University Daily Kansan, October 15, 1981
Page 9
Ottawa University worries about fraud
By TERESA RIORDAN Staff Reporter
Ottawa University officials are concerned that a sweeping criminal investigation of alleged grade fraud involving extension courses offered by the university will harm the school's reputation.
"We are the ones who covered this, and we'd just as soon not be linked as some sleazy institution trying to get more money by raking accounts," Keith Swumway, vice president of academic affairs, said yesterday.
The Los Angeles district attorney's office has seized records of more than 100 school teachers who claimed credit for classes they never attended at Ottawa's extension program or California Lutheran College in Thousand Oaks, another small college.
OTTAWA UNIVERSITY notified the district attorney's office last year about fraudulently enrolled students when an internal investigator said that some students received credit for course work they did not do.
Ottawa's investigation began after it discovered that 16 student athletes on other campuses had enrolled in a program which allegedly program although they were not eligible.
Schools involved include the University of New Mexico, the
Shumway said 73 students enrolled in the extension program had their credits revoked by the university last week.
University of Utah and the University of Oregon.
"It was a stupid thing for him to do," said Shumway.
Ottawa's extension program coordinator in Los Angeles arranged for students to receive class credit in the course of preparing to district attorney affidavitis.
Court documents said the coordinator, who has not yet been charged, had submitted class lists to Ottawa with the names and grades of legitimate students and names of people who did not attend the classes. When instructors compared their list of students with those lists submitted to the school, forgeries were found.
"There were real classes that met and worked," said Shumway, who said that Ottawa had become much more tech-savvy in monitoring its extension courses.
"We're not about to be taken like that again." Shumway said.
"We don't want our little college's reputation hurt."
ROBERT SHAW, president of Ottawa University, said that the 73 people involved in the investigation were probably a small fraction of the 1,000 students who had obtained credit through the Los Angeles extension courses.
Animal story hour snares children, adults
By LISA BOLTON Staff Reporter
You know you've grown up when you start being amused by the cute things little kids say.
THE MUSEUM provides story hours free of charge at 10 a.m. Wednesdays for three weeks each in the fall and in the spring. The program's eighth year program includes teenage men and 16 children, each seated on his or her own carpet sample in Dyche Hall.
As leader of Animal Story Hour at the KU Museum of Natural History in Dyvine Hall, Bitsey Patton hears lots of stories from children. 6-yearolds who attend her story hours.
Holding up an illustrated book,
knowing anybody know
what yellow jacket are?
"That's right." Patton continued brightly, "they're bees. And in this
"They're wasp," said a little boy in a Kansas City Chiefs sweatshirt.
'My brother got stung by a bee one ta-
tie that corrupted the boy in the
tape-tail.'
Smiling, Patton acknowledged his remark and went on with the story.
Later, she said, "Sometimes these children have something to say that they don't know," Ms. Chang wrote.
parents' waiting room downstairs while Patton continued reading the story and held the attention of the other children. "Could explain why the little girl started crying."
that hunted skunks for food, Patton passed around a dead, odor-free, stuffed skunk for the children to pet. She showed color posters of live skunks while explaining about the skunk's smelly system of self-defense.
"Those things happen," said Patton. "That's why I have an assistant sitting with the children, so that we can handle it as smoothly as possible."
Continuing with the hunting theme,
Patton read a story about a lizard
hunting ants to eat. She then brought
out a live lizard in a cloth bag.
"Do you all have your pointer fingers on your hand? No, I never did. This child held his or her index finger each time she touched something."
After finishing a story about an owl
WATTING TO touch the lizard with his pointer finger, the boy in the
Mark Eboch
YESTERDAY, for example, one little girl suddenly put her head in her brother's lap and began to cry, quietly at first. While the brother patted her head, Eboch offered her tissues and tried to comfort the little girl, who was soon crying loudly enough to attract the attention of the rest of the group.
During story hour, Ebbo sits with the children to keep their attention directed toward the story and to handle any problems.
sweatsht said, "Did you know we found make one time? And I wasn't tired."
"I'm always amazed by asking a kid, 'Why is this so?' or 'What does that mean?' said Eboch, Lawrence senior. "These little kids have their own logic. We forget it as we grow up, but when we stop and think about it from the child."
Patton also passed around a king snake while telling about different kinds of snakes and warning that some can be harmful.
Patton said later that in two years of running a story hour and similar programs at elementary schools, he was able to find new children who were afraid of animals.
'These little kids have their own logic. We forget it as we grow up, but when we stop and think about it from the child's point of view, the things they say make sense.'
"Children learn to be afraid," she said, adding that presenting a snake matter-of-factly lets the child learn about snakes rather than fear them.
what's going on, but it's important to them."
Each child touched the snake. One boy confided, "I've never touched a snake before."
Finally, Eboch took the girl to the
Who do you think gives the KU Football Team the energy to win four out of five games?
point of view, the things they say make sense."
Mark Eboch, Pattons' assistant, agreed.
After hearing stories and petting both stuffed and live animals, the kids stacked their carpet samples in the cabin and stuck to their parents, walking downstairs.
"You have to get used to this age group," Patton said. "When you work with adults and students all day, you forget about these neat little people."
"I never know what's going to walk in the door. One time, we were going downstairs and one little girl started to cry. 'What's the matter?' I asked. It's so sad, she said. 'I don't want to leave.'
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