By: Charlie Kyte
This audioblog is 9 minutes long. To go directly to the Concurrent College 'in the schools' issue, click to play and advance the time bar to 1:45.
MASA METRO MEETING--HOW TO COUNTER A NEGATIVE REFERENDUM EFFORT: Les Norman of Lake Crystal-Welcome, Karen Orcutt of Orono, and George Ladd of Howard Lake Waverly provided an excellent program to the Metro area MASA members on their experiences in running referendums when Paul Dorr was hired to attempt to defeat the referendums.
SCUFFLE WITH MNSCU COLLEGE SYSTEM OVER CONCURRENT COLLEGE COURSES IN THE HIGH SCHOOLS: Recently, the MnSCU system passed a new policy that would require future teachers of college courses in the 2 year colleges and in concurrent college programs to have a master's degree in their subject area major, plus another 16 graduate credits. Many HS teachers have masters degrees, but most are in Curriculum and Instruction rather than in the subject matter major area.
Although they wouldn't say so directly, we believe that this was done to squeeze down the number of college courses now being offered in our High Schools in what are called 'concurrent agreements' with the colleges. Rep. Sieffert from southwest Minnesota, and an employee of SW State University has challenged this initiative by introducing a Bill to prohibit the implementation of this policy.
I testified on behalf of this Bill in the House Higher Education Committee on Wednesday. Over the objections of the MnSCU system, the committee passed this Bill and sent it to the House Education Policy Committee for a hearing next week. I was surprised that Education Minnesota did not testify in protest over this new MnSCU policy, but then I realized that the 2 year college educators are also in one of their associated unions. It is too bad that they had this conflict and thus could not stand up in defense of the excellent college in the High Schools programs that will be hurt by this policy change.
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