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Sunday, March 4, 2012 4:13 p.m.

University puts off decision to maintain military tuition assistance

Six educational organizations first petitioned Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta in November to reconsider stipulations attached to federal financial aid for active duty students. Photo courtesy of the United States Navy.

This post was written by Hatchet Staff Writer Max Schwager.

The University has not yet decided if it will continue to participate in the Department of Defense’s tuition assistance program, despite a deadline to commit by the end of this month.

Ongoing participation in the program – which provides federal financial assistance to active military duty students – has been under consideration after stipulations were added that limited individual universities’ control over their housing and credit transfer requirements.

GW and more than 1,000 other universities nationwide are members of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities – one of six organizations that signed a letter petitioning against the new government conditions last semester.

“It is too early to speculate on the impact of the changes,” University spokeswoman Michelle Sherrard said.

After the educational groups levied their concerns with the government provisions in November, the Department of Defense extended the commitment deadline – by which schools must approve the changes to continue receiving financial aid funds – by three months. The cutoff now stands at March 30.

In a Nov. 21 letter addressed to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, educational groups said the new stipulations could force some institutions to accept transfer credits that do not meet current standards, including academic hours for military training and experience.

The additional Defense Department terms would also reduce on-campus residency obligations for participating students to one year – clashing with GW’s two-year requirement for its undergraduate students.

The University’s Director of Government Relations Kent Springfield declined to comment on how the changes would affect GW’s participation in the tuition assistance program.

The University offers $250 per credit hour through the program to students who have been active in the United States military, up to $4,500 per year, Sherrard said. About 75 students received benefits from the defense program this academic year.

Public Affairs Officer for the Defense Department Lieutenant Commander Kate Meadows said that the government is “working with schools to address their concerns,” but is not currently considering altering the stipulations attached to the federal dollars.

Meadows added that the department hopes schools “will stay with the program after we address their concerns.”

Other signatories of the letter include the American Council on Education and the Association of American Universities.

Friday, March 2, 2012 2:11 p.m.

House votes to wind down academic regulations

by Cory Weinberg

Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., sponsored the Academic Freedom in Higher Education Act, which the House of Representative passed Tuesday. | Courtesy of the office of Congresswoman Virginia Foxx

The House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday to undo Department of Education regulations opponents called bureaucratic and burdensome.

The bill, H.R. 2117, would repeal two rules the Department of Education set for universities in 2010: The federal definition of a credit hour and a mandate for states to authorize colleges that operate within their boundaries.

Higher education activists denounced the increased costs the regulations would incur on universities trying to widen their online programs.

University spokeswoman Michelle Sherrard said the University would wait to see the bill’s significance as the Department of Education pushed back the deadline for colleges to comply with the rules until July 2014.

“We are monitoring the progress of the bill, but it is too early for us to speculate on its impact,” Sherrard said.

Universities like GW that participate in federal aid programs like Pell grants must comply with the regulations.

The bill, which was sponsored by Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., is unlikely to pass in the Senate.

“[The regulations] will stall the efforts in our country to make higher education more accessible and more affordable to everyone in the country,” Foxx said on the House floor Tuesday.

While the Higher Education Act of 1965 stipulates that states must give authorization for colleges and universities to operate there, the rule became cloudy with the rise of online learning.

Michael Lambert, executive director of the accrediting agency Distance Education and Training Council, said the states would use the regulations to gouge colleges for review fees.

He estimated that colleges would have to shell out $250,000 to $500,000 in licensing and curriculum review fees, as well as adding staff to check their compliance with regulations. He added that some states would look to gouge colleges for fees to

“It pushed a button and started a whole new cottage industry of certain states saying they assert the right to license a school that enrolls any citizen of their states. It used to be that states let sleeping dogs lie,” Lambert said. “This regulation encouraged states to become more aggressive and see this as a source of income for themselves.”

The University offers 60 degree and certificate programs that use a distance learning model. The Board of Trustees, the highest governing body at GW, allotted $2.3 million to develop mostly graduate-level online and hybrid programs in the GW School of Business and the College of Professional Studies this year.

GW’s graduate programs in business, education and nursing swept U.S. News & World Report’s inaugural list of top online-only programs in January.

Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., the leading Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, said repealing the regulations would allow colleges to inflate the number of credits and overcharge students.

“The bill before us today explicitly increases the risk of fraud, waste, and abuse in our federal student aid programs,” Miller said on the House floor. “At a time when the higher education market is in so much flux, with new kinds of programs popping up around the country and online, this is the wrong time to reopen this loophole.”

The Obama administration also opposed the bill.

Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012 9:13 p.m.

Thurston Hall provides virus support to students amid outbreak

by Andrea Vittorio

Nurse practitioner Callie Johnson waits for students in Thurston Hall room 110 Thursday afternoon, where Student Health Services held free walk-in office hours to give advice on staying healthy in the midst of a norovirous breakout on campus. Michelle Rattinger | Senior Photo Editor

Updated Feb. 16, 9:57 p.m.

Student Health Service offered a five-hour block of free walk-in assistance at Thurston Hall this afternoon to help treat students suffering from the norovirus outbreak.

A nurse practitioner was stationed on the first floor of the residence hall from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Student Health Service’s existing satellite office to answer students’ questions and perform triage.

Isabel Goldenberg, medical director of Student Health Service, said the office “chose Thurston because it houses freshman students who may need more support while being sick.”

Office hours have not been scheduled for other locations on campus, Dean of Students Peter Konwerski said.

A public health notice issued by the University Wednesday estimated that about 85 students had been affected by the virus. University spokeswoman Michelle Sherrard declined to provide an updated case total Thursday, saying it was difficult to measure because most students have decided to stay home and wait out the virus after learning about the outbreak.

Symptoms of the norovirus – passed through contact with infected individuals or contaminated areas – include diarrhea, throwing up, nausea and stomach cramping.

There are no plans to cancel classes.

“We continue to clean and spread the word about hand washing and other prevention protocols that help stop the spread of the
norovirus,” Konwerski said.

Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012 5:27 p.m.

Virus outbreak hits campus

by Lauren French

Norovirus, Stomach Flue, Thurston, Sick People

Nurse practioners from Student Health Service offered free office hours in Thurston Hall Thursday afternoon for consultations and information about the norovirus. Hatchet File Photo.

Updated Feb. 15, 5:23 p.m.

About 85 students are suffering from a norovirus outbreak, according to a public health notice released by the University Wednesday.

“There is no single commonality among the cases, which have occurred among students living on the Foggy Bottom campus, Mount Vernon campus and off-campus, taking classes, studying and dining in many different locations,” the notice read. GW worked with the D.C. Department of Health to confirm the gastrointestinal illness was a norovirus.

More than 20 million norovirus cases – which spread easily – hit the U.S. yearly, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The center’s website recommends individuals wash their hands frequently to avoid falling sick, but warns that there is no vaccine or drugs to prevent or treat the norovirus.

GW is intensifying cleaning efforts at heavily trafficked areas like the Marvin Center, Gelman Library and the Lerner Health and Wellness Center as a response to the outbreak, according to the notice.

Symptoms of the virus outbreak include diarrhea, throwing up, nausea, and stomach cramping. It is contracted through direct and close contract with infected individuals, or by making contact contaminated areas and then touching a person’s mouth.

Students are encouraged to contact GW Student Health Service if they have the virus.

Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011 11:07 a.m.

Pneumonia cases spike this fall

by Andrea Vittorio

Then-senior Brandon Mansur receives a free flu shot during free clinic offered by the University in 2009. File photo

GW has seen higher than usual rates of respiratory illness this fall, a University spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Since the end of July, 46 cases of pneumonia were reported to the GW Student Health Service, an uptick from the average two to three cases per month last fall. The most recent case of pneumonia was reported Nov. 18.

University spokeswoman Michelle Sherrard said students affected included both undergraduates and graduates living on and off-campus, adding that the cases have generally been mild to moderate and were resolved within seven to 10 days through treatment with antibiotics.

“Every few years these situations happen in university settings and the GW Student Health Service constantly monitors for any student health trends,” Sherrard said.

She said a single cause of these cases has not been identified, but University officials are working with the D.C. Department of Health to track the cases and monitor the situation.

To help prevent the illness from spreading, GW has encouraged students, faculty and staff to wash their hands regularly, cover their coughs and get flu shots at campus clinics and has made extra efforts to clean high-traffic areas.

Monday, Oct. 31, 2011 11:41 p.m.

MPD surrounds Foggy Bottom Metro after reports of shooting

by The GW Hatchet

A UPD officer helps to direct traffic in front of the crime scene on New Hampshire and 24th street. Michelle Rattinger | Senior Photo Editor

A University Police Department officer helps direct traffic in front of a crime scene at 24th Street and New Hampshire Avenue. Michelle Rattinger | Senior Photo Editor

Updated: 2:03 a.m.

Metropolitan Police officers arrested multiple suspects near campus but the arrests have not been linked to the shooting in Georgetown late Monday night.

Three to five shots ripped through M and 28th streets after 10:30 p.m., near the Georgetown Four Seasons Hotel. Later, at least one person was transported away from the scene in an ambulance. An officer said he suspected the incident would be labeled a homicide.

Two suspects were arrested by Metropolitan Police officers near the Foggy Bottom Metro.

“At approximately 11:15 p.m…the George Washington University Police Department was notified of armed suspects in the I Street Mall area. Both suspects have been arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department,” University spokeswoman Michelle Sherrard said.

The I Street Mall area is also the Foggy Bottom Metro area.

Both University and Metropolitan police department officers arrived at the alleyway between 24th Street and New Hampshire Avenue late Monday night, keeping both vehicle and pedestrian traffic away. Michelle Rattinger | Senior Photo Editor

A witness near the Metro said he saw a man come up behind GW Hospital in the aftermath of a fight near the station. When a truck approached a car that was picking the man up, the person ran toward an alley, the witness said.

Police later closed off that alleyway near New Hampshire Avenue and 24th Street, blocking residents from returning to the townhouses that dot the street.

Officers searched a red pick up truck parked outside the 7-Eleven by City Hall, while the streets leading into Georgetown were closed off.

Secret Service agents aided MPD in investigating the red truck before escorting a person from GW Hospital. Agents declined to comment.

In Georgetown, more than two dozen police officers were holding a group of teenagers at the corner of 28th and M streets until at least 1:20 a.m. Each of the teenagers was uncuffed and was later escorted home by police officers.

University spokeswoman Candace Smith said the University was delayed in getting a report out to the community. She noted that tweets and Facebook messages were sent. The first notification was sent more than an hour after the initial shots in Georgetown. A Crime Alert hit inboxes shortly after 1:30 a.m.

“Unfortunately, there has been a delay in sending out the alert due to emergency maintenance of the mass email notification system. [Information Technology] personnel are actively working to resolve the issue and distribute the alert,” Smith said. “We also have other means to notify the community such as the news media and social media. We utilized those tonight.”

-Lauren French, Andrea Vittorio, Priya Anand, Chelsea Radler, Sarah Ferris, Cory Weinberg, Michelle Rattinger and Francis Rivera contributed to this report.

Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011 1:17 p.m.

MPD investigating threat of weapon on campus

by Priya Anand

Updated at 8:05 p.m.

Metropolitan Police officers are investigating a threat of a weapon on campus in the 900 block of 23rd Street, a public information officer confirmed.

MPD first received a call for the threat at 12:08 p.m. and arrived on scene at 12:11 p.m., MPD public information officer Anthony Clay said. The call was for an individual who had a weapon.

MPD officer Paul Metcalf said the department was still investigating the incident at about 3:15 p.m. In an infomail message sent out at 3:30 p.m, Senior Associate Vice President for Safety and Security Darrell Darnell said at about 3:30 p.m. that there was no individual on campus with a weapon, but there was a “non-specific threat against George Washington University doctors.”

University spokeswoman Michelle Sherrard initially repeatedly declined to comment on the incident, referring all questions and comments on the type of threat, its extent, and the University Police Department’s involvement in responding to MPD.

UPD officers also responded to the scene, according to the e-mail, and are “continuing to work closely with MPD regarding this incident.”

Sherrard later added, “The [Medical Faculty Associates] received a non-specific threat against doctors. MPD is on the scene and investigating. We have no evidence that someone is on campus with a weapon. MPD is the lead and should be contacted with questions.”

Public information officer Hugh Carew said at about 6:40 p.m. that MPD was no longer on scene. Sherrard had not yet responded on the disposition of the case.

The 900 block of 23rd Street is near the Avenue and the GW Hospital.

Monday, Sept. 12, 2011 5:33 p.m.

Man cuffed in Marvin Center

by Priya Anand

D.C. Fire and EMS officials placed a man into a wheelchair and then a gurney to roll him out of the Marvin Center Monday afternoon, after he was found asleep there. Jordan Emont | Assistant Photo Editor

EMeRG members and D.C. Fire and EMS officials rolled an older man out of the Marvin Center Great Hall Monday on a gurney at about 3:40 p.m., after Metropolitan and University Police Department detained him.

University spokeswoman Michelle Sherrard said officers found the individual, previously barred from campus, sleeping in the building. At least eight officers seated the handcuffed man in a chair and questioned him, and shortly after, the EMS officials transported the subject into an ambulance.

MPD officer Hugh Carew said UPD called in about the incident at 2:53 p.m. for an unlawful entry incident. The man had “a badly swollen ankle from a previous medical condition,” Sherrard said.

Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011 11:05 a.m.

EMeRG ambulance out of service

by Priya Anand

File Photo

Correction appended

The EMeRG ambulance is out of service because of damage to a mirror but the University’s student-run emergency group will respond to calls with an alternate vehicle.

D.C. Fire and EMS will also be called if a situation warrants an ambulance, University spokeswoman Michelle Sherrard said. Students will have to pay fees for a transport by the fire department, as usual, she said.

While the 13-year-old ambulance was being driven, a window and a mirror on the ambulance sustained damage, Sherrard said. The window has already been replaced but until a new mirror is added the vehicle will remain out of commission.

“We expect the EMeRG ambulance to return to service this week,” she said.

This post was updated Sept. 11, 2011 to reflect the following:

The Hatchet originally received misinformation from University spokeswoman Michelle Sherrard that students transported by the D.C. Fire and EMS ambulance will not have to pay any fees. In fact, students transported by D.C. Fire EMS do pay an ambulance fee, but if the agency is not called to respond, then students will be transported in EMeRG’s alternate vehicle with no extra cost.

Thursday, Sept. 1, 2011 7:27 p.m.

Initial signs on City Hall balconies were misprints, University says

by Priya Anand

Newly installed security cameras point toward the balconies of City Hall residents to curb bottle hurling onto the nearby streets and yards. Francis Rvera | Assistant Photo Editor

Signs posted on City Hall balconies telling residents to keep off the terraces in entirety or risk losing housing were “erroneous,” a University official said Thursday.

The signs told students that if they even opened their balconies, they could lose housing. Later, a second sign countered the first poster, saying residents may access their balconies as long as they do not throw any objects off the building.

“As soon as the mistake was realized, the correct information was posted,” a statement from the University said. University spokeswoman Michelle Sherrard declined to comment as to which department or official made the decision to post the inaccurate signs.

After a series of incidents over the past year where students tossed beer and alcohol bottles off their balconies – sometimes landing in neighbors’ yards, the streets and nearby rooftops – the University installed three surveillance cameras to monitor the building and warned students they could lose their housing if they are caught committing vandalism.

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