The Bridge T Renewing Udent Interest in Their College Environment!

F. H. laGuardia C Dr. Matthew Goldstein Dr. Herman Badillo Dr. Rudy Crew -lies, Damned Lies· e Controversy over The Schmidt Report by Shawn Torres . ark Twain once These trustees desperately On June 7th, 1999 the wrote that there were needed evidence to support their mayoral taskforce released its three kinds of lies; case and push their new policies report entitled "An Institution ..1II1iI1iI "lies, damned lies, passed by a slight margin. Adrift" also known as "The and statistics." He wrote this in The Mayoral Taskforce Schmidt Report." Immediately, response to the human tendency was charged with a very specific the floodgates were opened for to use numbers as proof and jus mission: to examine and make the waves of reactions from aca tification for people's own be recommendations regarding (1) demics, politicians, reporters, liefs, prejudices, perceptions and The uses of city funding by and every other Tom, Dick, and actions. We see the manifestation CUNY, (2) the effects of open Harry that had an opinion or of this phenomenon in the recent admissions and remedial educa other statement to make about and bitter fight over open admis tion on CUNY, (3) the best CUNY. Th e Daily News headline sions and remediation brought to means of arranging for third par blared "F for CUNY!" while a head by the release of the infa ties to provide remediation ser 200,000 full time students and mous Schmidt Report. vices to ensure that prospective 150,000 continuing education In May 1998, Mayor CUNY students can perform col students went about their busi Rudolph Guliani assigned a 7- lege level work prior to their ad ness with their heads in shame. member taskforce to investigate mission to CUNY, and (4) the The Schmidt Report in its and analyze CUNY. This was implementation of other reform entirety is a wealth of informa done partly in response to harsh measures as may be appropriate. tion available to anyone who is criticism he was receiving for (Rand Preface). This taskforce interested in reading all 10 of its making unfounded negative was headed by Benno Schmidt parts spanning ov\er 500 pages. statements about CUNY and Jr., former president of Yale and It recounts the history~" of the City CUNY students to the press. Chairman of the Edison Project, University of New York, open Also, by May 1998, members of a for-profit enterprise that runs admissions, and thoroughly ex the CUNY Board of Trustees had elementary and secondary amines every facet of expendi already voted to end schools and was comprised of tures. remediation at the CUNY four few educators and several con The report made the following year colleges. They did this with servatives including present major observations: out any solid empirical basis at Board of Trustees Chairman • CUNY lacks strong cen their momentous January 2yh Herman Badillo. It used city em tral leadership. decision right here in the main ployees as staff and spent about • Widespread tenure and stage theater at F.H. LaGuardia. $600,000 on consultants. certificates of continued ~ ~ ¢\~ .. .. ,.~ c"\ ~\.) ~. \O~ " & S t at 1 SICt S ~~:~r:\~s{\~~;oi\~ employment restrict the report Entitled "An Institu- o"t ~~~ CUNY's hiring practices tionAffmned" it rejected the "de- . ~1I't~~ and prevent it from effec- structive ideas and overall ~it, ~ ~ tive management rhetoric" while sup- ~~if~ \#1,\ ~0 • CUNY lacks a central in- porting a few of its (, ~ ~ formation gathering sys- "positive sugges- To ", ~~ tern that reports the suc- tions". It is inter- o.... rct. c...... ~~ ____ ..... ' er CII» U ., cess and progress of its esting that the ~/"e"'ifJ' students before and after Faculty Senate I.~".".,... graduation, transfers, and would act as Iof4o, ":""'.r graduation rates. though the C"""~ CUNYs • No clear policy on or co- Schmidt re new Chan- ordination of transfer port were c e I I or credit between colleges giving sug Goldstein not exist and the widespread gestions to institute the proliferation of similar w hen new degree programs among Chair remediation the colleges should be man policy due to conso lidated. Badillo take effect III • CUNY has high dropout has said publicly January 2000. and low graduation rates. that he was planning on us The Report • CUNY has lost much of ing the Schmidt report as "a blue The report itself is a its full-time faculty and print for remaking the univer harsh wake up call to those in the relies heavily upon ad sity." Hello. Can,we say "real CUNY syslem that would like to 'ty?" juncts while CUNY ad 1 . keep thing.<> at the status quo. Al ministration has become In August, Friends of though the commission had sev bloated. CUNY, an advocacy group led by eral issues involving conflict of • Academic standards are Julius C.C. Edelstein issued a re interest and the conclusions are loose and there are no sponse to "The Schmidt Report" rushed and obviously biased it is definitive assessment adding their voice to our aca quite a comprehensive study. tests to measure students. demic Babylon. They pleaded Sally Renfro and Allison One month later, The Univer with the State Board of Regents Armour-Garb, co-writers of the sity Faculty Senate, a body of which exercises power over all Schmidt Report, indicted the fac professors from all the CUNY decisions made on public educa ulty and administration for fear colleges released their rebuttal to tion institutions in the sate and ing change and opposing the use 5 of standardized test scores in ad The report went on to say lyzed by the mission process. They concluded "High -level CUNY officials be taskforce. that, "While faculty and admin lieve that faculty self-interest is In fact, istrators have important roles to an inertial force behind the the complete re play, their track record suggest university s assessment port is filled with that they lack the expertise and policies. "(Pg. 105) Basically, ironies and con independence to handle the tech professors who administer as tradictions. The nical side of assessment design." sessment at the different CUNY most glaring They scorched the reliability and colleges get extra perks and contradiction is validity of WAT test especially, power with the job; they oppose the proposal to CUNY Chancellor Matthew Goldstein citing pathetic excuses given the changes proposed by the give remedial when minority groups fair badly trustees because they would lose students vouchers for the "reme on the test. Renfro and Armour that influence at the campuses. In dial provider of their choice" Garb wrote in the appendix en June 1997, the Faculty Union once the policy is in effect. The titled "Open Admissions and imposed a moratorium on the use phrase "remedial provider of Remedial Education at the City of educational technology at their choice" implies third party, University of New York" "We CUNY. They justified it officially for-profit companies like the kind were told at Hostos that "His by saying that faculty are more Schmidt operates. Although it panics take longer to make their concerned with intellectual prop might be cost effective for point but they get there eventu erty rights, workload, compensa CUNY to outsource its ally. (Translation: many students tion and committees, but accord remediation course load, Miriam failed to write concisely.) At ing to the report, interviewees Cilo , another writer of the Queens, we were told that Asians said that they were really afraid Schmidt Report, concludes that are not taught to argue for a po of being replaced by computers. there is no hard evidence that sition, and that they do better if Hey, who isn't? third parties [for-profit] compa they are coached to write their The taskforce blasted nies can successfully teach pro WAT as though they are telling a CUNY for its lack of central lead spective CUNY students. (Cilo, story. (Translation: many stu ership and information gathering. 10) ~ dents failed to write p ersua The CUNY Research Foundation Another Sphmidt report sively.) And at Medgar Evans, we came under attack when Brian P. writer, Arthur M . Hauptman, were told that Caribbean stu Gill published comments made brings the fact that CUNY stu dents learned a British dialect. by many faculty that it provided dents dry-up their financial aid in (Translation: many students incompetent service (Gill 22). remedial courses into clear and lacked facility with standard Ironic, since the new Chancellor sparkling light. This by far, is the written English.)" (Pgs. 95-97) Matthew Goldstein (appointed soundest and most reasonable Were these excuses the faculty's after the report was released) was argument to end remediation as defense on the part of students? the president of the Research we know it. Hauptman exposes With friends like these, who Foundation from 1982 - 1991 , a the revenue incentive in some needs enemies? large section of the years ana- institutions and suggests that CUNY not charge for remedial States. Those who ask why and bureaucratic administrations, courses. "It will be difficult to CUNY students don't graduate so, it in tum pays less and pushes place remediation at CUNY on a in four years should also ask why the cost onto the students. From more solid footing. Institutional you can't buy a slice for a dol 1988 to 1997 state funding for officials will continue to have the lar. Under all the politics, racism, CUNY declined by 39%, city incentive as well as the mandate self interest, turfwars, misinfor funding declined 37% while tu to admit underprepared students mation and nonsense, it all boils ition increased 93%. Well, of and charge them full tuition for down to simple urban econom course you know the students courses that are clearly below ics.

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