LISNews: Librarian News

search-engines-web.com Sent In This One with news from MO, where State lawmakers voted Tuesday to create a "virtual public school" that would link students to teachers and textbooks by computer starting in 2007. Gov. Matt Blunt supports the idea but is reviewing the legislation before deciding whether to sign it, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

mdoneil writes "The Librarian of Congress, Dr. James Billington gave the commencment address for Jones International University. It is available here.

What is remarkable is that Jones International University is a distance learning school, accredited by NCA, it offers all its programs at a distance. The graduation was about as nontraditional as you can get, it was online the graduates were not there.

The rest of their page was interesting too, the reception was an asynchronous discussion board. The list of graduates and their profile was quite interesting.

As librarians we provide services to distance learning students and it is remarkable to see how the old and new meld in this online graduation ceremony.

Dr. Billington starts at ~6 minutes in, but I suggest listening to the Chancellor's remarks are they are remarkably complimentary toward libraries."

The validity of PhDs earned by a superintendent, librarian and counselor employed by the Jim Thorpe Area School District is being questioned by the school board. The three, from the Allentown (PA) area, were awarded doctorates from Kennedy-Western University, an online university whose degrees are considered invalid in several states. The three employees are being asked to pay back the more than $16,000 the district paid in tuition, to repay the extra salaries awarded after completing their degrees. The three are defending the validity of their degrees, and the librarian offered a 200-page dissertation as evidence. The matter may end up in arbitration. More here from the Morning Call.

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