Enrollment Management update 4/26/07

Admissions:
Marilee Jones, the Dean of Admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), resigned from her post today “after it was confirmed that she had ‘misrepresented her academic degrees to the Institute,’ Dean for Undergraduate Education Daniel E. Hastings announced in an e-mail to the MIT community today.”

According to Jones, “I misrepresented my academic degrees when I first applied to MIT 28 years ago and did not have the courage to correct my resume when I applied for my current job or at any time since.”

Hastings stated that “the process of admitting the incoming class continues without disruption.”

Miscellaneous Policy Decisions:
This falls within the category of “when bad publicity is still bad publicity.” The University of Northern Colorado posts names and photographs of students who are considered “persona non grata” a.k.a people who are not welcome or allowed on campus.

Unfortunately, one of the students on the UNC banned list is a student who was suspended because she was diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa. The folks at UNC determined that she had violated the code of conduct. Specifically, this section:

Conduct which threatens or endangers the health, safety, or welfare of any person on University-owned or controlled property at University-sponsored or supervised functions or at functions or facilities of recognized student organizations.

The student “was considered a threat to herself.” The list of banned students had been used by UNC law enforcement officials but had never been made available to the public.

According to Kay Norton, UNC’s President:

UNC police have long used this information as they monitor our campus, but given the events of this week (note, this is referencing the shootings at Virginia Tech.), we think it is appropriate to share the information with the entire campus community as we ask you to be more cognizant of security. You can access the names and photos of UNC personae non gratae online.

The student “wants the school to take her picture off the Web site or clarify that her suspension was based on a medical reason. She has not heard back from the university.

“I have been facing the hardest thing of my life. This is just adding a lot more stress,” she said.

5 thoughts on “Enrollment Management update 4/26/07”

  1. The second link, the one about the student with anorexia, is completely heartbreaking. Talk about kicking someone when they are down…not to mention that banning someone based on a medical condition sets a terrible precedent.

  2. UNC’s President has responded to their initial letter on this issue:

    April 25,

    Dear Campus Community,

    We are receiving quite a few calls and e-mails regarding the new page on the UNC Police website that includes names and photographs of people banned from our campus this academic year.

    As I noted in my campus e-mail about the website on Friday, it includes public information UNC police have long used to monitor our campus. As we ask our campus community to be more cognizant of security, it is appropriate to share the information more widely.

    As a public institution, we can’t approach security by “locking down” our campus; our responsibility is to balance safety and access. To do this, we rely on information, transparency and community. The website is one tool for sharing information with people who come to our campus.

    Let me reiterate that persona non grata orders may be issued for a variety of reasons. People who receive PNG orders aren’t necessarily dangerous; they are unwelcome on our campus because they have violated our code of conduct. I assure you that we do not issue persona non grata orders because of someone’s medical condition.

    I appreciate campus community members’ willingness to discuss the issue of campus security and the many complex topics that relate to it. This is healthy discussion; however, we do not and will not talk about individuals who receive persona non grata orders.

    Sincerely,
    Kay Norton

    It appears that UNC is stating that a student with anorexia would not be on their persona non grata list…

  3. This doesn’t explain why that student made it on the list – is there something else that does answer that question? For example, did the student in question do something else that would put her on the list? This is a fishy denial to me…

  4. UNC might be banning her because of this:

    Databases of registered voters indicate only one Brittany Bethel in Colorado, and they indicate that this Brittany Bethel, 21 years of age, was arrested in February for third-degree assault, a misdemeanor.

    via Boulder Daily Camera

    Additionally:

    [The student] said a February incident in which she was cited for misdemeanor assault in Fort Collins had nothing to do with her UNC suspension in September.

    “A nurse at the hospital was grabbing my arm, and I pulled away,” she said. “The DA told me I didn’t need to worry about it anymore. That’s being dropped.”

    The case is pending in Larimer County Court.

    “This is a healthy discussion,” Norton wrote about reaction to the website. “However, we do not and will not talk about individuals who receive persona non grata orders.”

    via the Denver Post

  5. If you read her bio, you see that the president of the university was an appointee by the governor rather than an academic with any intellectual credentials. This is what happens when politicians try to run institutions of higher learning. It’s no longer about truth and intellectual achievement. It’s about getting more students in the classroom which equals more money for the university. Why won’t the president just admit that her police department and administration screwed up. This poor woman has enough problems staying alive without the humiliation of being included on this web site. As I see it, she has a perfect case against the university for violation of her rights under the ADA. Go for it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.