Must you tell employers if you earned a degree online?

The "Mr. Know-It-All" column in the July 21, 2008, Wired Magazine addresses the question of whether job candidates are obliged to tell potential employers that their degrees were earned through an online program.

Ray Schroeder, director of UIS' Office of Technology-Enhanced Learning, supplies part of the answer: "On transcripts, we don't designate when a class is online or face-to-face."

Download a pdf of the column

20080721-WM-MentionOnlineDegree.pdf

Wheeler says loading Obama with state's political baggage is unfair

Illinois senator and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has been a Chicago resident for nearly 25 years, and some observers wonder how much his campaign will be tainted by the city's reputation for seedy politics and the state's overall political history.

An article in the July 20, 2008, CQ Weekly quotes Charles Wheeler, director of Public Affairs Reporting at UIS, on the subject. Wheeler says that linking Obama with Illinois' political climate isn't fair: "People who have a more sophisticated knowledge of Chicago politics will realize that Obama is not a machine hack."

Download a pdf file of the article

20080720-CQW-ObamaNotChicagoHack.pdf

U of I employees to get raises

The July 22, 2008, State Journal-Register reported on a campuswide memo from UIS Chancellor Richard Ringeisen stating that U of I employees would be receiving pay raises averaging 1.5 percent. The raises are merit-based and will be funded through tuition, state money, and internal reallocations.

Download a pdf file of the article
20080722-SJR-UofIPayHikes.pdf

UIS' Emiquon Field Station an asset to area teachers, students

The UIS Field Station located at the Nature Conservancy's Emiquon Preserve near Havana is providing area teachers and students with unique hands-on learning opportunities.

Mike Lemke, UIS associate professor of biology and field station director, noted that the facility "allows us access to an incredible restoration project and natural setting that would not otherwise be possible."

An article that appeared in the July 17, 2008, Canton Daily Ledger profiled the experiences of one teacher, Kristy Boggs from Spoon River College, who has been bringing students in her field ecology classes to Emiquon since 2006.

Download a pdf file of the article

20080717-CDL-EmiquonLivingLab.pdf

Innocence Project among groups hurt by state budget cuts

Gov. Rod Blagojevich's proposed $1.4 billion in budget cuts will have dire consequences for many organizations in the state that provide critical social services, including the Downstate Illinois Innocence Project at UIS.

An article in the July 14, 2008, Peoria Journal Star quotes co-director Larry Golden as saying that while the project stands to lose a small amount compared to other groups, the state money is nevertheless a vital part of its funding. "This is really a very critical time…because there's no other group that has it as a significant part of its work," said Golden.

Download a pdf file of the article

20080714-PJS-StateBudgetCutsHurt.pdf

Oldfield is author of study on socioeconomic status and admission decisions

An article in the July 10, 2008, Daily Texan reported on a study conducted by Kenneth Oldfield, UIS professor emeritus of Public Administration.

Oldfield found that while schools are federally mandated to evaluate applicants to graduate programs based on race and ethnicity, few institutions also consider an applicant's economic status.

Download a pdf file of the article

20080710-DT-StudyonSocioeconomicStatus.pdf

Illinois Issues is among Chicago Tribune's favorites

Illinois Issues has been selected as one of 50 favorite magazines by the Chicago Tribune. The list appears in the Tempo section of the July 9, 2008, newspaper.

Download a pdf file of the list

20080709-CT-50Favorites.pdf

Schroeder quoted in article on gas prices' effect on online education

As the cost of gasoline goes up, so does the number of students enrolling in online courses.

Ray Schroeder, director of UIS' Office of Technology-Enhanced Learning, was among a number of educators who commented on the subject for an article that appeared in the July 8, 2008, Chronicle of Higher Education.

Schroeder noted that colleges and universities across the country are getting requests for online courses, with students specifically mentioning the cost of gas as a factor.

Download a pdf file of the article

20080708-CHE-GasPricesDriveStudentstoOnlineCourses.pdf

Phillips helps Chicago school district in consolidation talks

When a group of parents and school officials in west Chicago met to discuss combining a high school and its elementary feeder schools into a single system, William Phillips, UIS associate professor of Educational Leadership, was on hand to help them examine the implications of such a move.

Phillips is a recognized authority on the topic. He stressed to the audience that they need a "base of information" on which to make their decision.

An article in the July 8, 2008, Chicago Daily Herald reported on the meeting.

Download a pdf file of that article

20080708-CDH-SchoolFeederDistrictsTalk.pdf

Computer Science grads found "Girls Tech"

After listening to a presentation on the dwindling number of women in computer science fields, Nina Milbauer and Lori Kelley, information technology instructors at Madison (Wisconsin) Area Technical College, were inspired to create Girls Tech, a summer camp where girls in grades 6 through 9 learn about the possibilities open to them in a variety of technical professions.

Both Milbauer and Kelley earned master's degrees in UIS' online Computer Science program.

MATC recently hosted its second Girls Tech program and Ted Mims, chair of UIS' Computer Science department, was among the representatives from other institutions who visited Madison to observe. "You could actually see the excitement in (the girls') faces as they learned and they wanted to do more and more," said Mims.

An article in the July 1, 2008, Madison Capital Times profiled the program.

Download a pdf file of the article

20080701-MCT-GirlsTech.pdf