Don McCubbrey's Blog

New Classroom Teaching Case on CBMS is Published

Professor Cindi Fukami and I just had a our third teaching case on CBMS published.  Its title is:

"Colorado Benefits Management System (C): Seven Years of Failure"

 Here's the abstract:

"In September 2004, the State of Colorado implemented a large information system it called the Colorado Benefits Management System (CBMS). Its purpose was to replace six aging legacy systems supporting various state-administered welfare programs with a single system using current technologies. The expected benefits from CBMS were better service to clients and assurance that the state‘s welfare programs were being administered properly.

The conversion was a disaster, and, as of early 2011, CBMS is still not working properly. Since 2004, there have been a series of promises and attempts under two separate administrations to fix CBMS so that it meets performance requirements. Nothing has worked.

This case chronicles events since late 2006 until early 2011. It lays the groundwork for class discussion of how and why public sector managers could fail to focus on fixing the problems with CBMS for almost seven years, and now will simply kick the can down the road to the new administration that took office in January 2011."

Here's the recommended citation:  

"Fukami, Cindi and McCubbrey, Donald J. (2011) "Colorado Benefits Management System (C): Seven Years of Failure, Communications of the Association for Information Systems: Vol. 29, Article 5.Available at: http://aisel.aisnet.org/cais/vol29/iss1/5"

For readers who are not academics, teaching cases are used in university classrooms to introduce students to problems faced by managers.  Students typically study the case before participaing in a classroom discussion.    When a case is followed by an update, the update is titled as the B case.  It is unusal to have a C case, but CBMS has one;  this one. 

Case writers also prepare a teaching note, available only to instructors, with suggested outlines and questions for facilitating the classroom discussion.  In the teaching note for the CBMS C case, the last question we suggest that instructors ask their students is:  "Do you think there will be a D case?"

 

 

 

Lawsuit for damages filed in child's death

On February 15, 2010, I posted a brief summary and link to the Denver Post story of the death of 9 year old Zumante Lucero who died because his mother, Zuton Lucero-Mills, was unable to get approval for his asthma medication.  She just filed a lawsuit for damages against the city and county of Denver according to Allison Sherry's story in today's Denver Post.

Here's a quote from the story: 

"Zuton Lucero-Mills said she called Denver County Human Services several times a week in the spring and summer of 2009 after she tried to get 9-year-old son Zumante's asthma medications at Walgreens and was told he wasn't eligible for Medicaid.  No one resolved the computer glitch. Most of Lucero-Mills' calls weren't returned."

And more:  "Lucero-Mills repeatedly tried to fill prescriptions at Walgreens.  The county automatically generated paperwork after her continual calls and sent it to the family's home. It verified Zumante qualified for Medicaid — yet pharmacists said he wasn't in the system".

"Can it really be acceptable that in government, no one answers the phone?" said John Holland, one of Lucero-Mills' attorneys. "Who is responsible for nothing happening? Is it nobody? Is it God? Is it a computer? Or is it the people who didn't act?"

"At the time the Denver Post published the first story of Lucero-Mills' loss, Denver County Human Services called it a "tragedy" and ordered a review of call-center responsiveness.  On Wednesday, Human Services declined to comment on the pending litigation, citing department policy".

My post in 2010 was entitled "The Saddest Colorado Benefits Management Story Yet". Can you imagine the anguish Zumante's mother went through trying and trying to get someone to untangle the computer glitches and get his prescription approved while all the time watching his condition deteriorate until he finally died?   As I said at the time, this has to be the saddest story in the long history one of the worst botched-up computer systems ever.  I'm glad a lawsuit has been filed.  I imagine a jury will have no trouble deciding on who deserves justice in this case.

Oh, and by the way, I wonder if anyone associated with Human Services has put procedures in place to assure that another tragedy like this one never happens again. 

More on the Federal Audit of CBMS

A more detailed summary of the findings of the Federal audit of CBMS was published on July 8th in a newsletter of the Colorado Center on Law and Policy (CCLP).  You've heard me laud the pro-bono work that prominent Denver attorney, Ed Kahn, has been performing over the years in collaboration with CCLP.  

Take a look at their newsletter.

Colorado computer benefits system cited in federal audit

Actually, the headline  of Michael Booth's article in today's Denver Post says "Colorado computer benefits systems cited in federal audit for "serious," ongoing problems.  (I knew CBMS would not let me down by not generating more bad news for the blog.   I just didn't think it would be this soon after my last post.) 

Well, the bad (but not new) news is that, according to the article, CBMS "failed eight different tests in a federal review released late Wednesday, with auditors pointing to new "serious" problems while saying past failures are "nearly the same" despite five years of fixes."  Actually, the auditors' arithmetic is wrong.  CBMS will have had seven years of serious problems come September 1, 2011.  

The article concludes by saying that "auditors ordered the state to detail a number of fixes within 60 days of their report, including how it will stop denying benefits to people while gathering documentation for their applications."

Don't hold your breath.

 

 

 

A Third Case on CBMS Will be Published Soon

Sorry for being silent for awhile.  Spring quarter was pretty busy at DU, but now summer is here and my schedule has freed up quite a bit.  There's a few interesting things things on my agenda looking forward and I plan to post at least once a week from now on.

For now, I just want to tell you that my colleague, Cindi Fukami, and I recently had our third teaching case on CBMS accepted for publication in the Communications of the Association for Information Systems.  Entitled "Colorado Benefits Management System (C):  The Problem That Won’t Go Away", it covers the status of CBMS up to early 2011.  We published our first case covering the botched conversion of CBMS in September of 2004, and the second case chronically its continuing problems as of the middle of 2006. 

The way teaching cases work, if there is a follow-on case on the same topic, it's called the B case and if there is another it's called the C case and so on.  Each case has a teaching note, available only to profs, that offers guidelines for structuring a class discussion.  At the close of the teaching note for our latest case, which focuses on the problems and inept attempts to correct them from mid-2006 until 2011, we ask the students to ponder this question:  "Will there be a D case?"

If you'd like to see any of the cases, please send me an email at Don.McCubbrey@du.edu and I'll forward a copy to you.

Re: CBMS as of March 1, 2011. Maybe, just maybe........

Maybe there’s some cause for optimism.  Personally, I think Governor Hickenlooper understands that CBMS must be fixed and will see that it finally gets done.  Cross your fingers (and stay tuned).

 From two of Michael Booth’s recent articles in the Denver Post:  

 February 26, 2011:

“State officials agreed Friday to sharply boost performance of the much-maligned Colorado Benefits Management System by 2013, heading off for now a contempt of court request by legal advocates for the poor.

Gov. John Hickenlooper's office announced late in the day that state Medicaid officials had signed a written agreement with the legal advocates, promising to improve the recent abysmal performance of the benefits system. Requests for contempt of court last fall showed the system delaying benefits applications and requalifications more than 70 percent of the time in some categories”.

Read more at: Colorado sidelines contempt request over problems with state's computer benefits system - The Denver Post

 February 24, 2011:

Fixing the broken benefits system in Colorado is a "very high priority" for Gov. John Hickenlooper, his chief of staff said Wednesday, even as federal officials said potential fines remain on the table and Denver acknowledged an enormous backlog in aid casework.

"We've got to get a system that works for the counties and for the states and, more importantly, works for clients," said Hickenlooper chief of staff Roxane White, who was previously Hickenlooper's director of human services in Denver.

Read more: Gov. Hickenlooper puts priority on ending backlog in computer benefits system - The Denver Post

 And from the Editorial Page on February 18:

Editorial: Why is CBMS still such a mess?

Gov. Hickenlooper needs to make fixing the state's benefits computer a priority as it's hurting our most vulnerable people.

Read more: Editorial: Why is CBMS still such a mess? - The Denver Post

 

 

 

 

Well, OK, it's been awhile, but CBMS is still a disaster!

I know, I know, I haven't posted in awhile, but I promise to get back at it. 

In preparing for class tomorrow, I wanted to retrieve a news story on the current status of CBMS.  I give my undergraduate students a synopsis of the two larger cases Cindi Fukami and I published for graduate students.  Basically, it asks them whether or not CBMS should have gone "live" on September 1, 2004 with all of the evidence around that it was not ready for prime time.  I've used the synopsis in undergrad classes for years now, and students cannot believe that such an important computer system could be broken for so many years.  It's a real eye-opener for them and recalling it will keep them out of trouble when, sometime in their careers, they will be a non-technical manager serving as exceutive sponsor for an IS project.

I'll finish the discussion with the most current status report on CBMS from the Denver Post on January 23, 2011 (below) and watch my student's jaws drop in bisbelief.

"Massive delays continue to plague the state benefits system for Medicaid, food stamps and other assistance, obstructing hundreds of thousands of residents and prompting a new contempt of court call by legal advocates for the poor.

"In some categories, the roadblocks have worsened despite years of attempted fixes. Tens of thousands of clients a month are suffering illegal delays on 71 percent of Child Health Plan Plus re-enrollments and 44 percent of initial adult Medicaid applications, the contempt filings claim.

"With state and county caseloads bulging from the recession, the delays affected more than 248,000 people seeking to start or extend medical benefits in an 18-month period from 2009 to mid-2010.

Click on image to enlarge (The Denver Post)

"While applicants may eventually receive back benefits, they miss vital food aid during the gaps and watch doctors, clinics and pharmacies refuse them care for lack of insurance.

"They've regressed," said Ed Kahn of the Colorado Center on Law and Policy, a party to the lawsuit against the state dating to 2004. In rulings and negotiations since then, the state has been required to improve the system performance or face sanctions.

"Legal advocates fear further breakdowns in the system as 300,000 more Coloradans become eligible for medical assistance through new programs taking effect by 2014.

"It's pretty obvious the current system is not able to handle the expansion," Kahn said.

Read more: Needy still suffering from persistent delays in state's benefits system - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_17171568#ixzz1DCQkVNMv
Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse

 

 

 

No Wonder We're Sick

Sorry to have been gone for awhile.  It's summer (and the livin' is easy..........as the old song goes).  I'll try get more active from now on.  There's a lot going on.

But first, I have been watching a bit more TV than usual (starting with the World Cup as discussed in my last post).  I noticed there are a ton of ads on TV for pharmaceuticals.  Many of them are for ailments I've never heard of and most of them require a doctor's prescription.  The ads tell you ask your doctor about Zylgist or something.  Poor docs, as if they don't have enough to do already.

At any rate, I decided to make a list of  them.  Here's what I came up with in about two and a half hours of prime time TV (mostly the national news) over a two week period:

• Ablify
• Advair
• Caltrate
• Cialis
• Citrical
• Dulcolax
• Gas-X
• Lunesta
• Mucilax
• Nexium
• Novartis
• Omnaris
• Onglyza
• Plavix
• Prevacid
• Prilosec OTC
• Reclast
• Restasis
• Spiriva
• Toviaz
• Zantac
• Zegerid

Kind of scary.  Never used to be this way.  Is this why drug costs are so high?

International News

Wow.  I can't believe I haven't posted anything since April 28th.  Shows you how busy I've been.  Classes are finished and after winding down I've been chilling out a wee bit.  Feels good.  Here's a couple of posts in the "who knows what else category":

I've been watching many of the World Cup games.  I became a fan of the World Cup in 1982 when I was working in Latin America.  I have some clear memories of that time.  First, it seemed seemed that every country I went to had youngsters playing futbol on dusty fields, whether I was in Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador or Peru.  In Lima, a US audit partner in Arthur Andersen's office there had to take his six year old daughter into the ER with a badly bleeding (but ultimately not serious) scalp wound.  He went nuts trying to get the ER docs and nurses to break away from the TV on which they were watching Peru's national team play.  Finally had to make a scene to get them to attend to his daughter.

Later, Mike Guheen, a US consulting partner running the Bogota office and I were in New Orleans for a conference on the final day of the '82 World Cup.  Italy won.  We happened to wander into a high-end luggage store owned by an Italian.  When I congratulated him on Italy's victory earlier that day, he was so delighted to encounter a couple of Americans who were even aware that there was such a thing as a World Cup that he gave me 50% off on a fine leather briefcase.  I still have it.

This year, The US started off in Group A, along with Algeria, England, and Slovenia.  As of this writing, the two winners of Group A have not been determined.  Most of you know that I know Slovenia very well, having been there over 20 times, mostly for Professor Joze Gricar's annual EC Conferences.  It is also where I earned my PhD and, as far as I know, I am still the only American with a PhD from the University of Maribor.  I was in the country in 1991, and left eight days before Slovenia declared its independence, which was followed by skirmishes with the Yugoslav Federal Army.  The war did not last long as the Slovenes were very well-prepared and the Yugoslav Army soon pulled out.  You know what happened next.

There were a lot of jokes about the US playing the Slovenes, but they were made by yoyos who were not familiar with this small (2 million citizens) but highly talented country.  One sportscaster even said Slovenia (he had never heard of it) sounded like a new prescription drug.

Once morel, you know what happened next.  The Slovenes were well-prepared, as I knew they would be.  They led the US 2-nil at the half.  The US came back in the second half, tied the score at 2 all, and then had the winning goal called back by a dim-witted referee.  In any event, it was a great match, and now lots of Americans know about Slovenia.  I hope Slovenia and the US both advance to the second round.

One more short international item.  The new president of Nigeria is named "Goodluck Jonathan".  That's right, Goodluck Jonathan.  I think it is the neatest name for a president I have ever seen.  Lots of luck, President Goodluck!

CBMS on National Public Radio

An NPR piece was broadcast Friday morning, April 23 about food stamps and CBMS. It's worth a listen:

 

http://www.kcfr.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=94&Itemid=234&target_pg=com_search&kword_comatters=newsfeature&stype_comatters=and#load_article|Waiting_for_Food_Stamps2

 

Should Textbook Authors Keep Royalties from Books Sold to Their Own Students?

Well, maybe.  But according to this article by Jack Stripling from Inside Higher Ed on April 7, 2010, a number of universities say it's an ethical breach or at least a conflict of interest. Here's a link to the full article:

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/04/07/textbook

Here's a quote from the opening paragraph:  "No one likes rising textbook prices, but the bills may be even more painful to pay when it looks like a professor is cashing in on students. That's the sentiment at George Mason University, where students are grumbling about a professor who requires students to buy a book she helped to write, highlighting an ongoing debate about faculty profiting off their pupils".

Some university administrations  ban the practice altogether.  In other cases faculty senates have banned or strongly discouraged faculty from profiting directly from their students.  At least one author in the article was quoted as saying such practices were "ridiculous".

"Ridiculous or not", the article goes on to say, "some universities have adopted far-reaching policies in recent years that are designed to ensure conflicts of interest don’t arise from textbook assignments. At the University of Kansas, for instance, professors are required to donate any royalties made off their students to their departments, schools, scholarship funds or other nonprofit groups. It is up to faculty, however, to calculate the royalties they believe came from their classes and make the requisite donations.

"Lisa Wolf-Wendel, Faculty Senate president at Kansas, said the textbook policy strikes the right balance between encouraging ethical behavior and not being heavy-handed with faculty who are encouraged to publish.

“I think this is sort of the most honorable way to do it,” said Wolf-Wendel, a professor of higher education. “There’s sort of an ethic to it that feels right to me. It’s an on-your-honor thing, so you decide how much profit you get back.”

I agree.

More on CBMS

Under Allison Sherry's byline, the following story appeared in the March 3 issue of the Denver Post:

"Paperwork maze endangering Colorado Medicaid patients" 

You can access the full story at http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_14502853

Here's an excerpt:

"Last summer, a 9-year-old Denver boy died after his mother was unable to fill his asthma medication prescription because the computer inexplicably said he was not covered by Medicaid. Zuton Lucero says she called the Denver County Human Services call center every three days. The county generated reports verifying that her son, Zumante, qualified for Medicaid — yet pharmacists said he wasn't in the system.
The boy still had an inhaler and nebulizer, but being without Advair was creating a life-threatening situation that his mother didn't recognize until it was too late.

"A band of legal advocates is pressing the state to not only answer for Zumante Lucero's death but also probe the computer problems or human mistakes that are disrupting Medicaid eligibility.

Denver Human Services called the boy's death a tragedy. County workers are in the middle of a "business review" of call-center responsiveness, including spring and summer 2009, the time of Zumante's sickness and death.

"The Colorado Attorney General's office has asked for more time to respond to the Lucero matter because of the complex computer programs responsible for Medicaid eligibility and enrollment".

The Colorado benefits Management System was converted on September 1, 2004 over the objections of the user community and with the promise of a fall back plan in case it didn't function properly.  It is still not functioning properly as we approach the sixth anniversary of the original conversion.  I've been in the IS world for much longer than you have as a consultant and an academic and I have seen and heard about many, many, systems failures. However, I've never heard of one that has stumbled along for almost six years.  Has anyone else?  Is this a record?

Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_14502853#ixzz0hoVfElDX

Is Amazon Evil?

Well, Mike Littwin the Denver Post columnist thinks they are.  See http://www.denverpost.com/littwin/ci_14644174?source=rsshomecol, and maybe they are. 

At the very least, I think they showed poor business judgment in "firing" Amazon affiliates in Colorado because the State passed a law requiring (according to Littwin), "companies like Amazon to send to its Colorado customers a list of what they've spent during a year and a reminder that the customer owes a use tax. It also sends a dollar figure to the state. Amazon would not be a tax collector. It would be a tax nudger.

"The idea was to persuade Amazon it would be easier just to collect the tax than to keep all those records. But Amazon had a different idea: Call the lawyers and then go all medieval on the affiliates, who would pressure the legislators.

"The stakes are large. And the reaction was not unexpected. Amazon had fired its affiliates in Rhode Island and North Carolina. It threatened to do the same in Colorado, which is why the legislators passed a law that wasn't based on affiliates".

Mike also said that "it turns out that Amazon is evil. And now that Amazon has fired all its Colorado affiliates — mostly mom-and-pop outfits, and who can resist an outfit with a mom or a pop? — I find I have no choice.

"In a sales-tax war between Amazon and the Colorado legislature, Amazon has dropped the big one on the innocent affiliates, who have done absolutely nothing wrong except get caught in the crossfire.
No one seems sure exactly why Amazon fired its Colorado affiliates — people who, after all, send business Amazon's way — unless it was simply to enjoy watching the ensuing chaos. Amazon has done something like this before. That's why, before passing the new law, Colorado legislators specifically exempted affiliates from the battlefield".

Evil, poor business judgment, or dumb?  In the end, I guess I vote for dumb.  I expected better from Amazon.

Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/littwin/ci_14644174?source=rsshomecol#ixzz0hoQtxqbK

The Saddest Colorado Benefits Management Systems Story Yet

Denver boy, 9, died after state-benefits error denied him asthma medication
By Allison Sherry
The Denver Post

Zuton Lucero, with her daughter Ashantay, 8, holds a picture of her 9-year-old son, Zumante, who died of asthma in July after a state-benefits error denied him his prescription coverage. (Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post).  A Montbello mother says her 9-year-old son's death from severe asthma could have been prevented had Denver Human Services resolved problems with his Medicaid pharmacy benefits.
Zuton Lucero said she called Human Services every three days for months last year when she was suddenly unable to get prescription drugs for her son, Zumante.

Read the rest of the story and see just how bad it can get for people impacted by the Colorado Benefits Management System.

The Post's Editors Chime in on CBMS

Here's what they said in the lead editorial on February 3, 2010:

EDITORIAL
Still lagging on state welfare system

Five years after Colorado launched an expensive computerized benefits system, the state is still struggling with problems and far too many needy people are still waiting unreasonably long stretches before getting aid.  The problems with processing applications for food stamps and Medicaid have spanned the administrations of two governors and were the subject of a lawsuit against Colorado.
State officials, who have been working hard to untangle computer and process problems, promise the situation will get much better by summer.  We plan to hold them to it.

William Browning, director of Colorado Benefits Management System, and Mike Locatis, the state's chief information officer, promise that significant system improvements are in the offing that will be game-changers.  We look forward to seeing their implementation.

There is no doubt they inherited a mess, and they've made some positive changes. But it is also clear that they must do better for Coloradans struggling in this foundering economy, and they know it. Locatis and Browning told us Tuesday that improvements slated to take effect in coming weeks and months will significantly reduce application processing time.

We hope so, because the state cannot expect to continue to fail so miserably in providing timely service.
It is unacceptable, for instance, that in October 2009, 28 percent of expedited requests for food stamps in Colorado exceeded processing time frames agreed upon in a lawsuit settlement. We're talking about emergency aid for broke, needy people.

A story in Monday's Denver Post by reporter Allison Sherry said about half the food-stamp reauthorization requests statewide are late in being processed. Those applicants are supposed to get benefits no later than one month after their last food-stamp allotment.

Advocates for the poor, who have held the state accountable for processing delays, are scheduled to meet with the state today to discuss the situation.

They have warned officials at the state Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, along with the Department of Human Services, that they believe Colorado is out of compliance with a settlement of a 2004 lawsuit over delivery of benefits.  It's apparent the state has been working on the issue — but working on it and resolving it are two different matters.

We realize the administration of Gov. Bill Ritter inherited a host of computer problems, but even as he prepares to leave office in a year, having chosen not to run for re-election, it seems the problems will remain for the next governor to fully solve.  And Coloradans must demand that of their government.
The time has come for the state to register significant improvements in timely delivery of benefits. We look forward to seeing the promised progress.


Right.  "Working on it and resolving it are two different matters."  It's been broken for going on to six years, after all.  If anyone out there is aware of a computer system that has been dysfunctional for this long, please let me know.  I can't help but think that one of the reasons the systems has not received prompt attention and resolution is because the constituents it is supposed to serve are poor and have no voice or political power of their own.  We're grateful for those noble but too few advocates who work on their behalf.  We should be outraged at the lack of concern on the part of State officials.  

Colorado Benefits Management System - Stlll Broken Going on Six Years

This has got to be a record for a screwed up computer system.  Absolutely shameful!

The Denver Post published this article on the system's status on Feb 1, 2010:

COLORADO STILL FAILS ON FOOD STAMPS, MEDICAID

Here's a couple of excerpts:

"A 2007 legal settlement requires Colorado to process food-stamp and Medicaid applications within 45 days.

But advocates for the poor say state data shows some applications are still delayed.
About 19 percent of new food-stamp applications were delayed in October, The Denver Post reported Monday. About 18 percent of new Medicaid applicants saw delays.

For Joanne Southard in Adams County, the delay has meant empty cupboards. She sent in paperwork to reauthorize food stamp benefits for herself, plus a son and grandson, in November. But she hasn't seen any new money on her food-stamp debit card.  "I call them, and they tell me they have all my paperwork in order, and there are 57 cases and I'm one of them," Southard told the Post".

And:

"Before the economic downturn, the state had showed some improvement in processing applications. In the fiscal year ending in September of 2005, only 63 percent of new applications were timely.  Ed Kahn, a lawyer with the Colorado Center on Law and Policy, said the improvement isn't enough.  Kahn was among the lawyers who sued the state over its Colorado Benefits Management System in 2004. He said the changes since have been like "going from an F to an F plus." "It's not really satisfactory," he told the Post.

"For fiscal year 2008, the most recent with available data, Colorado ranked 52nd in the country (behind Guam) in getting food stamps out on time".

Inexplicable.  Inexcusable.

A Few Things You Shouldn't Plan to Buy in 2010

The Wall Street Journal Sunday had a story today covering things you shouldn't plan to buy in 2010.  Among them were DVDs, Home phone service, and external hard drives.

The one that caught my eye, however, was the advice they had for college students and textbooks:

"New college textbooks: Used textbooks cost up to 70% to 90% less than new ones, and you can find them on Web sites such as CheapestTextbooks.com, Amazon.com and Booksprice.com. Sites like CourseSmart.com sell subscriptions to digital copies of more than 7,000 textbooks. TextbookMedia.com allows students to download textbooks for free. You can also rent textbooks on Chegg.com". 

They forgot to mention Global Text but, of course, you know about it already.

It's 2010

I can't believe that I have not posted anything since August.  I thought it was going to be a busy quarter and it was.  Time passed by quickly in a very satisfying way and now it's time for a New Year's resolution.

After a trip to Miami in December for a cruise followed by a trip to Phoenix for the International Conference on Information Systems I hearby resolve to fly as little as possible from now on.  The year 2010 was the first year in, I bet, forty years that I did not take an international flight for one reason or another.  And you know what?  I don't miss it.  In fact, I don't care if I never take another flight.  Flying just isn't what it used to be.  Security, chockablock planes, poor (if any) food.....who needs it?  Let's see what I can do to keep this resolution.  Life will be more peaceful : )

Lots of options for lower cost classroom materials

As classes get ready to start up again I couldn’t help but notice the plethora of alternatives to traditional textbooks that have hit my radar screen.  For example, I received an email from my McGraw-Hill rep telling me that students could buy an online copy of their textbook for around $90, online textbook rental businesses where, purportedly, students can save over 60% on their textbooks (just Google “textbook rental websites” for a list of them), eBook and smart phone editions, a number of aggregator sites which offer free textbooks (Google “free textbooks online” for examples) and, of course, books available for free on the Global Text site.

 

There is an interesting article in the September 2009 issue of Fast Company discussing the variety of approaches and initiatives going on in the Open Educational Resources (OER) space.  By Anya Kamenetz, its title is “How Web-Savvy Edupunks Are Transforming American Higher Education” The article is sub-titled “Free online courses, Wiki universities, Facebook-style tutoring networks -- American higher education is being transformed by a cadre of Web-savvy edupunks”.

 

Three reactions:  (1) Clearly, there are many lower-cost options for the traditional textbook.  (2) The array of IT-enabled educational resources available will help professors migrate from the “sage on the stage” to the “guide on the side”.  I’m going to experiment with this in my class in the fall.  (3) Finally, should Rick and I and the rest of you in the Global Text community start calling ourselves “edupunks”?

 

A Wonderful Article on Global Text from the Times (UK) Higher Education

Published on May 28, 2009, it sums up the project's status very well.  Here's the first paragraph:

"Expensive textbooks put the brakes on higher education for many students in developing nations. But a project aiming to make such books available for free via the internet could change all that, writes Jon Marcus".

It's called "Breaking the book barrier".  I'll let you take it from here.

Colorado beats Guam with CBMS!

Sherry Allison does a nice job of summing it up in her story which ran in the May 31 issue of the Denver Post, entitled  "Glitch drains aid to needy".  I'll just quote from it, although I'm inclined to call a system that has not worked since it was installed almost five years ago something more than a glitch.

"For five years, CBMS — a database that processes applications for help, including Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and food stamps — has been problematic.

"At first, the system chucked some applicants out while overpaying others. State officials remedied that but had to reimburse the federal government more than $9 million in December for the mistakes.

"Counties also complained that CBMS is nonintuitive, that it takes 45 minutes to enter data for one application and that, when moving from one screen to the other, things like names and addresses have to be re-entered.

"Then the recession spawned a demand for help that state and county officials have never seen before. Applications became backlogged in the metro area and Colorado Springs. Advocacy groups warned that people were going hungry. Food pantries were inundated.

"Last year, Colorado ranked 52nd in the nation and its territories — just above Guam — for food-stamp application timeliness, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In some counties — including Jefferson, Denver and Adams — between 20 percent and 40 percent of applicants waited longer than 30 days to get a food-stamp card this spring".

Ms. Allison has another story in the June 6 issue of the Denver Post entitled "State seeks foundations' aid" in which she discusses a meeting State officials held with a group of Denver Foundations which are bearing additional burdens in meeting the needs of the poor while they wait for CBMS to do what it is supposed to do.  Here's one quote:  "They (i.e. the foundations) say they're responding to a dramatic increase in need around the city:  People are showing up at churches, shelters and senior centers hungry and desperate".

Not to worry, everything will be fine in 12 to 18 months.  As you saw in the previous post, the State is taking a thoughtful approach to solving the problem.

The Denver Post's Editorial Page Chimes in on CBMS

An editorial in the Denver post on May 16 called attention to the weirdness of the way a solution to the CBMS fiasco is being pursued.

“Call us mystified by a report from The Denver Post's Allison Sherry that details a rejection by state officials and Colorado's Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) of a plan by several stressed county offices to use the Web-based application solutions.

"We were moving ahead in a manner that was prudent locally," Frank Alexander, who directs housing and human services in Boulder County, told Sherry. "We'd love to have a solution in place right now."

“Instead, state and HCPF officials are sticking with Deloitte Consulting, with whom they recently signed a four-year, $44 million contract to help rein in the state's expensive and clunky Colorado Benefits Management System”.

“Deloitte consultants say it will take them 12 to 18 months more to make enhancements counties want. But it wasn't until counties started asking for Web-based application solutions that officials added a $4.6 million amendment to that $44 million contract to create a Web-based application program”.

In her story of May 14, 2009, reporter Sherry Allison pointed out that in the meantime, “the current system takes 45 minutes to input information after an applicant has filled out a paper form. It requires people to come down to county offices and wait in line, or pick up applications and mail them in”.

In the same story, John Conley, deputy state chief information officer, said, "Our process has been viewed as lethargic, but I believe it's allowed us to be thoughtful."

Ah, yes.  Thoughtful indeed.

More on CBMS. Can you believe it?

Ta Da. 

Deloitte Consulting is riding to the rescue of CBMS (for only $44 million more than who knows how much has been spent already on this incredible fiasco).

Here's the story from the front page of today's Denver Post.  Please note that today is May 7, 2009, and that CBMS was converted on September 1 2004.  This has gotta been some sort of record.

Here's a link to the story under reporter Allison Sherry's byline.

Delays in food stamps tackled.

We have assurance from State officials that CBMS will be fixed once and for all.  Don't hold your breath.

The Kindle has certain shortcomings for textbooks (in my opinion)

Amazon announced its new version of the Kindle today.  Bigger screen (9.7 inches).  More expensive ($489).  Touted to be the salvation of newspapers and textbooks.  Maybe newspapers (but doubtful).  And textbooks?  I don't think so. 

Amazon wants to sell students textbooks for the Kindle, but has not yet disclosed the pricing.  If they are going to be priced in line with current online versions, they'll be half the price of a new hard-cover, or around $80 or so.  Not as attractive as a free textbook downloaded from the Global Text library to a Sony Reader, a pdf on the student's laptop, or a printed copy for around $15 from Lulu Press.

Here's the story from today's WSJ: 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124162110396691937.html

Sorry, Jeff.

Another Way to Lower Textbook Costs - Rent Them

Today's Wall Street Journal had an interesting article by Peter King, entitled "A Textbook Case of Renting Books".  I'd heard of similar schemes before, but most were offered by some of the major textbook publishers.  This article compares four independent sites where university students can rent textbooks for the amount of time they need them and return them to the company when they're finished.  The savings can be high.  For example, the third edition of an advanced accounting text, "Fraud Accounting", costs $177.95 new, but can be rented for as little as $52.54 for 55 days, or $41.12 for 90 days from one the sites which employs a guaranteed buy-back model.

The four sites analyzed in the article are:

http://bookrenter.com

http://campusbookrentals.com

http://chegg.com, and

http://textbooks.com

The last one is the site employing a guaranteed buy-back model.

Progress, but still, free is better:  http://globaltext.org

Boarding Pass Innovation

In the what will they think of next category:

Here's the headline:

Cellphones ring up a quick way for fliers to check in

Travelers receive a special bar code that acts as a boarding pass

Here's the link to the article.  I don't think this is all that new.  I seem to remember running across it awhile ago.  Anyway, here it is, and it's interesting:

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_11649484

My New Year's Resolution

Well, at least one of them.

Maria Bartiromo interviewed US Congressman Barney Frank in the December 10 issue of Business Week.  See Barney Frank on Detroit, Housing, and Executive Pay .  One of their exchanges was this one:

Maria's question:  "Who would be on your short list for czar"?

And Barney's answer:  I don't have a list because nobody's asking me to appoint a czar, and I have this rule: I don't think about things where nobody cares what I think.

"I don't think about things where nobody cares what I think".  I like it, but I'm going to modify it a bit for me:

"I don't express my opinion about things where nobody cares what I think".

This should make for a happier New Year.

Ah, yes. The Colorado Benefits Management System

Sorry for the unusually long hiatus.  Guess I haven't had much to say.  But, the Colorado Benefits Management System never lets me down (although it seems I'm the only one it does not let down).

Let me quote from a story in the Rocky Mountain News of December 1, 2008.  As you may know, this is four years and three months after CBMS went live.  Here's the link to the entire story, under the byline of Daniel J. Chacon:  State agency sees spike in numbers using food stamps .  Here's the quote:

"An awful lot of people right now have had their work hours reduced, have been laid off, are unemployed with no work, or are unable to work," said Mark Tandberg, social services director for Adams County.

"Folks are struggling to keep food on the table," he said.

Sometimes, they struggle to get food stamps, too.

Some of Colorado's social services agencies have come under fire in recent years for taking too long to process applicants' paperwork, violating federal protocols.

"We're still not where we need to be, but we are doing better," said Liz McDonough, a spokeswoman for the state's Department of Human Services.

"Part of the reason is counties are now doing interviews over the phone, and that's helping with the processing time," she said.

Ed Kahn, special counsel for the Colorado Center on Law & Policy, sued the state DHS more than four years ago for taking too long to process food stamp applications. He said human service agencies have done a slightly better job this year, but roughly 2,000 people a month are still not getting their benefits approved within the required 30-day period ordered by a judge last December. He said he's considering whether to take the state back to court.

Given the economic troubles and growing need for aid, "It's unconscionable that they haven't made enough improvement in this problem," said Kahn.

Thanks, Ed.  Keep at it.  Hopefully, it will end sometime soon.

Some Publicity on Global Text at DU

There were three publications on Global text and/or the high cost of textbooks at the University of Denver in the past three weeks.  One was on DU Today, a University web-based news channel, and the other two were articles in the student newspaper, The Clarion.  Take a look. The reporters and editors did a nice job.  The photographer did a nice job too, especially considering what he had to work with.  Here they are:

DU Today - October 2008

The Clarion - September 2008

The Clarion - October 2008

Enjoy!

Open Education 2008 Conference

I usually have a topic in my courses on competitive intelligence and how the Internet can be used as a tool for environmental scanning.  Imagine my embarrassment when, shortly after I had the thought of hosting a conference on open education/open textbooks, I found out that there has been such conference for the last TEN YEARS!  Cathy and Vic from the Hewlett Foundation were the source of that nugget of information and I thank them for that.

So, I attended the conference and it was absolutely wonderful.  Most of the players in the Open Educational Resources (OER) space were there.  The sessions were terrific and everyone was friendly.  I got to meet and talk with some interesting folks from all over the world, some of who I'd already chatted with over the phone.  The website for the conference has more information and, sooner or later will have presentations, etc from the conference available.  There were lots of takeaways, but three of the most important were:

1. Much of the attention of attendees was on developing open "chunks" of content, with the idea being that instructors could visit a repository and string content together in a customized manner.
2. Still, there was a lot of interest and progress on the development of open traditional textbooks and that textbooks are likely to be appropriate for developing economies for the next five or ten years.
3. Global Text's focus on developing economies seems to be a differentiator for us.

Cost of Textbooks Covered in Higher Education Act

The Higher Education Act was passed in both houses of the US Congress and is expected to be signed into law today.  It includes several provisions related to help reduce the cost of textbooks.  They are covered in an analysis on the maketextbooksaffordable site and are similar in many respects to state laws we have discussed in previous posts. Here's a summary from maketextbooksaffordable:

"The textbooks section has three main provisions:
1. Requires publishers to disclose textbook pricing and revision information to faculty
2. Requires publishers to offer textbooks and supplemental materials “unbundled” (separately)
3. Asks colleges to provide the list of assigned textbooks (incl. ISBNs and prices) for each
course when students are registering for classes".

Each of the three provisions are analyzed in detail in the document.  Have a look.  It's worth a read.  Progress!

Article on Open Textbooks from USA Today

USA Today published an article on Friday, July 11, entitled "Online "open" textbooks save students cash".  Written by Svetlana Shkolnikova, it's a pretty good overview of the problem and some of the ways it's being addressed.  For example, the article says: "Textbook prices have outpaced inflation 2-to-1 in the past two decades, says a 2005 report by the Government Accountability Office. They account for 26% of tuition and fees at four-year public universities and nearly three-quarters of costs at community colleges, the GAO says".  It goes on to discuss a few initiatives in the open education space, some of whom we've had contacts with, like Foothill Community College and maketextbooksaffordable.com

Two authors who contributed books to the Global Text library are mentioned:  Bob Beezer and Rob Stewart.  It's a good overview and another indication that the problem of ever-more-costly textbooks is getting more attention and that solutions like Global Text can make a real contribution.

 - Don

"As Textbooks are Customized, Students Pay"

That's the title of an article in the Wall Street Journal on July 10th.  Here's the way the article, by John Hechinger, begins:

"College students, already struggling with soaring tuition bills and expenses, are encountering yet another financial hit: Publishers and schools are working together to produce "custom" textbooks that can limit students' use of the money-saving trade in used books. And in a controversial twist, some academic departments are sharing in the profits from these texts.

"The University of Alabama, for instance, requires freshman composition students at its main campus to buy a $59.35 writing textbook titled "A Writer's Reference," by Diana Hacker.

"The spiral-bound book is nearly identical to the same "A Writer's Reference" that goes for $30 in the used-book market and costs about $54 new. The only difference in the Alabama version: a 32-page section describing the school's writing program -- which is available for free on the university's Web site. This version also has the University of Alabama's name printed across the top of the front cover, and a notice on the back that reads: "This book may not be bought or sold used."

"Custom textbooks like this one are proliferating on U.S. college campuses, guaranteeing hefty sales for publishers -- and payments to colleges that are generally undisclosed to students."

The entire article is worth a read.  The writer is well-informed on the issues, including legislative actions being taken by some 34 states in the US to reduce the cost of textbooks.  He also questions the ethics of this growing cozy accommodation between universities and publishers by noting that "The book-royalty arrangements resemble a practice exposed during last year's student-loan scandal, when some universities steered students to particular lending firms and received a secret cut of the loans.

Gotta shake your head. 

CBMS and Other Colorado Systems - Status Report as of May 22, 2008

Well, folks, the news is not good, at least for CBMS, but maybe it could be.  Someday.  Maybe.

Ann Imse's story in today's Rocky Mountain News, "Data systems get some glue", discusses the additional responsibilities that Mike Locatis assumes today givng him, by law, oversight of the State of Colorado's 1200 IS personnel and $265 million IS budget.  It includes, of course, fixing the Colorado Benefits Management Systems (CBMS), among several others.  CBMS, as I'm sure you know by now, has been limping along since it's premature conversion on September 1, 2004. 

In response to a query from Ann, Jon Conley, Mike's Deputy, said that "CBMS is fully operational and all major bugs have been worked out".  Ed Kahn, the attorney who has done yeoman work on behalf of the aid recipients supposed to be helped by CBMS, "said it would be "outrageous" to consider CBMS fixed." 

Ann quoted me in the story too.  "Don McCubbrey ......... uses the CBMS mess as a case study of how not to replace a computer system. He said he is "surprised and disappointed" that it still has not been fixed, 16 months into the new governor's term.

"What would the president of Coors have done if EDS (the computer manufacturer) had installed a manufacturing control system and the beer production line shut down?" McCubbrey said. "He would have called the president of EDS and said, 'Hop in your jet and be in my office. You're going to fix this, fast.'

"That should have been done long ago, the professor said. "Ritter has to reset Mike's priorities. Let's get this behind us."

When we discuss the CBMS case in the classroom, my students are astonished that a system so important to the welfare of so many citizens could be dysfunctional for so long.  I don't understand it either.  Read the story.  While you're at it, read Ann's accompanying story: "Glitches take toll on real people".

 

 

 

Textbook Cost Controls Are Now the Law in Colorado

Governor Bill Ritter signed Senate Bill 73 into law on Tuesday, April 8.  Sponsored by Senator Ron Tupa, D-Boulder, and Representative John Kefalas, D-Fort Collins, it is patterned after similar laws either enacted or under consideration in several other states.  According to an item on the Denver Business Journal website, "Senate Bill 73 requires textbook publishers doing business with Colorado public colleges to provide faculty members with book-price information.

"It also forces them to reveal the extent of any revisions in updated text editions so professors can decide whether it's worth ordering the update. Keeping an older edition in use can make it easier for students to buy cheaper, used copies"  As you may already know, publishers often do not do this.  This can result in a student paying $145 for a textbook in September and selling it back to the bookstore for $5 in November. (See my post of November 29, 2006).  New editions are often not really necessary, but are published to undercut the used book market, a market in which publishers do not participate.  They make their money by selling new books, and new book sales drop when students can buy used books at much lower costs.  Also, according to the article, "The measure also makes it harder for publishers to require students to buy textbooks bundled with other items, such as multimedia discs or supplementary workbooks".  What the article failed to note is that in many cases, the profs don't use the extra materials.

Brilliant Personalization Sites

You've gotta try these two personalization sites.  They are amazing, particularly Pandora.com, which personalizes music to your tastes once you give it a couple of hints.  I'm a big fan of soft Brazilian Jazz and Pandora is really hitting my sweet spot.  The wonderful thing about it is that it plays artists I'm not familiar with too.  Love it!!

Pandora was suggested by one of my students, Nate Levy, in response to a post I made on our class discussion board about Jester.com, a personalized joke site.  It works fine too, but right now, I wish I had Pandora in my car.  Maybe somebody will do it, someday.

Update on Textbook Costs

The February 19th issue of Inside Higher Education has an article that will give you more insight into what's going on. It lists a number of techniques that faculty can take to help reduce the porices students pay for textbooks and makes reference to pending legislation at the Federal and State levels. You can access the article at http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/02/19/textbooks.

One of the more interesting bits in the article is the experiments that universities like the University of Virginia and Notre Dame are taking in making textbook rental programs available to their students.  One proposal at the Federal level would create a a competitive grant pool of $50 million for up to ten colleges to set up textbook rental programs.  More conversation about issues we've discussed before:  greater transparency in pricing, making faculty aware of when new editions are scheduled to be released, unbundling texts from electronic media, etc. 

This issue is not going away.  To the contrary, it's gathering momentum.

Hmmmmmm. Maybe CBMS is not doing so well.

Got an email today from a group that is planning to march on the State Capitol on Sunday, April 6th.  Here's what they say on their flyer:

 

 

JOIN US AS WE MARCH ON THE STATE CAPITOL

                                (from the Denver Human Services Offices)

 IN

                        DENVER SUNDAY, APRIL 6^TH, 2008

                                        AT 10:00 AM

 LET YOUR VOICES BE HEARD
 

The Colorado Benefits Management System (CBMS) is the computer system used by the state and county human services agencies to determine an applicant’s eligibility for public assistance in the following programs:

• Food Stamps,
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families,
• Aid for the Needy and Disabled,     
• Old Age Pension,
• SCHIP,
• Medicaid.

The database is malfunctioning and there are many negative outcomes including poor customer service, long delays in processing, inaccurate notifications to clients regarding their status, high turnover amongst county staff and denial of access to basic goods such as food and health care. 

The primary focus of the CBMS Coalition is to remove barriers of access as we promote the timely processing of applications for households in need. Our secondary focus is to address the overall culture regarding the delivery of services to these same families.

 We believe that:

• All people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.  

• All people deserve working environments that are helpful, encouraging and non-blaming.

We support good customer service—for the internal customers who work within human services and the external customers who find themselves in need of support.

The flyer was signed "Organizer-CBMS Coalition and asked readers to email fixitorditchit@live.com for more information.  Coming up on four years since CBMS converted on September 1, 2004.  Hard to believe.

 

CBMS Lawsuit is Settled

This morning's Rocky had a story by John C. Ensslin entitled "Settlement reached over state's benefits management program." You may recall that shortly after the Colorado Benefits Management Systems (CBMS) took a nose dive after a premature conversion back in September 2004, the Colorado Center on Law and Policy (CCLP) filed a lawsuit on behalf of clients in an attempt to hold the State accountable for its performance.  The action was led by Denver attorneys Ed Kahn and Mike Cook, working on a pro bono basis. Others working on the case locally included Elisabeth Arenales of CCLP. and nationally, a group from the National Center for Law and Economic Justice based in NY City, led by Marc Cohan.

The article states that according to the terms of agreement:

"* The Department of Human Services will be required to deliver ongoing food stamps to eligible clients within 30 days after their applications are filed. Families eligible for expedited food stamps must receive them within seven days.

* The Department of Health Care Policy and Financing will be required to process applications for Children's Basic Health Plan benefits within 45 days.

* Three times during the 36- month review period, HCPF also will be required to provide a random sample of cases so an independent auditor can review whether or not benefits were correctly approved or denied."

Here is Ed Kahn's comment taken from the article: ""Some problems have been solved," he said. "But the system remains, in many ways, very bad."

I have to wonder why it took three years and a lawsuit to get State managers to set performance benchmarks for service to CBMS clients.  Thanks go to Ed, Mike, and the others for getting at least get this much accomplished on behalf of aid recipients.  Obviously, there is much remaining to be done.  Here's hoping.

Whoops! CBMS just won't go away

In my July 23 post I showed some optimism about the State of Colorado finally making the problems with our infamous Colorado Benefits Management System (CBMS) go away like a bad dream.  Sorry, it looks like I was wrong.  The Rocky had an article in the December 15 issue, with Myung Oak Kim's byline entitled "Food stamp applications mired in bureaucracy".  A glance at the article will tell you that "more than 1,000 local residents (have) been waiting for months because of bureaucratic snags".  The principle bureaucratic snagger?  You guessed it:   the Colorado Benefits Management System (CBMS), which was converted on September 1, 2004 (yup, 2004) and still does not work properly. 

Here's more from the story: 

"County welfare agencies continue to violate federal protocols - a problem that dates back almost two years - because of funding shortages and staffing problems, including high caseloads, high turnover and workers' resistance to changing procedures.

"The state's notorious computer system - the Colorado Benefits Management System - compounds the problems because of errors and a complex network of screens that take a long time to navigate.

"CBMS also is sending out erroneous rejection letters to food stamp applicants, causing unnecessary panic.

"It's sending out scores of letters saying applicants are denied food stamps because their cases weren't processed within 60 days. In fact, the cases are still being worked.

"It's a huge problem involving thousands of people," said Ed Kahn, a lawyer with the Colorado Center on Law & Policy who sued the state in 2004 because CBMS was restricting public benefits for low-income residents."

The Rocky even wrote an editorial about it in today's paper, entitled "Food stamp food fight."  Please read it.  It starts out by saying:  "We imagine one of the last things Gov. Bill Ritter wants to hear about is more trouble with the Colorado Benefits Management System - the much-maligned $223 million computer system that was supposed to streamline public benefit programs when it was introduced by the Owens administration in 2004.

"Unfortunately, the bad news keeps coming. CBMS remains a headache for county welfare officials who say that its complicated data-entry requirements needlessly delay benefits to qualified recipients" and finishes with:  "As for CBMS, well, poker players warn against "throwing good money after bad". CBMS may be beyond redemption, and further attempts to rehabilitate it could simply divert resources and energy from the low-income Coloradans that public welfare programs are designed to serve. 

"As for CBMS, well, poker players warn against "throwing good money after bad." CBMS may be beyond redemption, and further attempts to rehabilitate it could simply divert resources and energy from the low-income Coloradans that public welfare programs are designed to serve".

How long do you think a large company in the private sector, Molson-Coors, for example, would put up with a $200 million mission-critical system that was installed 3 years ago and still  does not work properly?   It would have been fixed in days, weeks at the most.  Not years.  What's going on here?

 

Pay What You Want

Just wondering if this business model will spread.  The rock band, "Radiohead" is selling its latest album from its website asking buyers to pay whatever they want for an MP3 download.  Really.  Heres a couple of quotes from the New York Times article of December 9, 2007:

“‘Why don’t you pay us what you think it’s worth?’”

"Those are the exact terms on which the band is selling the down-loadable version of “In Rainbows”: Buyers can pay zero or whatever they please up to £99.99 (about $212) for the album in MP3 form. Sixteen years and seven albums into the career that has made Radiohead the most widely pondered band in rock, it is taking chances with its commerce as well as its art. For the beleaguered recording business Radiohead has put in motion the most audacious experiment in years".  Apparently they got the idea from London's street musicians, or "Buskers" who perform with a hat on the walk in front of them and accept whatever contributions passersby are willing to toss into the hat... nothing. a lot, or something in between.  Just what the digital download business needed.  Another business model to worry them.

Here's a link to the article, courtesy of the New York Times:  "Pay What You Want For This Article".

Cafe for Cat Lovers

A while ago I posted an item about some folks who established a rent a dog business.  It's designed to let dog lovers walk a dog of their choice every now and then....whenever they need a dog fix.  I thought it was a creative idea, even thought it was a bit expensive.

Now here's a business idea I really like.  A Cat Cafe.  Briefly, an entrepreneur in Tokyo opened a cafe for cat lovers.  Go in, have a cup of coffee, leave your laptop in the trunk of your car, and pet cats instead.  I have been a cat lover all of my life, but have not owned a cat in over 35 years.  For the first fifteen years or so I was unmarried and traveling a lot.  In 1986, when I re-married, I married a woman who is allergic to cats.  I love my wife, but I sure miss having a cat or two around.  Here's the story: Cat cafe soothes Tokyo's busy feline lovers.  I would appreciate it if someone who reads this blog would open a Cat Cafe in Denver.  I'll be a regular customer. 

Colorado Student Concerns Over the Cost of Textbooks

As those of you who have been following this blog for awhile know, the two overriding themes have been the Global Text Project and IT systems foul-ups by the State of Colorado.  The Global Text Project is focused on the cost of textbooks in developing economies where the problem is much more acute than it is in the US.  We recently had some great publicity in the Chronicle of Higher Education.  (If you go to the In the News page on the site, you'll find a link to the article.  There's also a link on the November 18 post here, right below this post).

Still, the cost of textbooks in the US is of increasing concern to many students and some faculty.  For examples of comments here in the past, please see posts dated October 18, 2007, September 27, 2007, September 24, 2007, and July 5, 2007 as examples.  There are more.  There's another article in the Denver Post this morning, entitled "Collegians' book, tuition concerns on same page" with Allison Sherry's byline.  While there has been a lot of activity around this issue for quite awhile (e.g. maketextbooksaffordable), it looks like the issue is gathering some momentum.

So, with the new administration in the State of Colorado looking like they're getting serious about cleaning up the messes that arose during the previous administration and avoiding more messes in the future, I think I'll focus more on the Global text Project and related issues as well as "who knows what else" topics.

Global Text article in the Chronicle of Higher Education

The Chronicle of Higher Education had an article on the Global Text Project, written by Andrea Foster, in its November 16th edition.  If you're a subscriber to the Chronicle. you can access the article at the following link: Software Group Gets Online Textbooks to the Developing World.  If you're not a subscriber, try this link for some excerpts from Open Access News.  As a subscriber, I can email copies of the entire article to individuals, so if you'd like to see it, send me an email at dmccubbr@du.edu.  It's a good article and we've received expressions of interest from a number of people who would like to get involved.

Students Protest Textbook Prices in Colorado

According to an article by Erika Gonzalez in this morning's Rocky Mountain news, the concern about textbook inflation has finally reached Colorado.  Maybe it's been here for awhile, but under my radar screen.  Anyway, more than a thousand students on the Auraria campus (Metro State College, CU-Denver, and Community College of Denver) rallied  to protest textbook cost inflation.  As you've been reading on this blog for awhile, there is concern about the issue and students want something done.  Andrew Bateman, the student government leader at Metro State was quoted in the article as saying "It would be nice to know how long they're keeping a book in circulation, because if the next book is coming out in five months, it's essentially worthless because a student can't sell it back".   Here's the link to the article:  "Hundreds protest textbook prices".

Civil War at Harvard over Textbook Costs

Eye-opening article in yesterday's Boston Globe re: student concerns over the textbook cost issue at Harvard,with a headline that reads: " In Harvard Square, a war over words".  The first paragraph says that "A battle over book prices is raging in Harvard Square between student leaders and the Harvard Coop, the book store created by students 125 years ago to cut down on costs." Take a look.

For me, one of the most interesting parts of the article was the number of states that are introducing legislation in attempts to give students some relief: "Prices of college texts have spiked so severely across the country that since January, 86 bills to make them more affordable have been filed in 27 states, including Massachusetts, according to a national college bookstore group. College students on average spend $700 to $1,000 a year on textbooks, according to a May 2007 report by a congressional advisory committee, which also recommended various solutions to reduce prices, including creating online book databases easily accessible to students".

Is this a sea change or what?

Two Proposed Bills to Help with Textbook Costs in California

The September 24 edition of Inside Higher Education had the following story on two bills wending their way to Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger's desk:

"Competing bills to deal with student complaints about textbook prices have arrived on the governor’s desk in California, the Los Angeles Times reported. Both bills would require more disclosure about changes made from one edition to another, but one bill (backed by student groups) would require more than the other (backed by publishers)".  If you click on the LA Times link you'll get the entire story.  The Guv is to make his decision on whether or not to sign either bill by October 12.

One Person's Reaction to Colorado's Computer Messes

This letter to the editor was in today's Rocky Mountain News......one person's reaction to Ann Imse's story of July 23 (see my July 23 post below):

Computer woes reflect on Owens

Tuesday, August  7 at 12:01 AM

The article about Gov. Bill Ritter’s plans to end the state’s track record of buying computer systems that don’t work was welcome reading (“Governor seeks to bring order to computer chaos,” July 23). My compliments for the in-depth reporting.

This article shows that Ritter is systematically dealing with chronic issues that have plagued the state for years, and that is encouraging. But, it also speaks volumes to the poor management and lack of accountability of the Owens administration.  If it had been just one failed system, that would merely tarnish his legacy; instead, it reveals the Holy Grail was made of tin.

It is becoming increasingly clear that the Owens administration was a dog that couldn’t hunt. As a lifelong Republican, I am disgusted with the tendency of officials to get elected and then act like a confederacy of dunces.I am convinced the Republican Party is not long for this world. It will go the way of the Whigs and the Know-Nothings. I am declaring myself an independent.

Francis M. Miller, Parker

New Business Idea - Rent-a Dog

This should really be in the "what's next" category.  It's creative and I like it.  It was posted on Yahoo Finance this morning.

"Americans spend $41 billion on their pets each year -- more than the GDP of most countries -- and that amount is expected to rise by $11 billion in the next two years. (BusinessWeek.com) And now animal lovers don't have to own a pet to join in the spending. A dog-ownership time-share service, FlexPetz, is expanding from Southern California to San Francisco, New York, and London. For $99.95 a year, plus $49.95 a month and about $40 for each day's visit, FlexPetz clients get to take care of one of the company's animals. "It's funny," says member Jenny Goddard. "He is so friendly and immediately playful with us, people are surprised he is a rental dog."

My wife, Jan, and I took a walk in Denver's Washington Park yesterday.  Part of the fun of Wash Park is seeing all the dog-owners exercising their pets, and seeing the wide variety of breeds.  FlexPetz sounds a bit expensive, though, ($99.95/year membership, $49.95/month dues, and $39.95 for a weekend day or $24.95 for a weekday).  Maybe we'll just dog-watch other people's dogs for awhile.

New Hope for Colorado's Computer Systems

There's hope for Colorado, folks.  It looks like our newly-elected Governor, Bill Ritter, wants to make sure no more computer system fiascoes occur on his watch.  A very encouraging story appeared in this morning's Rocky Mountain News: Governor seeks to bring order to computer chaos.  Written by Ann Imse and Alan Gathright, it discusses the hiring of Mike Locatis as CIO for the State, and the powers given him under an executive order signed by the governor to exercise the proper management control over all IT development and operations in State government.  I am encouraged by this long overdue move, and think that you will be too.  Read the story.  I may have to quit whining about this topic and focus on the Global Text Project. 

Speaking of Global Text, please take a look at our new website, www.globaltext.org , developed by up2speedsolutions.com.  Joshua Ross, a former student of mine, is the company's president.  He and his team did a great job for us.