Florida State University announced Thursday that it will place itself on a two-year athletic probation, the Orlando Sentinel reported. The school will also cut its number of athletic scholarships. The resolution came in response to a university-wide academic fraud scandal, in which a student-athlete reported an advisor had asked him to take a quiz for a fellow student-athlete. It has been under investigation since spring 2007.
University officials released the findings of a department-wide investigation to the NCAA. Chuck Smrt, an outside consultant, spearheaded the report. His firm exposed the full scope of the fraud in an investigation conducted after it was hired in November. It found that 60 Florida State athletes had been involved in the cheating scandal.
Gouged while abroad
A lawsuit was filed last week against Wheaton College’s study abroad tuition policies, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported.
The Massachusetts school currently charges full tuition for a semester abroad, even when students are traveling through independent, less expensive programs. The lawsuit was filed by the parent of a recent alum, citing the practice as “unfair and deceptive.”
Last summer, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo launched an investigation into colleges’ study abroad policies. The investigation is still ongoing.
A costly computer
Fujitsu Limited, a Japanese computer company, announced that it has received an order from Kyoto University to construct a new supercomputer, the International Data Group reported.
If the computer performs as expected, it will be one of the 20 most powerful in the world. The machine is projected to be seven times more powerful than the university’s current computing system and will use only 600 kilowatts of power at maximum capacity. This would make the new computer 15 percent more efficient than its predecessor.
Neither Fujitsu nor the university has yet released the total estimated cost of the project.
Strike broken
Students from New Brunswick Community College returned to class after an impromptu vacation that began January 10, the Canadian Press reported. The Canadian Union of Public Employees launched a strike that day in demand of higher wages for public employees like college janitors and correctional officers. The college’s eleven campuses were forced to close quickly due to dirty facilities.
Both parties reached a resolution early on Wednesday, just hours before the house convened. The new four-year contract will increase public employees’ wages by 12.6 to 21.8 percent.