Supplement to WISR Catalogue for the period:
June, 2006 – June 30, 2010
This supplement updates WISR’s current 57-page catalogue (which was initially written for the period July 1, 2004 – June 30, 2006).
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There are no substantive changes in admissions, degree offerings, degree requirements, methods of instruction, resources, or policies of WISR.
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TUITION CHANGES AS OF JULY 1, 2008:
WISR’s tuition is $550/month (students who were admitted in previous years to the partial tuition deferment program will pay $350/month). Students who make semi-annual payments receive a $150 discount for each six month period, or $3,150 for six months. Students who make annual payments receive a $450 discount for the 12 month period, or $6,150. This is our first tuition increase since 2003, and we were able to make the size of the increase modest, largely by also now requiring students to be involved in contributing time to WISR’s development--an average of one hour per week (see point #2 below).
Entering students must pay an initial $600 enrollment fee but will no longer be required to pay last month’s tuition in advance. The re-enrollment fee for students who have taken a six-month or longer break from WISR is also $600.
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UPDATE, AS OF OCTOBER 25, 2009, REGARDING THE STATUS OF THE STATE LAW GOVERNING THE APPROVAL OF PRIVATE COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS LIKE WISR
In October 2009, Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law AB 48, the California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009. That law will go into effect on January 1, 2010. It provides for the creation of a new State oversight agency. That law also provides that WISR’s State Approval, which previously had been granted through June 30, 2012 will now be extended to June 30, 2015. WISR will keep its students and prospective students informed as to how they may contact the new State agency, as that agency begins its operations in 2010. As in the past, WISR will abide by all mandated guidelines and informational disclosures required by the State’s oversight agency.
Furthermore, WISR takes the position that consumer protection and student rights are important to a healthy postsecondary education system in California. WISR has an impeccable history of perfect compliance with state law since we were first approved in 1977, and there have been no complaints against us in that entire time. Furthermore, in order to promote consumer protection, high quality education, and institutional integrity and credibility among institutions of private postsecondary education, WISR has taken a leadership role with about a dozen other institutions to form the Association for Private Postsecondary Education in California (APPEC) [www.appeca.org]. Another goal of APPEC is to be a constructive, pro-active representative for private postsecondary education in Sacramento as well as statewide. APPEC’s mission statement is:
· APPEC provides needed assistance and services to California’s (non WASC accredited) private colleges and universities as they interact with the state and other agencies that oversee them.
· APPEC informs all stakeholders of the important educational and economic roles private colleges and universities play in California.
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REQUIREMENT THAT ALL ENROLLED STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS THAT WILL AID WISR’S DEVELOPMENT:
In the first few months of 2008, WISR faculty, students and Board discussed options pertaining to WISR’s long-term development and sustainability. However, in order to moderate the extent of that year’s tuition increase, and to moderate the extent of increases in future years, faculty, students and Board agreed that even a modest collective effort of time and energy by faculty and students can contribute greatly to WISR’s current functioning and to WISR’s ability to thrive for decades to come. Therefore, effective July 1, 2008, all WISR students will be expected to contribute an average of four hours per month/50 hours per year to WISR’s Development. Students will be encouraged to work collaboratively with other WISR students, alumni, faculty and Board on projects which will contribute to WISR’s Development. Here are some examples of ways to aid WISR’s development:
1. Outreach to Community Agencies and Other Groups of People Who May Be Promising Sources of Students for WISR.
2. Using the Internet in a Variety of Ways to Publicize WISR to Prospective Students and Others
3. Developing Continuing Education Classes (face-to-face and online) for such professional groups as MFTs, Nurses and Others.
4. Soliciting Donations and Help from Alumni and Friends of WISR, as well as possibly writing grant proposals to fund scholarships, special programs or projects.
5. Assist WISR faculty in conducting community outreach, participatory research and program evaluation in conjunction with various community projects in which WISR is involved, such as Sustainable Urban Villages in Oakland (with Eco-City Builders), Youth Violence Prevention in Richmond (with Neighborhood House of North Richmond), and other possible forthcoming projects.
It is anticipated that this modest, but uniformly practiced, level of student involvement at WISR will further enhance the quality of learning at WISR, and the sense of community among learners at WISR. Students should contact WISR faculty member, Vera Labat, or WISR President, John Bilorusky, to discuss the ways in which they might most meaningfully contribute to WISR’s development.
In addition, the following detailed updates to WISR’s previous catalogue may be noteworthy and of interest to some:
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FINANCIAL AID:
WISR’s partial tuition deferment program has been suspended for the time being—those few students who are already participating in this program may continue in the program so long as they remain continuously enrolled at WISR. If WISR is able to generate additional funds for its Revolving Loan Fund, we will again provide the opportunity to defer $200/month tuition—to two or three new students each year.
STUDENT TRANSCRIPTS:
WISR students write their transcripts, based on guidance and consultation from the WISR President, based on the documented credit awarded for each completed learning project in their Learning Portfolio. There is a $10 fee for each officially signed transcript. It is WISR’s policy to withholding transcripts for students and former students who owe tuition or fees.
A. TUITION RECOVERY FUND.
At the current time, students are not required to pay $2.50 of every $1,000 of tuition into the California State Tuition Recovery Fund (STRF). At a future date, perhaps in 2010, once the new State agency is in operation, the State may again require WISR students who live within California and who are not receiving tuition monies from outside agencies such as the Department of Rehabilitation to pay into this fund. For more information about previous regulations regarding STRF, see pages 21-22 of the catalogue.
B. WISR FACULTY
1. New Faculty
MARILYN JACKSON. BA, Augustana College, 1981, Religion. M.A., Holy Names College, Institute in Creation Spirituality and Culture, 1989. PhD, WISR, Higher Education and Social Change, 2004. In her dissertation, Dr. Jackson contrasted popular spirituality movements in Western society to traditional religion, by relating Creation Spirituality to Lutheranism. Two of her recent articles were published: “The Life of the People: The Legacy of N.F.S. Grundtvig and Nonviolent Social Change Through Popular Education in Denmark” and “Education for Life at Danish Folk Schools and Highlander.” Marilyn continues to study and work on unlearning racism and building multicultural society through dialogue, education, cultural expression and community based celebrations. She is also interested in women’s and career development issues, as well as lifestyles, health and environment. She has organized education activities about indigenous people and has been extensive involved with Scandinavian music and other cultural activities, including translating Swedish songs. As part of her commitment to egalitarian values, she educates others about socialism and social democratic values. She is on the Board and staff of the Ecumenical Peace Institute, and organizes monthly forums at the Lutheran Church of the Cross in Berkeley. In addition to serving as a member of WISR’s core faculty, she is Executive Assistant to WISR’s President.
LARRY LOEBIG. BS, Summit University, Real Estate Management, 1998. MS, Summit University, Organizational Behavior, 1999. He is a graduate of Coach University and received the MCC designation from the International Coaching Federation. When he was the Business Manager of the Black Scholar Journal he was introduced to the works of Jay Conrad Levinson and recently became Jay’s master trainer for the Western United States and is Director of the Academy for Guerrilla Marketing International. He is an advocate of learning in action and
has applied his theory and learning in co-founding California.com Inc., and as an active Director of the Socially Responsible Internet Company. He is pursuing his PhD at WISR, and has developed an interest in alternative dispute resolution and earned certification with Mediator Training International with an emphasis on conflict in the workplace. He is developing a School of Coaching and Collaborative Communication as part of his action plan for earning his PhD.
DAVID YAMADA. BA, Valparaiso University, Indiana, MA, Empire State College, JD, New York University, PhD, WISR (September 2009). David Yamada is also Professor of Law at Suffolk University in Boston. David is concerned with the role of intellectual activism in contributing to social change. He has served as a member of the Board of Americans for Democratic Action. As part of his years’ of involvement in addressing the growing problem of workplace bullying, he recently founded the New Workplace Institute [www.newworkplaceinstitute.org]--a multidisciplinary, non-profit research and education center devoted to the creation of healthy, productive, and socially responsible workplaces. [from its website:] “The New Workplace Institute will serve as a vehicle for engaging in research and public education on important issues related to work and employment.” David has written numerous published articles on labor law and social policy and is a frequent presenter at professional conferences.
[http://www.law.suffolk.edu/faculty/directories/faculty.cfm?InstructorID=59]
2. No Longer on the Faculty
Dr. Nazreen Kadir is on an extended leave.
David Schwartz has retired.
Dr. Terry Lunsford, who served on WISR’s faculty and Board since WISR’s founding in 1975, passed away in January 2009.
C. COMMUNITY PROJECTS
WISR continues to be actively involved in a number of local community projects, including:
· the Sustainable Urban Villages Project in West Oakland, in collaboration with Eco-City Builders and funded by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and
· conducting participatory evaluations for Neighborhood House of North Richmond, in support of their projects in violence prevention/gang reduction, youth mentoring, and health education (Healthy Eating and Active Living funded by Kaiser).
D. WISR’S DISTINCTIVE STUDENTS AND ALUMNI
Some of the information in the catalogue about current students and alumni is
four or five years out of date. The information about students and alumni on pages 23-42 of the catalogue still provides useful illustrations of the work and community
involvements of WISR alumni and students. WISR’s web site, including the
sections entitled “Catalogue,” “Newsletter”and “Publications” does provide some
more recent information on some of our students and alumni, including some
links to student papers, theses and professional publications. Most recently, WISR PhD student, Shyaam Shabaka received was named “Community Champion” for 2009 by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy.
E. RESOURCES
1. WISR is now a wireless hotspot.
2. The WISR Learning Community has been experimenting over the past year with using the free online software, Moodle (http://moodle.org) –to facilitate collaborative learning at WISR and with the larger community. This software provides an opportunity, for example, to share drafts of articles for comment, to hold conference calls, chat, share videos, discuss issues and projects of shared concern. Eventually, this online setting will be polished and further developed to support numbers of collaborative projects among WISR learners, as well as online classes to supplement WISR’s personalized mentoring and learning and face to face seminars. We also plan to develop online continuing education classes for people in various health, counseling, human services and education professions, as well as online classes for those wishing to learn more about the knowledge developed by WISR learners (e.g., history of the Omaha people from an Omaha perspective). It will be used for information-sharing among groups within WISR (e.g., those concerned with MFT licensing and work in the field of Marriage and Family Therapy), and for community collaborations in which WISR learners are involved (e.g., the Sacramento Think Tank). Some of these works and efforts in progress can be found at: www.pollinatethis.org/wisr