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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2006 Seeking Admissions Solace on the Net Justice Department Casts a Wide Net for Information Report Calls for More Accessibility for Government Web Sites SEEKING ADMISSIONS SOLACE ON THE NET Growing numbers of students are turning to Web sites--some commercial and some hosted by colleges and universities--that provide chat rooms, blog tools, and other online forums for aspirants to swap rumors and stories about the admissions process. Many observers believe such sites suffer from the rampant misinformation that plagues plenty of other online content. Moreover, they believe that despite the intention of the sites to smooth the application process--and the waiting game that follows--many users see their stress and anxiety worsen after using the sites. Applicants are routinely annoyed, for example, to hear from a student with worse grades who was accepted by a school that rejected them. Robert Massa, vice president of enrollment at Dickinson College, noted, "People need to realize that anybody can say anything on the Internet." Bari Meltzer Norman, operator of a site that offers admissions advice, characterized much of what happens in online chat rooms as "pure speculation" among applicants, suggesting that many of the comments she sees "should be directed at a knowledgeable college adviser" rather than at other students. Sally Rubenstone, editor of another admissions-advice site, said that often what students should do is go "to a movie or out for a jog and away from the keyboard and admissions angst." New York Times, 31 March 2006 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/31/education/31chatter.html JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CASTS A WIDE NET FOR INFORMATION Subpoenas obtained through the Freedom of Information Act indicate that the U.S. Justice Department is seeking Internet usage data from at least 35 companies in its efforts to defend the 1996 Child Online Protection Act (COPA) against court challenges. One of the subpoenas sparked a legal showdown between the government and Google, which challenged the request for millions of records of Internet searches. In that case, the government significantly scaled back its request, which the judge ruled was allowable. Other companies that received similar subpoenas are Comcast, EarthLink, AT&T, Cox Communications, Verizon Communications, Symantec, and other makers of computer security products. The Supreme Court has ruled twice that COPA is likely unconstitutional, and the government will go to trial in October to defend it. David McGuire, spokesman for the Center for Democracy and Technology, expressed concerns echoed by other critics that the government is seeking large amounts of information to defend a questionable law. Associated Press, 30 March 2006 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060331/ap_on_hi_te/internet_blocking REPORT CALLS FOR MORE ACCESSIBILITY FOR GOVERNMENT WEB SITES A study conducted by the University of Southampton indicates that a majority of government Web sites in the United Kingdom suffer from HTML errors and are designed in ways that restrict access to users with disabilities. According to the study, 60 percent of government sites contain errors, and 61 percent do not meet accessibility standards set by the World Wide Web Consortium. Adam Field, who oversaw the study and is with the School of Electronics and Computer Science at the university, said he was surprised at the number of HTML problems but somewhat encouraged that nearly 40 percent of sites did meet accessibility standards. HTML errors are relatively easy to fix, he said, but addressing the accessibility issues, which are more complicated, is more important. Field noted that users with disabilities are more likely than others to turn to the government for a variety of services; the government therefore has a greater obligation to make those services accessible over the Internet. BBC, 30 March 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4853000.stm ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your settings, or access the Edupage archive, visit http://www.educause.edu/Edupage/639 Or, you can subscribe or unsubscribe by sending e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To SUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SUBSCRIBE Edupage YourFirstName YourLastName To UNSUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SIGNOFF Edupage If you have subscription problems, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE RESOURCES The EDUCAUSE Resource Center is a repository for information concerning use and management of IT in higher education. 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