John McWhorter, the African American author and for a time a drinking friend of mine, and who gained some measure of fame after the publication of his book "Losing The Race" -- which slammed black culture as being education unfriendly -- once bet me $100 that Latinos were ahead of Blacks in higher rates of education and lower rates of poverty. Well, here's more proof that he's wrong and still owes me $100.
Report: Hispanics lagging in education
By Haya El Nasser, USA TODAY
Getting the children of Spanish-speaking immigrants to finish high school and go to college is crucial to the economy as much of the nation's workforce edges toward retirement, says a report released Wednesday by a prominent government advisory board.
"Hispanics are coming of age in an aging society," says Marta Tienda, a Princeton University professor who headed a panel that studied the impact of the nation's 41 million Hispanics. "Education is the bottom line." The study was released by the non-profit National Research Council.
By 2030, about 25% of white Americans will be at retirement age or older, compared with 10% of Hispanics. Although a growing number of Hispanics have reached the middle class, the report says they continue to lag economically as a group because of a continued influx of low-skilled immigrants. At the same time, demand is rising for a better-educated U.S. workforce.
"Perhaps the most profound risk facing Hispanics is failure to graduate from high school," the report says. Hispanics have the highest high school dropout rate of any ethnic or racial group in the USA.
The report also cites low enrollment rates in four-year colleges and poor English skills. "These trends bode ill for Hispanics," the report warns. "Failure to close Hispanics' education and language gap risks compromising their ability to both contribute to and share in national prosperity."
Although the report stops short of making specific recommendations, it calls for investment in education and social programs. "We hope it triggers a lot of alarms," Tienda says.
The report comes at a time of intensifying debate over whether undocumented immigrants should be granted certain rights, including temporary work visas, driver's licenses and in-state tuition breaks.
"If you're the L.A. (Los Angeles) Unified School District, how can you try to advance the prospects of your poorly-educated student body when it's constantly expanding with people from abroad?" asks Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a group based in Washington, D.C., that advocates enforcement of immigration laws. "That's why immigration control is extraordinarily important," he says.
Stopping immigration won't reduce the number of Hispanics already here, says Roberto Suro, director of the Pew Hispanic Center. "Regardless of what happens to immigration flows, there is a huge second generation of Latinos," Suro says.
The challenge, he adds, is getting mostly white voters "to invest in the education of another group."
How Latinos fare academically will shape the nation's future, says Melissa Lazarin, senior education policy analyst at the National Council of La Raza, a civil rights group. "We need to ensure that they're well-educated and they get the tools that they need to contribute."
Monday, March 06, 2006
Study: Most College Students Can't Understand Credit Card Deals (But Have Too Many of Them!)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Nearing a diploma, most college students cannot handle many complex but common tasks, from understanding credit card offers to comparing the cost per ounce of food.
Those are the sobering findings of a study of literacy on college campuses, the first to target the skills of students as they approach the start of their careers.
More than 50% of students at four-year schools and more than 75% at two-year colleges lacked the skills to perform complex literacy tasks.
That means they could not interpret a table about exercise and blood pressure, understand the arguments of newspaper editorials, compare credit card offers with different interest rates and annual fees or summarize results of a survey about parental involvement in school.
The results cut across three types of literacy: analyzing news stories and other prose, understanding documents and having math skills needed for checkbooks or restaurant tips.
"It is kind of disturbing that a lot of folks are graduating with a degree and they're not going to be able to do those things," said Stephane Baldi, the study's director at the American Institutes for Research, a behavioral and social science research organization.
Most students at community colleges and four-year schools showed intermediate skills, meaning they could perform moderately challenging tasks. Examples include identifying a location on a map, calculating the cost of ordering office supplies or consulting a reference guide to figure out which foods contain a particular vitamin.
There was brighter news.
Overall, the average literacy of college students is significantly higher than that of adults across the nation. Study leaders said that was encouraging but not surprising, given that the spectrum of adults includes those with much less education.
Also, compared with all adults with similar levels of education, college students had superior skills in searching and using information from texts and documents.
"But do they do well enough for a highly educated population? For a knowledge-based economy? The answer is no," said Joni Finney, vice president of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, an independent and non-partisan group.
"This sends a message that we should be monitoring this as a nation, and we don't do it," Finney said. "States have no idea about the knowledge and skills of their college graduates."
The survey examined college and university students nearing the end of their degree programs. The students did the worst on matters involving math, according to the study.
Almost 20% of students pursuing four-year degrees had only basic quantitative skills. For example, the students could not estimate if their car had enough gas to get to the service station. About 30% of two-year students had only basic math skills.
Baldi and Finney said the survey should be used as a tool. They hope state leaders, educators and university trustees will examine the rigor of courses required of all students.
The survey showed a strong relationship between analytic coursework and literacy. Students in two-year and four-year schools scored higher when they took classes that challenged them to apply theories to practical problems or weigh competing arguments.
The college survey used the same test as the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, the government's examination of English literacy among adults. The results of that study were released in December, showing about one in 20 adults is not literate in English.
On campus, the tests were given in 2003 to a representative sample of 1,827 students at public and private schools. The Pew Charitable Trusts funded the survey.
It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Those are the sobering findings of a study of literacy on college campuses, the first to target the skills of students as they approach the start of their careers.
More than 50% of students at four-year schools and more than 75% at two-year colleges lacked the skills to perform complex literacy tasks.
That means they could not interpret a table about exercise and blood pressure, understand the arguments of newspaper editorials, compare credit card offers with different interest rates and annual fees or summarize results of a survey about parental involvement in school.
The results cut across three types of literacy: analyzing news stories and other prose, understanding documents and having math skills needed for checkbooks or restaurant tips.
"It is kind of disturbing that a lot of folks are graduating with a degree and they're not going to be able to do those things," said Stephane Baldi, the study's director at the American Institutes for Research, a behavioral and social science research organization.
Most students at community colleges and four-year schools showed intermediate skills, meaning they could perform moderately challenging tasks. Examples include identifying a location on a map, calculating the cost of ordering office supplies or consulting a reference guide to figure out which foods contain a particular vitamin.
There was brighter news.
Overall, the average literacy of college students is significantly higher than that of adults across the nation. Study leaders said that was encouraging but not surprising, given that the spectrum of adults includes those with much less education.
Also, compared with all adults with similar levels of education, college students had superior skills in searching and using information from texts and documents.
"But do they do well enough for a highly educated population? For a knowledge-based economy? The answer is no," said Joni Finney, vice president of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, an independent and non-partisan group.
"This sends a message that we should be monitoring this as a nation, and we don't do it," Finney said. "States have no idea about the knowledge and skills of their college graduates."
The survey examined college and university students nearing the end of their degree programs. The students did the worst on matters involving math, according to the study.
Almost 20% of students pursuing four-year degrees had only basic quantitative skills. For example, the students could not estimate if their car had enough gas to get to the service station. About 30% of two-year students had only basic math skills.
Baldi and Finney said the survey should be used as a tool. They hope state leaders, educators and university trustees will examine the rigor of courses required of all students.
The survey showed a strong relationship between analytic coursework and literacy. Students in two-year and four-year schools scored higher when they took classes that challenged them to apply theories to practical problems or weigh competing arguments.
The college survey used the same test as the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, the government's examination of English literacy among adults. The results of that study were released in December, showing about one in 20 adults is not literate in English.
On campus, the tests were given in 2003 to a representative sample of 1,827 students at public and private schools. The Pew Charitable Trusts funded the survey.
It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
New Poll: Most see racial progress; blacks still skeptical
From AP. Read this carefully as a window toward understanding how blacks think.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Blacks are more likely than whites to commemorate Martin Luther King's birthday, an AP-Ipsos poll found. They're also more inclined to harbor doubts about progress toward his dream of racial equality.
Three-fourths of Americans say there has been significant progress toward equality, but only 66% of blacks felt that way.
Racial integration has swept across much of American life, and blacks have gained economic ground since the height of the civil rights movement. Two decades ago, the government established a federal holiday in honor of the slain civil rights leader.
On some measures such as annual income, blacks have closed the gap considerably with whites over the past few decades, census figures show. The progress for blacks may have stalled, however.
"People have opportunities, but things get in the way of those opportunities," said Latoya Williams, a black mother of four in Norfolk, Va. "The way the economy is now, you're working just to put a little food on the table. You just work, work, work yourself to death."
Just under a fourth of the population said they planned to commemorate King's birthday on Monday. A solid majority of blacks, 60%, said they would be involved.
"Participating in the march and in church services is a good time of fellowship and is important in keeping the dream alive," said Aubrey Jones, a black deputy warden at a state prison near Macon, Ga.
Fewer than one in six whites, 15%, planned to commemorate the day, the poll found.
Sandy Smith, a white health care worker from Medford, Mass., said she likes to participate in services at work for King Day. "It honors somebody who contributed quite a bit to our culture," she said.
All 50 states gradually recognized a King holiday. But only one-third of businesses offer a paid holiday, according to the Bureau of National Affairs.
Participation in the holiday was enhanced by legislation passed in 1994 establishing the day as one of service.
In many places, people will help with projects aimed to improve the community and help the needy. Supporters of the holiday try to discourage businesses from using it as a marketing gimmick.
"Martin Luther King would turn over in his grave if he thought he was recognized by a day of shopping and rest," said former Sen. Harris Wofford, D-Pa., who worked with Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., to establish the holiday as a day of service.
"The idea that it's a day on and not a day off is catching on," Wofford said. "But the King holiday is well short of what it needs to be."
Some say the fight for racial equality has stalled.
"We've made great progress over the last 50 years," said Julian Bond, national chairman of the NAACP. "Progress has always been stop-and-start, and sometimes backup. We're in a holding pattern right now."
Three-fourths of those polled say King should be honored with a federal holiday. Blacks almost unanimously favored that, according to the poll of 1,242 adults that included an oversample of blacks.
The poll, taken Monday through Thursday, has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Accusations that King committed adultery and plagiarized material in academic writings emerged in the years after the holiday was established. Those claims remind people that King had human failings despite his larger-than-life image as a hero of the civil rights movement, said William Boone, a political scientist at Clark Atlanta University.
"It does not diminish the mission he was on," Boone said. "People now have a tendency to sanitize him, to make him more palatable to a broader spectrum of the American population."
NOTES:
WHO COMMEMORATES THE HOLIDAY: Blacks, at 60%, were more likely than whites, at 15%, to commemorate the holiday. At 13%, people age 65 and older were less likely than people in other age groups to participate. People in urban areas, at 30%, were more likely than those in the suburbs or rural areas to participate. Single people were more likely than married people to participate. Democrats, at 30%, were twice as likely as Republicans, at 14%, to get involved.
PROGRESS TOWARD THE DREAM: Whites, at 78%, were more likely than blacks, at 66%, to feel that significant progress has been made toward racial equality. Young adults, at 85%, were the most likely to feel significant progress has been made. Those who live in the suburbs were more likely than those in the cities to think progress has been made. Republicans, at 84%, were more likely than Democrats, at 72%, to think much progress has been made.
SHOULD THERE BE A HOLIDAY: Blacks, at 96%, were more likely than whites, at 67%, to feel that King's birthday should be a national holiday. People under 50 were more likely than those over 50 to think MLK Day should be a national holiday. Those with a college degree were more likely to feel that way than those with a high school education or less. Democrats, at 84%, were more likely than Republicans or independents, to feel the day should be a holiday.
ECONOMIC COMPARISON: Comparative numbers on median incomes of whites and blacks from the Census. The median salary is the midpoint of the range of salaries. 1. In 1955, when Rosa Parks helped spark the civil rights movement by refusing to give up her seat on a bus, blacks' median annual income was 43% of the median income of whites. 2. In 1968, the year King was killed, blacks' median annual income was 63% of whites' median income. 3. In 1986, the year King's birthday was made a national holiday, blacks' median annual income was 68% of whites' median income. 4. In 2003, the most recent year available in the census data, blacks' median annual income was 81% of whites' median income.
The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, slightly larger for blacks. The comparative racial information comes from the Census Bureau.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Blacks are more likely than whites to commemorate Martin Luther King's birthday, an AP-Ipsos poll found. They're also more inclined to harbor doubts about progress toward his dream of racial equality.
Three-fourths of Americans say there has been significant progress toward equality, but only 66% of blacks felt that way.
Racial integration has swept across much of American life, and blacks have gained economic ground since the height of the civil rights movement. Two decades ago, the government established a federal holiday in honor of the slain civil rights leader.
On some measures such as annual income, blacks have closed the gap considerably with whites over the past few decades, census figures show. The progress for blacks may have stalled, however.
"People have opportunities, but things get in the way of those opportunities," said Latoya Williams, a black mother of four in Norfolk, Va. "The way the economy is now, you're working just to put a little food on the table. You just work, work, work yourself to death."
Just under a fourth of the population said they planned to commemorate King's birthday on Monday. A solid majority of blacks, 60%, said they would be involved.
"Participating in the march and in church services is a good time of fellowship and is important in keeping the dream alive," said Aubrey Jones, a black deputy warden at a state prison near Macon, Ga.
Fewer than one in six whites, 15%, planned to commemorate the day, the poll found.
Sandy Smith, a white health care worker from Medford, Mass., said she likes to participate in services at work for King Day. "It honors somebody who contributed quite a bit to our culture," she said.
All 50 states gradually recognized a King holiday. But only one-third of businesses offer a paid holiday, according to the Bureau of National Affairs.
Participation in the holiday was enhanced by legislation passed in 1994 establishing the day as one of service.
In many places, people will help with projects aimed to improve the community and help the needy. Supporters of the holiday try to discourage businesses from using it as a marketing gimmick.
"Martin Luther King would turn over in his grave if he thought he was recognized by a day of shopping and rest," said former Sen. Harris Wofford, D-Pa., who worked with Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., to establish the holiday as a day of service.
"The idea that it's a day on and not a day off is catching on," Wofford said. "But the King holiday is well short of what it needs to be."
Some say the fight for racial equality has stalled.
"We've made great progress over the last 50 years," said Julian Bond, national chairman of the NAACP. "Progress has always been stop-and-start, and sometimes backup. We're in a holding pattern right now."
Three-fourths of those polled say King should be honored with a federal holiday. Blacks almost unanimously favored that, according to the poll of 1,242 adults that included an oversample of blacks.
The poll, taken Monday through Thursday, has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Accusations that King committed adultery and plagiarized material in academic writings emerged in the years after the holiday was established. Those claims remind people that King had human failings despite his larger-than-life image as a hero of the civil rights movement, said William Boone, a political scientist at Clark Atlanta University.
"It does not diminish the mission he was on," Boone said. "People now have a tendency to sanitize him, to make him more palatable to a broader spectrum of the American population."
NOTES:
WHO COMMEMORATES THE HOLIDAY: Blacks, at 60%, were more likely than whites, at 15%, to commemorate the holiday. At 13%, people age 65 and older were less likely than people in other age groups to participate. People in urban areas, at 30%, were more likely than those in the suburbs or rural areas to participate. Single people were more likely than married people to participate. Democrats, at 30%, were twice as likely as Republicans, at 14%, to get involved.
PROGRESS TOWARD THE DREAM: Whites, at 78%, were more likely than blacks, at 66%, to feel that significant progress has been made toward racial equality. Young adults, at 85%, were the most likely to feel significant progress has been made. Those who live in the suburbs were more likely than those in the cities to think progress has been made. Republicans, at 84%, were more likely than Democrats, at 72%, to think much progress has been made.
SHOULD THERE BE A HOLIDAY: Blacks, at 96%, were more likely than whites, at 67%, to feel that King's birthday should be a national holiday. People under 50 were more likely than those over 50 to think MLK Day should be a national holiday. Those with a college degree were more likely to feel that way than those with a high school education or less. Democrats, at 84%, were more likely than Republicans or independents, to feel the day should be a holiday.
ECONOMIC COMPARISON: Comparative numbers on median incomes of whites and blacks from the Census. The median salary is the midpoint of the range of salaries. 1. In 1955, when Rosa Parks helped spark the civil rights movement by refusing to give up her seat on a bus, blacks' median annual income was 43% of the median income of whites. 2. In 1968, the year King was killed, blacks' median annual income was 63% of whites' median income. 3. In 1986, the year King's birthday was made a national holiday, blacks' median annual income was 68% of whites' median income. 4. In 2003, the most recent year available in the census data, blacks' median annual income was 81% of whites' median income.
The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, slightly larger for blacks. The comparative racial information comes from the Census Bureau.
Seahawks sign Shaun Alexander for $62 million - 8-year deal is largest ever for running back
From The Seattle Post - Intelligencer
By DANNY O'NEIL
P-I REPORTER
Shaun Alexander returned to the Seattle area Sunday night, and he's not headed anywhere else for the foreseeable future.
At least not in terms of his football future.
Alexander has agreed to re-sign with the Seattle Seahawks, agreeing to an eight-year contract worth $62 million. In terms of total money in the contract, it is the largest ever signed by a running back; $15 million is to be paid in the first year.
Agent Jim Steiner gave the contract terms to The Associated Press. Sources close to the situation confirmed Alexander's decision to re-sign. The Seahawks had no comment, as the contract had not been completed. A news conference announcing Alexander's return likely will be today at the team's headquarters in Kirkland.
Alexander returned to Seattle on Sunday after attending banquets on the East Coast and Kansas City. He left his cell-phone charger on the East Coast, leaving his phone out of juice.
He could not be reached Sunday evening, but the electricity of his decision was reverberating around the Puget Sound area, as Alexander is returning to the team he helped reach its first Super Bowl last season.
Sunday began with Alexander just hours away from becoming a free agent. Never mind that the start to free agency was eventually delayed as the league's owners and players union continued negotiating an extension to the collective-bargaining agreement. The whole question of free agency is irrelevant when it comes to Alexander.
After a year in which Alexander was asked about his free-agent future at least once a week, he never ended up getting there. It was about the only destination that Alexander didn't reach in a season when he set the league's single-season record for touchdowns, was named NFL MVP and became the franchise's career-leading rusher.
He has 7,817 yards in six years as a Seahawk, a total to which he can now add.
In those six seasons, Alexander has never missed a game, and he has rushed for more than 1,150 yards in each of the five seasons since he supplanted Ricky Watters as the team's starting running back.
In 2004, he finished second in the league in rushing. This season, he won the rushing title with 1,880 yards. He scored 28 touchdowns, breaking Priest Holmes' single-season league record.
Alexander's future was a source of scrutiny since February 2005, when Matt Hasselbeck and Walter Jones signed long-term deals. Alexander got a one-year deal worth $6.32 million as the team's franchise player. Hardly chump change, but security in the NFL is written by long-term contracts -- the kind Alexander will sign this week.
Hasselbeck and Jones remain the highest-paid Seahawks, but in terms of mechanics, the total sum of Alexander's contract surpasses the $60 million deal that LaDainian Tomlinson signed with the San Diego Chargers. However, about $20 million of Tomlinson's deal was guaranteed.
Alexander signed the one-year contract in July, days before training camp, but only after being guaranteed he would be an unrestricted free agent if he didn't work out a contract extension with the Seahawks.
After signing the contract, Alexander was unfailingly optimistic a deal would be worked out, and he never wavered from the expectation he would stay a Seahawk throughout a season in which the contract discussions could be described as polite, but not overwhelmingly productive.
As with so many negotiations, it took a deadline to produce a deal, and Sunday, Alexander took a last look at the possibility of a free-agent future before agreeing to return to Seattle.
"Crash" Upsets All Predictions for A "Brokeback Mountain" Sweep - Including Mine
"Crash" -- Paul Haggis' wonderful film about race relations in LA -- took home the "Best Picture" award at the 78th Annual Academy Awards, upsetting front-runner "Brokeaback Mountain" and shattering all predictions boards, including mine.
In part because of this outcome, I scored 20 of 24 correct, missing on "Best Picture", "Cinematography", "Documentary Short", and "Animated Short." But in two of those categories, I picked the front-runner, which missed on both.
I think Tom O'Neill of the LA Times called it right when he predicted this awards outcome due to homeophobia in the Academy.
More on this, and my good time at the San Francisco Academy of Friends Party, later today.
In part because of this outcome, I scored 20 of 24 correct, missing on "Best Picture", "Cinematography", "Documentary Short", and "Animated Short." But in two of those categories, I picked the front-runner, which missed on both.
I think Tom O'Neill of the LA Times called it right when he predicted this awards outcome due to homeophobia in the Academy.
More on this, and my good time at the San Francisco Academy of Friends Party, later today.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Lying On Resume May Be Illegal in Washington State If Bill Passes
I'm not kidding at all. Read below, or click the title post for the article.
Lying on resume could land you in jail
Bill would make it illegal to pass off fake degree as real
By CANDACE HECKMAN
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Not only would it become illegal for people to lie on their resume about their academic credentials, but according to a bill lawmakers passed Friday, the move could land those liars in jail.
State senators unanimously amended and approved a bill that would make giving or using a fake or otherwise unaccredited degree a class C felony, a crime of fraud that could warrant five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The legislation also would make it illegal to lie orally, as well as in writing, when trying to get a job or other kind of benefit.
Once final, the law would take effect in July.
An earlier version of the proposal, known as the diploma-mill bill, would have made someone subject to a civil penalty of $1,000 for falsely claiming in writing to have an accredited degree, including a high school diploma, if it wasn't granted for actual coursework, the kind normally recognized by higher education standards in the United States.
The new version has increased penalties, but isn't harsh, said Rep. Phyllis Kenney, D-Seattle, who sponsored the original proposal.
The term "diploma mill" or "degree mill" is used to describe businesses that purport to be educational institutions, but really only sell consumers a paper degree and a verification service, should potential employers inquire.
These businesses typically operate on the Internet and overseas, where it is difficult for American authorities to track them.
Diploma-mill degrees supposedly from the United States have aided foreign nationals seeking immigration status, which is also a concern for state lawmakers, said state Sen. Mark Schoesler, a Republican from Eastern Washington.
"When they're using them, they're actually perpetrating a fraud," said Schoesler, who previously introduced legislation in the Senate that would criminalize both issuing and using bogus degrees and diplomas.
"We are very interested in protecting consumers and making sure our schools and institutions of higher learning keep the credibility that they have earned," Kenney said. "This law was written with deliberate research."
Washington had become known recently as a haven for diploma mills because education officials had authority only over schools that had physical building in the state. Most degree mills today operate in cyberspace and tout distance learning by correspondence. Sometimes the only correspondence is from a student asking for a degree and the school asking for a credit card number.
There also are thriving Internet businesses that sell "novelty" or otherwise counterfeit degrees and diplomas from academic institutions.
In October, eight people were indicted in Spokane on federal wire and mail fraud charges, accused of selling worthless degrees from Web sites that issue degrees and offer verification services to people with enough money and life experience. The supposed schools involved were Saint Regis, James Monroe and Robertstown universities.
There are countless others in cyberspace. They generally have names that sound just close enough to a real school that employers, and even government agencies, have been easily fooled.
In 2004, the federal Government Accountability Office released a report that found that at least 28 senior-level federal workers had claimed degrees from diploma mills and other unaccredited schools.
Lying on resume could land you in jail
Bill would make it illegal to pass off fake degree as real
By CANDACE HECKMAN
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Not only would it become illegal for people to lie on their resume about their academic credentials, but according to a bill lawmakers passed Friday, the move could land those liars in jail.
State senators unanimously amended and approved a bill that would make giving or using a fake or otherwise unaccredited degree a class C felony, a crime of fraud that could warrant five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The legislation also would make it illegal to lie orally, as well as in writing, when trying to get a job or other kind of benefit.
Once final, the law would take effect in July.
An earlier version of the proposal, known as the diploma-mill bill, would have made someone subject to a civil penalty of $1,000 for falsely claiming in writing to have an accredited degree, including a high school diploma, if it wasn't granted for actual coursework, the kind normally recognized by higher education standards in the United States.
The new version has increased penalties, but isn't harsh, said Rep. Phyllis Kenney, D-Seattle, who sponsored the original proposal.
The term "diploma mill" or "degree mill" is used to describe businesses that purport to be educational institutions, but really only sell consumers a paper degree and a verification service, should potential employers inquire.
These businesses typically operate on the Internet and overseas, where it is difficult for American authorities to track them.
Diploma-mill degrees supposedly from the United States have aided foreign nationals seeking immigration status, which is also a concern for state lawmakers, said state Sen. Mark Schoesler, a Republican from Eastern Washington.
"When they're using them, they're actually perpetrating a fraud," said Schoesler, who previously introduced legislation in the Senate that would criminalize both issuing and using bogus degrees and diplomas.
"We are very interested in protecting consumers and making sure our schools and institutions of higher learning keep the credibility that they have earned," Kenney said. "This law was written with deliberate research."
Washington had become known recently as a haven for diploma mills because education officials had authority only over schools that had physical building in the state. Most degree mills today operate in cyberspace and tout distance learning by correspondence. Sometimes the only correspondence is from a student asking for a degree and the school asking for a credit card number.
There also are thriving Internet businesses that sell "novelty" or otherwise counterfeit degrees and diplomas from academic institutions.
In October, eight people were indicted in Spokane on federal wire and mail fraud charges, accused of selling worthless degrees from Web sites that issue degrees and offer verification services to people with enough money and life experience. The supposed schools involved were Saint Regis, James Monroe and Robertstown universities.
There are countless others in cyberspace. They generally have names that sound just close enough to a real school that employers, and even government agencies, have been easily fooled.
In 2004, the federal Government Accountability Office released a report that found that at least 28 senior-level federal workers had claimed degrees from diploma mills and other unaccredited schools.
Steelers' Hines Ward travels to mom's homeland, Korea
By ALAN ROBINSON
AP SPORTS WRITER
PITTSBURGH -- Growing up in suburban Atlanta, Hines Ward often felt he was a victim of double discrimination. Not only did some of his white classmates make fun of his biracial heritage, his South Korean mother felt ostracized by her homeland because she had a son with a black American soldier.
Since the Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver won the Super Bowl MVP award last month, Ward has become a huge celebrity in Korea - cheered by those who know little about American football and once may have shunned him for being less than pureblooded.
To learn more about his heritage, Ward and his mother, Kim Young-hee, plan their first trip together to Korea next month - a country he knows little about and, until recently, knew little about him. Partly because of his recent accomplishments, Ward said Friday he hopes to find a land that may be more receptive to others of mixed blood than it might have been not long ago.
"I'm proud of my mom and proud of our Korean heritage," said Ward, whose name is tattooed in Korean on his right arm. "It's something I should have done a long time ago ... and it's going to be very emotional. And I hope they accept me for who I am."
The 29-year-old Ward, a four-time Pro Bowl receiver and the Steelers' career receiving leader, was born in Seoul but left with his mother and father at age 1 and settled in the United States, where Ward's mom hoped society would be more accepting of the multiracial family.
Ward's parents did not stay together long but, even after they split up, his mother remained in America to be with her son. Despite knowing no English before arriving, she worked as many as three jobs at a time - among them, at an airport, a convenience story and in a school cafeteria - to support her son and give him some of the things his wealthier classmates enjoyed.
At times, he felt embarrassed by their background, but he soon came to appreciate what his mother was doing for him. Now, Ward thinks some of the traits that made him into one of the NFL's top receivers, including a willingness to block with the passion of a lineman while playing a skill position, came from his mother's commitment to hard work.
Even after Ward began making millions in the NFL, his mother returned to her school cafeteria job in Forest Park, Ga., after quitting for a couple of months, saying she felt bored and depressed while not working.
"I want to see where she grew up. I want to see where I was born. I want to see where she played hooky and hung out ... I want to learn more about my heritage," said Ward, who has never returned to Korea since leaving as a toddler, though his mother has gone back 3-4 times. "I want to learn everything."
Ward and his mother planned the weeklong trip before the Super Bowl, where Ward made five catches for 123 yards and a touchdown in a 21-10 Steelers victory over Seattle. But what was supposed to be a "private" trip for Ward devoted to sightseeing, shopping, meeting relatives and eating Korean food has since become a media event.
Ward is expected to meet Korean dignitaries during a trip that begins April 1. He also wants to spend time with some of the children being helped by Pearl S. Buck International, an organization that aids biracial children in Korea.
"When I was there, it wasn't cool to be a mixed kid. There probably was some hatred there," Ward said. "Some of the kids are treated badly and, sadly, it happens, but it's not the kids' fault."
Ward is encouraged because his success has led to considerable media attention in Korea of how society treats those of multiracial backgrounds. A recent editorial in the JoongAng Daily, the country's largest newspaper with a circulation of more than 2 million, cited the praise being heaped on Ward and urged the end to the "embarrassing habit of discrimination against mixed-blood people."
The editorial concluded, "We should open our minds and hold their hands to raise the second and third Hines Ward in Korea."
Ward plans to help fund a scholarship in his mother's name for Korean-American children. He was chosen for a similar scholarship while attending the University of Georgia, even though he was also on an athletic scholarship.
"It's like my mother still tells me, `Always be humble, never forget where you came from,' " Ward said. "My story is kind of a perfect story, of how I was able to overcome all that. Maybe some other kids can use that as motivation."
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