[nfbmi-talk] The Last Minute Late Night College Policy

[Fred Wurtzel]

Hi Elizabeth,

As I understand, the dates are july 1 for Geri to post the revised policy.
July 15 is the deadline for comments.  July 18 is the date for posting the
revised revision.

Now, regarding our response.  We adopted your draft with a few adjustments
as NFBM policyl.  That stands.  We should discuss this at the board meeting,
tonight.I think most of our ideas were included in the meeting on Monday
with the major exception of the time limit.  I was, at the time, and remain
opposed to the time limit, based primarily on Lydia's comments.  She is
right on about how that limit excludes people with issues that limit or
prevent them from completing college in a set length  of time.  Added to
that, the colleges have limits as described by Virginia Marx on Monday.
This should be left between the college, the student and their counselor to
work out.

I have to go catch a ride, but call in tonight for a more detailed
conversation.

Warmest Regards,

Fred

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of Elizabeth
Sent: Thursday, June 24, 2010 1:12 PM
To: nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nfbmi-talk] The Last Minute Late Night College Policy


Hello List,
 
I know you may be getting tired of receiving all of my messages about the
college policy, but with knowledge comes power, and with power, we can stop
the Michigan Commission for the Blind from adopting bad policies. In an
email dated Thursday, June 10, 2010, Geri Taeckens said, "it will be
important that we consider all input at the work group meeting," and "no one
document that is offered prior to the meeting will be taken in full."
However, this is not what happened at the meeting.
 
When we arrived to the meeting, we were asked if we wanted print, large
print, or Braille documents. There was also a thumb drive available for
those who wanted the documents in electronic format as well. I thought these
documents were either a copy of what was put up on the website or a copy of
the policy that was voted down at the March Michigan Commission for the
Blind Board meeting. However, to everyone's surprise, it was neither one of
these documents, but rather a copy of a totally new policy that was written
by Geri Taeckens at the last minute the night before the meeting.
 
Attached to this message, you will find a copy of the policy that was
presented to us at the meeting on Monday. I know there are a few things that
were either changed or deleted, but I do not remember what they were without
referring to my notes. Geri Taeckens is going to polish up what was
presented to us by incorporating all of our feedback and suggestions, and
will be posting a copy of it on the Michigan Commission for the Blind
website on July 1, 2010. People will then have until July 15, 2010 to
provide feedback on the policy before a final draft is written and presented
to the Commission Board. She gave a date by which all of this needed to be
completed by, but I cannot remember it at the moment. However, it was
emphasized that the Commission Board "absolutely has to pass" this policy at
the next Commission Board meeting.
 
I am honestly not quite sure what to do next as this issue has become a lot
more complicated than I ever imagined, and it appears as though most of what
I have to say or anything I write is automatically discounted without much
consideration. I have already revised one of their poorly written policies,
and I would rather not do it again. If any ideas on what we should do next
would greatly be appreciated.
 
Elizabeth
 
 		 	   		  
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