Aug. 18, 2005

Quick Takes: Court Upholds (But Critiques) College’s Disciplinary Process, Ranking Universities Worldwide, Fla. Alters Policy on Community Colleges’ 4-Year Degrees, Wisconsin Suspends Researcher Following Monkey Deaths

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A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that the Medical University of Ohio did not violate a student’s due process rights when it expelled him after he was convicted on felony drug charges. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit did not think much of the institution’s treatment of the student, saying that its “procedural approach was consistent with the bare-minimum requirements of due process, though perhaps less-than-desirable for an institution of higher learning.”
As U.S. News & World Report prepares to release its much-maligned (but closely watched) rankings of American colleges, the Institute of Higher Education at Shanghai Jiao Tong University has issued its third annual ranking of the world’s top 500 universities. Harvard University topped the list, the University of Cambridge edged out Stanford University for No. 2, and American institutions filled 17 of the first 20 spots in the university’s list, which is based on six criteria that include the number of its alumni and staff who have won Nobel or Fields Prizes and citations for its researchers in major publishing indexes in a range of disciplines.
State officials in Florida adopted new policies Tuesday that will require community colleges seeking to offer four-year degrees to gain Board of Education approval of the curriculum for each new program and to show that the proposed program meets a need in its area, the Palm Beach Postreported.
The University of Wisconsin at Madison suspended a researcher from experimenting with animals, following the deaths of at least three monkeys she had been studying, The Capital Times reported.

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Comments

Flaim

It is worth noting that at every step of the court’s analysis, the court noted that the plaintiff had not shown any specific prejudice. (E.g. when analyzing the lack of cross-examination the court concludes that “We assume that any discrepancies, to the extent they might have existed, would not have been sufficient to convince the Committee that Flaim had not been convicted of a felony.”)

In situations where “facts” beyond mere “conviction” may be at stake, it is likely that a student would suffer real prejudice from not being allowed to cross-examine a witness, and schools should not see this as a license to further abridge their procedures. Though, an easier procedure would be to simply allow the school to move for a form of “summary judgment” in advance, and allow the student to make an offer of proof regarding exactly dispute facts he intends to prove or disprove at trial.

Larry, at 11:18 am EDT on August 18, 2005

FLAIM

Being the recipient of the school’s action in this case (and initiator of litigation), perhaps the most interesting note to the decision was the fact that the Court acknowledges (as I did) that it was never stated that I was not guilty of the charges. What the suit was about was the procedure used to decide the penalty for the conduct. In that respect, the Court declined to address the issue, instead sticking with the idea that because I was convicted of (and indeed pleaded guilty to) a felony, of course any action of the school was therefore justified.

My argument was that disciplinary hearings have a two-fold purpose. To determine guilt or innocence, and to determine a penalty. While the procedure used was adequate to determine guilt or innocence, the procedure was inadequate to properly determine a penalty because I received “bare minimum” procedures, which while constitutionally adequate, certainly were at the bottom end of the scale.

At best, the ruling vidicates my fervent belief that the school did not live up to the standards that all institutions should strive for. While a personal loss for me, I think it’s a defining case in education law with some forward reaching guidance for institutions of higher education on how to uphold not just the wording of the Constitution, but the spirit as well.

Flaim, FLAIM, at 4:23 am EDT on October 5, 2005

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Quick Takes: Court Upholds (But Critiques) College’s Disciplinary Process, Ranking Universities Worldwide, Fla. Alters Policy on Community Colleges’ 4-Year Degrees, Wisconsin Suspends Researcher Following Monkey Deaths

Comments

Flaim

FLAIM

Jobs Related to Quick Takes: Court Upholds (But Critiques) College's Disciplinary Process, Ranking Universities Worldwide, Fla. Alters Policy on Community Colleges' 4-Year Degrees, Wisconsin Suspends Researcher Following Monkey Deaths

Assistant Director of Experiential Programs University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center-Downtown Denver

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