On June 23, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court, for the second time in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, affirmed the constitutionality of the University of Texas policy which considers the race of applicants as one factor in its admissions decisions. Justice Kennedy, writing for the majority, adopted an approach modeled on the 2003 High Court decision in Grutter v. Bollinger, which sanctioned … [Read more...] about High Court Approves Affirmative Action For Higher Education
Collegiate Comment
University of Pittsburgh Settles Case With Former Transgender Student
In 2014, Seamus Johnston sued the University of Pittsburgh when it prohibited him from using sex-segregated restrooms and locker rooms designated for men on a University campus. Johnston sued the University alleging discrimination under Title IX. Last month, Johnston and the University of Pittsburgh entered into a settlement agreement. The Agreement was reached after an appeal was taken from a … [Read more...] about University of Pittsburgh Settles Case With Former Transgender Student
Should College Accreditation Depend on Finances?
The ski-nosed comedian Bob Hope once said, “A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don’t need it.” When the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) revoked its accreditation of Sojourner-Douglass College in Baltimore, Maryland because of its inadequate financial resources, the college desperately needed the money. Sojourner-Douglass already owed the … [Read more...] about Should College Accreditation Depend on Finances?
Be Careful What Your Syllabus Promises!
A district court in New Mexico recently denied the University of New Mexico’s motion to dismiss a suit brought by a student disciplined for condemning lesbianism in a reflection paper for a course. The syllabus for the course, “Images of (Wo)men: Icons and Iconoclasts,” had advertised “controversy built right into the syllabus.” At first, the court’s decision may be a no-brainer, but the professor … [Read more...] about Be Careful What Your Syllabus Promises!
It’s Not Just Kid-Stuff: Peer to Peer Cyberbullying Continues in Colleges and Universities
In 2005, Darby Dickerson, then-Vice-President and Dean of Stetson University College of Law, wrote a legal commentary warning the higher education community to be alert to the dangers from a “sinister e-culprit,” the cyberbully. Since the publication of Dickerson’s commentary, thousands of articles have been published on the topic of cyberbullying, most dealing with the problem of cyberbullying in … [Read more...] about It’s Not Just Kid-Stuff: Peer to Peer Cyberbullying Continues in Colleges and Universities
What Does “Good Faith” Reporting Mean, and What Will It Cost to Miss the Mark?
Ever since the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released the names of 55 institutions of higher education under scrutiny for possible Title IX violations in May, the media has been flooded with lurid personal accounts of mishandled sexual assaults on their campuses. A Time magazine cover story and a two different large spreads in the New York Times were perhaps the most … [Read more...] about What Does “Good Faith” Reporting Mean, and What Will It Cost to Miss the Mark?