Government Upgrades Gallaudet's Rating but Will Monitor Concerns

Gallaudet University got an improved evaluation from the federal government, rising from last year's rating of "ineffective" to "adequate" this year, largely because of plans for more stringent monitoring by the Department of Education.

The Office of Management and Budget evaluation posted online Monday was critical of the District-based school for the deaf, noting that it had not improved its performance on key measures of student success, including chronically low graduation rates. And "the Department of Education has not evaluated the federally funded programs at Gallaudet to ensure that they are addressing the needs of their service population" and achieving results, the report concluded.

But President Robert Davila, who took over leadership of the university in January after a year of turmoil, said in an e-mail that he had a good meeting yesterday with Department of Education officials and is looking forward to working with them. The report includes a detailed improvement plan agreed upon by the department and Gallaudet.

"This is good news for Gallaudet University," Davila told the campus community yesterday, "but we accept criticisms of our programs that continue to be valid." Improving graduation rates is an important goal, he said, "and we will redouble our efforts to see that it happens."

Last February, the school was rated ineffective, with problems in the number of students staying in school, graduating, and finding jobs or continuing their education after Gallaudet, as well as a lack of oversight from the Department of Education. Graduation rates have limped along well below 50 percent.

The new report concluded that "Gallaudet failed to meet its goals or show adequate progress in key areas, including the number of students who stay in school, graduate, and either pursue graduate degrees or find jobs upon graduation."

But the department has created a plan for monitoring federally funded programs at Gallaudet, according to the report. More robust oversight began in December and will intensify in April when site visits begin, said John H. Hager, assistant secretary in the department's office of special education and rehabilitative services.

An additional $600,000 was requested for further monitoring of Gallaudet and its strategies to keep students in school and attain other goals.

Gallaudet gets nearly two-thirds of its funding from the federal government -- more than $100 million annually.

The five potential ratings are "effective," "moderately effective," "adequate," "ineffective," and "results not demonstrated." School officials asked for a reassessment last year, wanting to provide more data.

In the meantime, after a new president was named in May to replace longtime President I. King Jordan, protests erupted, bringing the school to a standstill. The unrest ended in October after the arrests of more than 130 protesters, a march on the U.S. Capitol and the termination of the incoming president's appointment.

Davila, a popular deaf leader who once held Hager's job, was named interim president. Yesterday he announced in a campus video message that protesters who had been arrested would face no further punishment. Some had been charged with violating the student code of conduct, and those cases, being handled by the Office of Judicial Affairs, will not result in any major punishment.