Twenty-eight thousand students who were rejected by the University of California, San Diego mistakenly received congratulatory e-mails on Monday that said they were accepted and included an invitation to attend Admit Day, the Los Angeles Times reported. The students were informed of the error through an apology e-mail sent a few hours later. Mae Brown, UCSD admissions director, took full responsibility for the e-mails, but did not specify whether the mistake was made by one or multiple people on her staff. Brown accepted calls from parents and high school students who were upset because of the false hope given by the first e-mail, according to the LA Times. Similar mistakes have occurred at other institutions, including Cornell University and Northwestern University, in recent years.
About 74 percent of students who have not attempted to join a Greek organization said they based their decision on the "negative stereotypes associated with membership," according to a survey of 1,500 students at Western Michigan University and Wichita State University, Inside Higher Ed reported. Less than 14 percent of students attempt to join Greek organizations at those institutions. Over 60 percent of the students said that there was no benefit to be gained from joining a Greek house. Kristin Fouts, the study's author and assistant director of the student activities and leadership program at Western Michigan University, found that many students were also uncomfortable with the recruitment process, according to Inside Higher Ed. Researchers said they remain unsure about how the economic crisis and the cost of dues will affect students' views on membership.
Oral arguments in Blackboard v. Desire2Learn, a patent infringement case involving two educational software companies that provide similar services, were heard in federal court on Tuesday, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. Blackboard originally filed the lawsuit in response to new software released by Desire2Learn, alleging that the software infringes on Blackboard's patent for online course material systems, according to The Chronicle. John Baker, Desire2Learn's president, denied any violation of Blackboard's patent. He offered to contribute $1 million to educational non-profit organizations if Blackboard would drop its charges. Blackboard general counsel Matthew Small declined the offer, The Chronicle reported.
