Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eCampus News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

Penn State football slammed with NCAA sanctions

Penn State was fined $60 million.

Penn State football was all but dismantled Monday by an NCAA ruling that wiped away 14 years of coach Joe Paterno’s victories and imposed a mountain of fines and penalties, crippling a program whose pedophile assistant coach spent years molesting children, sometimes on school property.

The sanctions by the governing body of college sports also imposed unprecedented fines of $60 million, ordered Penn State to sit out the postseason for four years, capped scholarships at 20 below the normal limit for four years and placed football on five years’ probation.

Current or incoming football players are free to immediately transfer and compete at another school.…Read More

Report: Paterno, PSU officials staged 14-year cover-up

The Freh report shook the college sports world.

The independent panel investigating Pennsylvania State University’s role in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal has determined that the school’s top leaders, including legendary football coach Joe Paterno, tried to cover up the abuse for 14 years.

Former FBI Director Louis Freeh, who led the investigation, outlined the findings of the panel’s 162-page report in prepared remarks released in advance of a 10 a.m. news conference in Philadelphia.

The report is available at www.philly.com/freeh.…Read More

Google’s most popular colleges of 2011

NCAA basketball powerhouses made the Google Zeitgeist list.

Two of the universities on Google’s top-10 most searched list for 2011 made the cut thanks to far-reaching scandals, campus tragedies, and public relations nightmares.

The search giant’s 11th annual Zeitgeist list, which ranks the most popular people, events, and news items of the past year, includes the colleges and universities most frequently search for on Google.

Colleges have long vied for search-engine supremacy with careful use of web analytics, engagement with website visitors, and a consistent social media presence. But if Google’s Zeitgeist rankings are any indication, bad news might be the best way to make the vaunted list.…Read More

Penn State students react to Jerry Sandusky arrest

Pennsylvania State University trustees gathered Sunday night for an emergency, closed-door meeting to discuss the arrest of former football defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky on charges that he had sexually abused eight boys over 15 years—and allegations that several top university administrators knew of the abuse but did not alert police, the Washington Post reports. A handful of students stood outside the administration building with signs reading: “Protecting molesters?” and “Tonight I am ashamed of PSU.” Meanwhile, students and alumni petitioned online for PSU President Graham Spanier to step down or be fired. Twitter lit up with outrage. Following the Sunday night meeting, the university announced that Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley had been put on administrative leave, and Gary Schultz, interim senior vice president for finance and business, had stepped down…

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