Breaking News!
UDC-CC CEO QUITS!
Why did CEO Gueverra flee UDC?
Facts you WON'T find in the City Paper:
May 1, 2012: UDC-CC: Jonathan Gueverra abruptly quit his job as CEO of the UDC Community College (UDC-CC).
News that Gueverra quit broke barely one week after UDC Student President-in-Exile Gabriel Ralte testified before the DC Council about UDC-CC student disenfranchisement.
Ms. Ralte provided documented evidence of false statements from UDC officials and a list of student grievances that UDC officials have refused to answer, more than six months after the DC Council asked UDC for answers (see "Oh, Snap," below).
Gueverra was quick to place blame on others for his unexpected abandonment of UDC.
According to the Washington City Paper, "Gueverra was so frustrated with the slow progress toward independence and the lack of a dedicated funding stream that he decided to leave."
- Why was there slow progress toward independence?
UDC officials have themselves to blame for the slow process of accreditation through the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). During DC Council hearings, UDC Trustee Askew admitted that UDC made errors in trying to rush accreditation.
Student President-in-Exile Ralte petitioned MSCHE to intervene after UDC to stripped UDC-CC students of their UDC voting rights during that rush. UDC tried to claim that UDC-CC students were not UDC students. MSCHE put on the brakes by forcing UDC to affirm that UDC-CC students are full UDC students. MSCHE also forced UDC to change the misleading name "CCDC" to "UDC-CC."(See UDC Re-United, below)
- Why was there a lack of a dedicated funding stream?
Again, UDC officials have themselves to blame. When UDC refused to answer student questions about disenfranchisement, students asked the DC Council to make new funding contingent on UDC finally answering student questions about the conduct of the UDC administration.
When UDC refuses to meet minimal standards of accountability, there is little the students can do. All they can do is go to the DC Council and MSCHE and ask them to hold UDC accountable.
MSCHE is right to slow independence until UDC changes its conduct toward students, and the DC Council is right to withhold extra funding until UDC meets minimum standards of accountability by answering student grievances and questions about administration conduct.
Gueverra took a parting shot at our DC Council. “If we’re going to place blame, we have to put it on the leaders of our city, because if you want something, you have to be able to put money behind it.”
Gueverra's blame is flat wrong! Gueverra and UDC President Sessoms have themselves to blame. If they really wanted extra funding from the DC Council:
- They should not have trampled student rights while creating UDC-CC.
- They should not have created the misleading name "CCDC."
- They should have met the minimal standards of accountability by answering student questions about administration conduct.
Does anyone really believe that the current UDC administration deserves extra taxpayer dollars when UDC spends over six months stonewalling a simple request from the DC Council to answer student questions and grievances?
Some people in power find it easier to hide from student questions. Some people in power find it easier to run away than answer student questions. Some people in power find it easier to cast blame than be accountable. But UDC officials have themselves to blame.
Thanks to the DC Council, UDC official finally will have to stop disrespecting the citizens of DC and answer the students' questions.
Unless they want to take Gueverra's easy way out.
Keep the pressure on! UDC students united to save UDC!
Email us: udccc@saveudc.com
Email the DC Council: mbrown@dccouncil.us
________________________________________
OH, SNAP!
UDC's “False Statements” to DC Council and Mayor Exposed by Student Leader
April 23, 2012, DC Council Hearings on UDC:
UDC students cheered as they watched the live testimony from Student Government "President-in-Exile" Gabriel Ralte. She delivered direct evidence of UDC's false and contradictory statements about student disenfranchisement and election irregularities at UDC.
Ms. Ralte turned over documents to the DC Council showing these discrepancies and a long list of unanswered student grievances. Councilmember Michael Brown promised to get answers. Students were very encouraged to see him actually grilling UDC administrators with questions right from UDC students!
Many UDC students know what it feels like for UDC to ignore their questions and complaints. Well, now the DC Council knows what it feels like, too. UDC has refused to provide the Council with answers to many of Ms. Ralte's questions for over six months. Where is UDC's respect for the DC Council and DC taxpayers?
When UDC invalidated Ms. Ralte's landslide election as Student President, UDC told the DC Council and DC Mayor Gray that "Gabriel Ralte was not a UDC student" because she was a Community College student (CCDC). But now UDC President Sessoms is telling the DC Council that "The University has never asserted that CCDC students are not UDC students." How does UDC explain that contradiction?
UDC's accrediting authority forced UDC to acknowledge that Community College students are UDC students after Ms. Ralte petition. So how could UDC take away Community College student voting rights for two semesters? How could divide UDC student government into two "separate and unequal" student governments without a vote of the UDC students, as required by UDC's Charter?
The UDC rules do not require Ms. Ralte to be a "flagship" student to run for student President, just a "UDC student". UDC admits that Community College students are UDC students. So how could UDC to invalidate the landslide election of UDC student Gabriel Ralte for being a Community College student?
UDC admits they made mistakes in their rush to break UDC into a "flagship" and a Community College. If UDC won't fix these mistakes on its own, the DC Council must make UDC fix them.
Thank you, Councilmember Brown, for doing what the Mayor and the Council have not been doing. By asking our questions, you are giving UDC students our voice again!
DC Council Testimony from UDC Student Gabriel Ralte:
___________________________
BREAKING NEWS!
UDC RE-UNITED!
OBAMA and M.S.C.H.E. force UDC to make changes WE petitioned for:
We won! After two long, bleak years as a University torn apart we are united again!
This is a complete repudiation of President Sessoms and the Trustees and a complete vindication of all students who did not give up the struggle but kept on working to SAVE UDC!
For over two years, UDC officials tried to divide and conquer UDC students by segregating us into a selective “Flagship” University where UDC students have rights under the original UDC Charter and a “separate and unequal” Community College, where UDC students do not.
But this week, UDC was forced to end their unjust claim that “CCDC students are not UDC students.” The Obama administration’s Department of Education and the Middle States Commission on Higher Education answered our prayers (and our petition!) by stopping those unfair practices. It took a long time, but in the end they gave us everything we asked for.
We won a decisive victory! But the real work is only beginning. Students will have to work hard to translate this victory into real changes on campus. Sessoms and the Trustees have a history of not doing the right thing until forced to. You can help keep the pressure on. Email us: udccc@saveudc.com
Where Were the Trustees, the Mayor and the DC Council?
UDC's injustice against us was clear to the Obama Department of Education and the MSCHE. Why wasn't it clear to the UDC Trustees? Or the Mayor? Or the DC Council? They should know a lot more about UDC. They should have re-unified UDC long before the Obama administration had to step in.
It's the job of the UDC Trustees and the DC Mayor and the DC Council to end injustice at UDC. We revealed a lot more about UDC inustice to the Trustees, the Mayor, the DC Council than we told MSCHE or the U.S. Department of Education.
UDC students, faculty, alumni, and community members petitiioned the UDC Trustees, we testified for hours before the DC Council, and talked directly to the Mayor and his aids. What did any of them do to end this injustice? What did any of them do to re-unify us?
More importantly, what will the UDC Trustees, Mayor and DC Council do about all the other kinds of injustice still ongoing at UDC? What will they do about the missing scholarships and all the students forced to leave after Sessoms doubled the tuition?
You can help by thanking the President of the United States and the Middle States Commission on Higher Education for re-unifying UDC.
You can tell the UDC Trustees, the DC Mayor, and the DC Council Chair that you expect a lot more from them about cleaning up past injustices at UDC and ending ongoing problems.
You can keep HOPING and working for CHANGE at UDC!
HERE'S THE PROOF THAT UDC PRESIDENT ALLEN SESSOMS WAS FORCED TO RE-UNIFY UDC!
___________________________________________________OLD NEWS:UDC TRUSTEES VOTED TO DOUBLE TUITION
On Friday, April 30, the UDC Board of Trustees voted to increase student tuition by 100% over two years, effective Fall 2009.
Only two trustees voted to save UDC.We are not surprised and we are not defeated. The struggle for UDC is only beginning. We will not give up on fighting the issues relevant to students, faculty and concerned citizens. Now the battleground shifts to the DC Council and the courts.The UDC Trustees and Dr. Sessoms have failed to vital answer questions from UDC students in order to force through their agenda without any independent review. We will continue to work with the DC Council to demand answers, to show the flaws in the Sessoms plan and to save UDC.Don't be fooled when Dr. Sessoms and the Trustees say their actions are in the best interest of the students and the future of UDC. Their actions are in the best interest of themselves and are to the detriment of the history and hard-fought dedication of the founders of UDC. Their plan is a threat to affordable, accessible higher education.You can help! We want to hear from students who are being negatively impacted by this unconscionable tuition increase.All students are invited to participate-International, Out of State, and Local students.We are here for you! Thank you for all your hard work and dedication in contacting Trustees and Councilmembers. There's a lot more to do. Stay tuned for more updates._________________________________________________________________________________TUNE IN as we spread the word about the important issues surrounding the fight to Save UDC. Watch "More Room on the Outside" hosted by UDC's own Toussaint Tingling-Clemmons.
Comcast: 95 & 96, RCN: 10 & 11. LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD
EMAIL the UDC Board of Trustees. Let them know they failed UDC students by doubling tuition and ending open enrollment at the four year university:
_________________________________________________________________________________
The UDC Trustees changed the date of their vote on President Sessoms' 100% tuition increase.
"The regularly scheduled Board of Trustees meeting has been moved from Tuesday, April 7, 2009 @ 3:30 p.m. to Thursday, April 30, 2009 @ 1:30 p.m."
Why would the Trustees move such an important meeting date? Could it be because the truth is coming out?
We say NO to any tuition increase and YES to increasing course and curriculum offerings.
We say YES to preserving open enrollment and YES to increasing student enrollment.
We say NO to a community college. First FIX UDC's crumbling buildings and put money into the classroom. Invest in students.
We say YES change is needed but NO to the hasty changes proposed by Dr. Sessoms and Chairman Dyke.
They say we need money to fix UDC's problems. WE say what happened to the money from the previous 40% tuition hike?
Did UDC's administrative leaders SQUANDER that money in a process lacking in oversight and transparency? Where is the accountability?
YOU can stop this madness. Power is with the people.
LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD ON THESE ISSUES!
Use the DC City Council information below to email, call, fax or visit the Council. It is within their power to slow down and thoroughly examine Dr. Sessoms' poorly thought out plan for UDC.
Tell them to support the UDC Admissions Requirement Act of 2009, submitted by Councilmember Marion Barry. This legislation will put a temporary moratorium on any tuition increase, keep open enrollment and provide a thorough examination of Dr. Sessoms' plans for UDC.
Thank you,
Team OSUDC
Vincent C. Gray, Council Chairman, Suite: 504
Tel: (202) 724-8032
Fax: (202) 724-8085
David A. Catania, Councilmember (At-Large) Suite: 404
Tel: (202) 724-7772
Fax: (202) 724-8087
Kwame R. Brown, Councilmember (At-Large) Suite: 506
Tel: (202) 724-8174
Fax: (202) 724-8156
Phil Mendelson, Councilmember (At-Large) Suite: 402
Tel: (202) 724-8064
Fax: (202) 724-8099
Michael A. Brown, Councilmember (At-Large) Suite: 406
Tel: (202) 724-8105
Fax: (202) 724-8071
Jim Graham, Councilmember (Ward 1) Suite: 105
Tel: (202) 724-8181
Fax: (202) 724-8109
Jack Evans, Councilmember (Ward 2) Suite: 106
Tel: (202) 724-8058
Fax: (202) 727-8023
Mary M. Cheh, Councilmember (Ward 3) Suite: 108
Tel: (202) 724-8062
Fax: (202) 724-8118
Muriel Bowser, Councilmember (Ward 4) Suite: 110
Tel: (202) 724-8052
Fax: (202) 741-0908
Harry Thomas, Jr., Councilmember (Ward 5) Suite: 107
Tel: (202) 724-8028
Fax: (202) 724-8076
Tommy Wells, Councilmember (Ward 6) Suite: 408
Tel: (202) 724-8072
Fax: (202) 724-8054
Yvette M. Alexander, Councilmember (Ward 7) Suite: 400
Tel: (202) 724-8068
Fax: (202) 741-0911
Marion Barry, Councilmember (Ward 8) Suite: 102
Tel: (202) 724-8045
Fax: (202) 724-8055
Click here to find the Councilmember for your area
Tell the DC Council:
Remind the DC Council:
Operation: Save UDC can also sign you up to speak before the DC Council. Email your name and contact info to saveudc@gmail.com
THE DC COUNCIL HAS THE POWER TO SAVE UDC!
But they will only Save UDC if you tell them to!
DC Council Update: March 26, 2009
Dear Supporters:
The tide is truly turning in our direction. Today’s City Council Budget hearing was simply amazing. After hours of testimony from many students, faculty, staff and community members about the problems with UDC's budget changes, UDC president Dr. Allen Sessoms and UDC Trustee Chairman Dyke were called to testify. What they were forced to reveal was beyond belief.
Chairman Gray asked a simple question about the Fund Balance and the $23 million dollars expected in revenue for the FY10 budget. Well, the administration, including Dr. Sessoms, Chairman Dyke, the CFO, two assistants and another staffer could not directly answer the question that was put to them by Chairman Gray.
They fumbled and fumbled and even countered each other’s testimony by giving different answers to the question for the breakdown of the $23 million dollars.
What was revealed? Instead of splitting the revenue from the tuition over two years, the administration put it all in the Fund Balance for revenues to be collected in ONE year. The Board of Trustees had voted on a policy to divide the 100% tuition increase over two years, but the Fund Balance did not reflect that and therefore it did not tell the truth about revenues.
It took over 15 minutes for the administration to be forced to admit the mistake. Chairman Gray grew visibly frustrated, insisting “I want the numbers now!”
At one point Chairman Gray said, “Why are you all looking around at each other when you should have had this information ready before you got here? You should have known I was going to ask you about this fund. This is a significant amount of money. This is the moment of truth.”
In the end, Dr. Sessoms and Dr. Dyke failed to provide accurate numbers, so Chairman Gray said, “I am going to recess this hearing and schedule a time when you are ready.”
The Budget Hearing was suspended until an announced date.
Furthermore, President Sessoms announced further concessions that Operation: Save UDC has been calling for. The application fee will no longer be $75, but $35. Early Childhood and Special Education will be added back to the baccalaureate program.
These are significant wins, folks. Now is the time to put pressure on the administration. This shows that the administration truly does not have a comprehensive plan for what they want changed in the university. All this talk about change and the change comes with a broken promise for the future. We cannot accept this mismanagement.
If the administration and Board can’t even manage to explain $23 million in a fund balance then they definitely cannot handle our tuition increase.
We cannot accept the proposal and must advance our cause to remove this president and push for a new Chairman who can deliver accountability and proper oversight.
Today’s hearing was an absolute embarrassment for the University and certainly embarrassing for the new president and Chairman, who continue to defy the will of the students and stakeholders.
Let’s continue to put the pressure on. Keep calling and emailing the DC Council and the Mayor (details below). More information will be forthcoming on how you can help. For now, please stay glued to www.saveudc.com. We are turning up the Heat!!!
William Kellibrew on behalf of Operation Save UDC
IT'S WORKING!
_________________________________________________________
On March 12, you asked the DC Council to Save UDC.
DC Council Update: March 12, 2009
The Council applied some much-needed oversight and accountability to President Sessoms and the Trustees.
- Thank you to Chairman Gray and the Council for hearing us.
- Thank you for pointing out the serious issues with the Sessoms plan.
- Thank you for getting some real answers.
- Thank you for extracting commitments, including the new commitment to "grandfather" in all current UDC students at current tuition rates.
- Thank you for being "concerned," "skeptical," and "dubious." We share your concerns, and we'll work with you to make sure their words turn into deeds.
- And thank you to the students, faculty and community members who called and emailed the Council, emailed us to testify before the Committee, and showed up to support SAVING UDC. You made a difference!
YES YOU DID!
And we're just getting started.
______________________________________________________________
Dear Students, Faculty, and Community Members,
Thank you so much for your support.
DC Council members say they have been overwhelmed by the number of calls and emails asking them to SAVE UDC from the Sessoms plan. Great work! Keep up the calls and emails. They are working, but we need more!
We are also moving forward with some exciting new legal developments and discoveries. We’ll make more details available soon. Stay tuned!
UDC’s real problems were not caused by low tuition and open enrollment. They won’t be fixed by doubling tuition and ending open enrollment at the four year school. Fix UDC’s real problems!
Our membership continues to grow and as more people learn:
Sessoms’ plan “makes little sense” (The Washington Post)
Sessoms’ history of misleading university Trustees about millions of dollars (The New York Times)
Keep up the calls and emails to Council members and Mayor Fenty. Keep up the pressure! The tide is turning!
Sincerely,
Your Friends at Operation: Save UDC
The Fight to Stop Sessoms is Just Beginning
Dear Firebirds:
We cannot be more proud of you today. Your display of solidarity in a time when our education and institution is under attack is commendable. The Board of Trustees, under the leadership of Chairman James Dyke, voted in favor of Dr. Sessoms' tuition increase and other changes, but our challenges are not over. We must see these challenges as an opportunity to make changes that we would like to see instituted in our university.
We have only witnessed Phase I of a battle that will loom on this semester. Dr. Sessoms reevaluated his decision to change the tuition increase from 100% in the fall to 100% over the next two years. Sure, we can claim victory for bringing attention to this unprecedented tuition hike, but we should not accept this increase either. We must step up and increase our activism and civic engagement to meet our needs as students.
So, let's organize ourselves. Join Operation Save UDC as we move forward with a plan of action to battle this increase until the very end. Our battle has simply just begun.
If you would like to get involved to assist in Phase II, email: saveudc@gmail.com and keep checking in here at www.saveudc.com. We are immediately searching for volunteers to help with some research. If that's you, let us know. We need your help to help yourselves.
A huge thank you to all of those who supported this operation through the Board of Trustees vote. We must team up with alumni, staff, faculty and students who share a vision of accountability, transparency and teamwork with respect to the operation and future of our university.
Sincerely,
William Kellibrew IV, on behalf of the entire Operation Save UDC Team
SESSOMS PLAN SLASHED!
STUDENTS ARE SAVING UDC
In a stunning turnaround, UDC President Sessoms slashed BY HALF his proposed 100% tuition increase for the 2009-10 school year.
This radical surgery followed an overwhelming groundswell of opposition to his proposal. UDC students turned out in massive numbers to reject the proposal by protesting, petitioning, speaking out and camping out.
Why such drastic changes barely 24 hours before the Trustees’ vote?
Dr. Sessoms would have you believe it’s because of President Obama.
Yes, President Sessoms is actually claiming that the successful passage of Obama’s Stimulus Bill, saying it “provides UDC with sufficient new operating resources that we can now phase in the proposed tuition increase over the next two academic years.” This is transparently false.
Nothing relevant changed in the Stimulus Bill changed since February 11, when Dr. Sessoms used the Stimulus Bill as an example of why the full 100% increase was necessary this fall. But now Dr. Sessoms is using the SAME Stimulus Bill is an example of why this fall's increase should be only 50%.
Does Dr. Sessoms truly believe that UDC students and the Trustees and the DC Council will fall for that? Or is this patently absurd claim one last, desperate attempt to distract attention from the way that the plan has crumbled when exposed to the light of day?
From the beginning, it’s been obvious to the UDC family that this tuition increase has lacked proper planning, transparency and accountability. Dr. Sessoms has attempted to use students as a scapegoat for the University’s poor fiscal planning and financial mismanagement.
The revised proposal does nothing to address these concerns. To call for the same increase over a two year period adds insult to injury and shows that the President's plan is flawed.
Read the UDC press release about the slashed plan.
Dr. Sessoms answered student questions about his plan only after we publicized his delays. But vital questions remain unanswered.
Marathon question-answering session over the weekend STILL leaves many questions unanswered. "Summary Responses" fail to address the specific questions.
Sample Unanswered Question: "When will the changes take place?"
Sample Incomplete Answer: "We are seeking to clarify and create policy and procedures for merit versus need-based support for international students."
The lack of responsive answers still earns a FAILING GRADE two days before the Trustee's vote on the Sessoms Plan. It is NOT ready for a vote.
"Nay to the University of the District of Columbia for a wholesale strategy shift that puts the cart way before the horse. If UDC's goal is to improve to such a point that students would be willing to pay big money to go there, then the first thing the school needs to do is address its poor quality instruction and lousy record of graduating students. To jack up fees and impose admission standards first makes little sense: Is there any evidence that there's a population of students clamoring to pay market rates for a UDC degree?"
-Marc Fisher, Potomac Confidential, The Washington Post, February 12, 2009
____________________________________________
Dr. Sessoms wants to double UDC tuition this Fall.
(Note: There's a typo on the petition site. The first time the petition site mentions the proposed tuition increase it correctly calls it a "100% tuition increase" but the second time it calls it a "$100 increase." Oops! Our bad.)
____________________________________________
- Email the Trustees to tell them they made a mistake by voting for Sessoms' tuition increase:
- Honorable James Webster Dyke Jr. (1/18/2005-5/15/2009) jdyke@mcguirewoods.com
- Mary C. Thompson (3/21/2006-5/15/2010) mct1006strout@aol.com
- Emily Frances Durso (3/21/2006-5/15/2008) Emily@hawdc.com
- Gerald B. Lang (1/17/2006-5/15/2008) GeraldBLang@aol.com
- Leo V. Williams (1/17/2006-5/15/2009) LWilliams@medifastdiet.com
- Rita J. Kirshstein (1/18/2005-5/15/2008) rkirshstein@air.org
- J. Fernando Barrueta (1/18/2005-5/15/2009) fernbarrueta@hispanicfund.org
- Donald Newton Langenberg (7/31/2003-5/15/2008) dnl@usmd.edu
- Verle Hammond (1/17/2006-5/15/2010) vhammond@innolog.com
- Kim M. Keenan (7/19/2004-5/15/2009) keenankim80@gmail.com
(Name, Years as Trustee, email address)
- Email these three Trustees and congratulate them for voting to SAVE UDC!
- Joseph L. Askew (3/21/2006-5/15/2010) askewaskewaskew@yahoo.com *
- Dale Lyons - Student Trustee - dlyons@udc.edu or dale.lyons@udc.edu
- Eugene Dewitt Kinlow (3/21/2006-5/15/2010) kinlow@aol.com
- Operation Save UDC's Goals:
- The DC Government stops the Sessoms plan.
- Dr. Sessoms resigns as President of UDC.
- The mayor replaces the expired Trustees with people who care about open admissions and know that a 100% tuition increase is bad policy.
- The UDC President and Trustees develop a new proposal with the involvement of all the stakeholders, including student leaders, students at-large, alumni, faculty, administration and the community.
- Get informed:
Maybe doesn't want us to realize that both UDC and Howard will charge International Students the same amount-- about $14,000 a year. So why would they stay at UDC when they can pay the same at Howard?
Updated post: Feb 16, 2009
It appears that Dr. Sessoms has finally decided to provide answers to some student questions, the DAY AFTER Operation: Save UDC publicized his failure to answer questions about his plan.
Many answers appeared over the weekend. But many questions are STILL not answered. Will they all be answered before the vote? Only if students keep the pressure on!
YOU are getting results in enforcing UDC accountability!
- Help Save UDC:
- Volunteer! Email us!
- Contact the DC Council
- Contact the DC Mayor
- Write letters to newspapers and TV news
DOES THIS TUITION INCREASE HARM YOUR EDUCATION?
If you won't be able to attend UDC this fall due to the 100% tuition increase, we need to know! You can help save UDC!
Contact: saveudc@gmail.com
Phase I of Operation: Save UDC succeeded in three ways:
- We focused international attention on UDC's bad plan.
- We brought together students, faculty and the community and we galvanized opposition to the plan.
- We made Sessoms break up his plan from a 100% increase to two 50% increases over two years.
Now we need to save UDC at the DC government level.
PHASE II BEGINS NOW
Letter to UDC students from William Kellibrew IV, February 18, 2009
Quotes from Dr. Sessoms:
- "...the only people who benefit from open admissions are poor people and poor people don't vote."
"[Expletive] in, [expletive] out. If you take in [expletive] and turn out [expletive] that is slightly more literate, you're still left with [expletive]."
--From the "Report of the Commission on the Future of CUNY" by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Part I, Remediation and Access: To Educate the "Children of the Whole People"
http://www.nycbar.org/Publications/reports/show_html.php?rid=47