 27, was an assistant teacher for exceptional education and assistant girls' basketball coach at Western Guilford High. Wells is facing a charge of indecent liberties with a student.

Wells turned himself in to authorities and was released on a written promise to appear, according to police.

The charge stems from an incident on Oct. 30, according to police records.

N.C. private colleges tightening belts

Brenda Hiles — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 03:00:00 -0500

Private colleges in North Carolina are looking toward 2009 with a wary eye.

Heavily dependent on tuition and investment funds that have taken a beating in the past few months, private universities are bracing for tough times. Some are freezing hiring, delaying construction, cutting course offerings and trimming some part-time faculty.

GTCC hopes food will help students 'change future’

Holly Lux — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 03:00:00 -0500

JAMESTOWN — On a shelf at GTCC sit cans of green beans so good they can reduce a grown woman to tears.

Margot Horney dabs at the corners of her eyes and her voice quivers just a little as she talks about green beans and peanut butter, soup and spaghetti sauce — and the people they feed.

“Talking to students I’ve helped is the rewarding part,” says Horney, the GTCC Foundation’s coordinator for resource development — a fancy title for a person who helps other people. “They are so grateful and so gracious. You know you’re helping keep a student in school.

School exams rearranged for Obama’s big day

Brenda Hiles — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 03:00:00 -0500

High school exams will take a back seat to the presidential inauguration this year. End of Course testing will begin a day earlier and resume a day later to accommodate anticipated high interest in Baraack Obama's inauguration, the first African American elected to the office.

"We started getting calls from principals concerned there are going to be large groups of students who are going to want to take part in the presidential inauguration," said John Eldridge, instructional improvement officer for Guilford County high schools.

Inauguration bumps school exams

Brian Ewing — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 15:21:20 -0500

High school exams will take a back seat to the presidential inauguration this year. End of Course testing will begin a day earlier and resume a day later to accommodate anticipated high interest in the historic oath of office, school officials said.

"We started getting calls from principals concerned there are going to be large groups of students who are going ot want to take part in the presidential inauguration," said John Elridge, instructional improvement officer for high schools.

Career fair for students is Jan. 6

John Newsom — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 10:40:01 -0500

GREENSBORO — Guilford County Schools will hold a career fair for middle and high school students Jan. 6.

The event will run from 4 to 8 p.m. in the west wing of the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center.

At the career fair, students will be able to learn more about various careers in the medical, engineering, education and career and technical fields. The school system said representatives from about 50 businesses will attend.

Audit questions payment to WSSU foundation

John Newsom — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 07:06:06 -0500

WINSTON-SALEM (AP) — State auditors are questioning almost $295,000 that Winston-Salem State University paid the school's foundation

The Winston-Salem Journal reported today that the university's annual state audit found school administrators paid Winston-Salem State University Foundation Inc. without a clear reason.

The money represents 4 percent of the revenues from two student housing complexes built by the foundation and leased to the university.

UNC president emeritus has minor heart attack

rseals — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 22:34:57 -0500

CHAPEL HILL (AP) - University of North Carolina president emeritus William Friday is recovering at home after suffering a minor heart attack.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reports that special assistant Virginia Taylor said the 88-year-old Friday was hospitalized for two days last week.

A message on her answering machine said Friday was "at home resting and doing well." Taylor could not be reached for further comment Monday afternoon.