Education

Michigan students could learn computer coding rather than a foreign language under a bill that has passed the state House. Students currently need two credits of world language to graduate high school. In an effort to expand technological literacy in Michigan, the bill's sponsor said before the vote Tuesday that he hopes the expansion of the requirement will help students in the workforce and also still succeed at academics if they struggle with language studies. Opponents say students need both computer and tech skills and foreign language skills.

Business leaders on Monday protested House-passed cuts in funding to the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and Wayne State University, saying the research schools are key to the state’s economic competitiveness.

The Republican-controlled House last week approved a higher education plan that would keep overall operations aid at roughly $1.5 billion but revise how it is split among 15 state universities.

Grand Valley State University is organizing an effort that will reconsider how education can better serve learners of today and tomorrow.

GVSU along with five other founding institutions: Amarillo College, Boise State University, Fort Valley State University, Shippensburg University, and San Jose State University have partnered to launch a program called REP4.

A national alliance of six colleges and universities, to be announced Thursday afternoon, aims to address issues of retention, access and equity in higher education by teaching students to design solutions for what they find to be the most pressing problems. First piloted last summer at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, high school juniors and seniors tackled questions of how to navigate the transition to college and how to connect the school experience to the real world. Students who complete the program will be guaranteed admission to any of the partner schools.

Students in a southern Michigan school district are learning from home through Friday because of a lack of bus drivers.

Many drivers in Marshall have been quarantined because of COVID-19 exposure and there aren’t enough substitutes, Superintendent Randy Davis said.

“Because of our commitment to making sure that everyone has equal access to quality education, we’re going to go ahead and do virtual for everyone at this juncture to get through this period of time,” Davis said.

He acknowledged that families had to arrange child care with little notice.

A report about the stunning lack of action at the University of Michigan while a rogue doctor was sexually assaulting hundreds of young men has cast an unflattering light at one of the school’s giants, the late football coach Bo Schembechler, whose bronze statue stands on campus.

A report about the stunning lack of action at the University of Michigan while a rogue doctor was sexually assaulting hundreds of young men has cast an unflattering light at one of the school’s giants, the late football coach Bo Schembechler, whose bronze statue stands on campus.

In a joint news release, Public Health Departments in Kent, Ionia, Ottawa and Muskegon Counties jointly stated, “The Local Health Departments continue to recommend that the local school districts use the MDHHS’ (Michigan Department of Health and Human Services) quarantine guidelines as best practices for the protection of area children, teachers and staff and the prevention of outbreaks in the school setting.”

Attorneys for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration defended coronavirus testing for school athletes, telling a judge Tuesday that state law gives the health director extraordinary power to respond to a pandemic.

A parent group called Let Them Play Michigan is seeking an injunction to stop weekly COVID-19 tests, which kicked in April 2 for athletes ages 13-19, related quarantines and mask requirements.

Cash is losing its luster at Grand Valley State University. The school in western Michigan is gradually converting to a cashless campus, a process that should be completed by December. For example, instead of dispensing money, ATMs will accept cash in exchange for a credit card, free of charge. Greg Sanial, vice president for finance, says GVSU wants to provide a convenient solution for students who don't use banks. More than 80% of transactions on campus already are digital. Sanial said skipping cash reduces security risks and has health-and-safety benefits.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded grants to Central Michigan University and Clarkson University to continue monitoring coastal wetlands and fish contaminants throughout the Great Lakes basin.

Central Michigan will receive $10 million to monitor approximately 1,000 wetlands over the next five years. The money will help the school monitor the health and trends in plant, invertebrate, amphibian, fish, and bird communities as well as water quality.

The University of Michigan will require COVID-19 vaccinations for students who live on its Ann Arbor campus this fall, school officials announced Friday.

President Mark Schlissel said shots will not be mandated for faculty, staff and other students “at this time,” but he strongly encouraged everyone to get vaccinated. The requirement will allow residence halls to operate safely at nearly normal capacity, he said, after there were more than 600 infections in dorms last fall despite a mask requirement and other restrictions.

Professors at Northern Michigan University are looking for a better contract after they say they took “one for the team” during the pandemic and agreed to a one-year pay freeze.

Faculty held signs during a rally last week at the Marquette campus to bring attention to contract talks between the union and NMU administrators, The Mining Journal reported.

Union leader Dwight Brady said NMU has proposed a two-year contract with no increase in base pay along with a 1% bonus. The current contract expires June 30.