So much for "ClimateGate"; Kaplan snubbed

British Panel Largely Clears 'ClimateGate' Scientists of Misconduct Charges (Chronicle of Higher Education)

     Climate scientists were cleared of charges of scientific misconduct but criticized for a lack of openness in a report released on Wednesday by a panel in Britain.
     The panel was set up by the University of East Anglia, which found itself at the center of the so-called ClimateGate scandal after more than 1,000 private e-mail messages by climate researchers there were made public without authorization last November. Some of the e-mails suggested that scientists had attempted to exaggerate their findings, hide data from critics, and pressure journal editors to suppress information in an effort to strengthen arguments that global warming requires political action.
     The investigation largely cleared the scientists of wrongdoing.
     "We find that their rigor and honesty as scientists are not in doubt," Muir Russel, who led the panel, said at a news conference. "In addition, we do not find that their behavior prejudices the balance of advice given to policy makers.". . .
     But in a 160-page report, the investigators faulted the scientists for attempting to dodge potential open-records requests by deleting some e-mail messages, and said the University of East Anglia management "should have accepted more responsibility for implementing the required processes for FOIA and EIR compliance," referring to Freedom of Information Act requests and Environmental Information Regulations.. . .
     Several other investigations have found the researchers innocent of scientific misconduct, including one last week by Pennsylvania State University, where another of the climate scientists implicated in the e-mails works….

So far, community colleges snubbing for-profit Kaplan University (California WatchBlog)

     It's been about six months since California Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott signed a controversial deal with Kaplan University that would allow students to take classes from the for-profit company for credit at a community college.
     Under the terms of a December 2009 memorandum of understanding, it's up to the individual colleges to sign agreements with the for-profit company to decide which Kaplan courses would be eligible for community-college credits. But so far, not a single college has signed up, a Kaplan spokeswoman said.
     When the Kaplan deal was announced, some faculty groups and student advocates questioned it for a number of reasons. For one, students taking the Kaplan classes would pay 10 times as much as they would for the community college class, even after a special discount. ¶ They also questioned the transferability of the Kaplan courses for students who want to eventually attend a UC or CSU campus.
     Michelle Pore, spokeswoman for Kaplan, said it's too early to expect colleges to have set up agreements with the for-profit company. Plus, she said Kaplan doesn't really need the extra business. Before the agreement was signed in December, the company already had deals with 75 colleges that allowed community college graduates to transfer to Kaplan.. . .
     … Jane Patton, president of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, said a number of community college officials in the state told her they declined approaches from Kaplan about signing agreements. The Academic Senate has been one of the groups to voice concern about the Kaplan deal….