The News-Gazette.com: UI promises "corrective action" on admissions

UI promises "corrective action" on admissions

By The News-Gazette

Wednesday, July 8, 2009 2:26 PM CDT

The University of Illinois on Wednesday afternoon issued a statement
from UI President B. Joseph White about the admissions process which is under state and federal scrutiny.

"At the direction of the Board of Trustees, I write to convey a message
to the University of Illinois community and the people of Illinois about
the admissions matters currently under examination by the Admissions
Review Commission chaired by Judge Abner Mikva.

"The Board of Trustees and the Administration are resolved to continue to
treat these problems with the seriousness they warrant. As Chancellor
Richard Herman recognized in his testimony before the Commission,
problems exist with the University's current admissions practices that
must be corrected. The University will continue to fully cooperate with
the Commission to enable (commission) members to fulfill their mission as
chartered by Governor Pat Quinn. In recent weeks, the University has
provided the Commission and the media with more than 5,000 pages of
relevant documents in response to Freedom of Information Act and other
requests. Witnesses have come forward, as requested by the Commission,
for interviews with the ARC's staff and for formal testimony before the
Commission.

"Our goal as a University is to fully air the problems with our current
admissions practices so that we can take corrective action and ensure
public confidence in our admissions process going forward. As the (commission)
continues its work, the Board of Trustees and administration of the
University continue our own examination of our admissions practices as
well as those at peer institutions for the purpose of identifying best
practices and ideas for improvement. We will share them with the
Commission for its consideration.

"We are committed to having a fair and transparent admissions process
that is free from inappropriate interference and pressures. Our
admissions process must enable us to compete successfully with peer
institutions in attracting students who will compose outstanding classes
for our colleges and schools. That is my commitment as president of the
University and it is the mandate of the Board of Trustees.

"I look forward to testifying before the Commission in the days ahead. I
am grateful to Judge Mikva and members of the ARC for serving the state
in this important capacity."

Comments

How about starting with changing the way all trustees across the state are selected back to elected instead of appointed. The political forces in this state are so corrupt any appointed group is now tainted. I doubt any changes are made as a result of this commision as little was done to reform state politics or should I say Chicago politics.

Posted by myattitude on July 8, 2009 at 6:06 PM Suggest Removal

So, I can't raise my hand and demand a pound of flesh because a dozen or so politically connected individuals were granted admission to the UI as students.

Especially when there are scores, if not hundreds of so-called student athletes attending the UI that are often about as intellectually gifted as an fifth-grader. Two examples:

When I attended the UI back in the days of the "Flyin' Illini", many of the "student athletes" would come into the lecture room, have the professor initial their attendance sheet and walk out before class even started. On test days, they would sit in the back of the room and discuss the exam questions and consult notes, flagrantly disregarding any codes against cheating. And this was an "African Studies" course. Maybe they didn't need to learn about Africa since they were "African-American"? And when the final paper was due, I was there when the professor put the box of graded papers out and not a single athlete's paper was in there. I was curious what sort of writing these knuckle-draggers could do. While I met some student athletes who were genuine students first and athletes second, I recall clearly those who were athletes first and students in name only.

Example 2: A lecture held in the same classroom in the period before mine was something like Math for Athletes. Like Math 001. It tacked tough mathematical expressions like 2 and 3-digit multiplication and long division. I'm sorry, but if you can't do long division and multiplication, maybe the U of I isn't for you, irrespective how well you can bounce a ball or run a pattern.

-- Joe

Posted by JoeSixpack on July 8, 2009 at 9:47 PM Suggest Removal

Nice tortured analogy, Joe, but your example is not the same as admitting unqualified people to law school. Not even close.

Also, I realize the UI admins have been out spinning this situation, and they have succeeded in getting people to believe they were the poor victims of the evil politicians. If you read the e-mails, though, you'll find that White and Herman were all too willing to go out and find people who were members of various categories, none of which could be described as qualified.

That's why both White and Herman need to leave the University as soon as possible.

Posted by Wenalway on July 9, 2009 at 12:11 AM Suggest Removal

I have no doubt that less qualified people are granted exceptions all the time in all sorts of places. It's often better known as affirmative action.

-- Joe

Posted by JoeSixpack on July 9, 2009 at 8:00 PM Suggest Removal