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Imran Syed on the
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Tate Forcier saw the field for the
first time this season on Saturday
and had a record-breaking day in
Michigan's 65-21 rout of Bowling
"Green.
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Ann Arbor, Michigan

Monday, September 27, 2010

THE POLITICS OF HIGHER EDUCATION
Years late,
research
rankings to
be released

ARIEL BOND/Daily
Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson gets tackled at the end of a run late in the first quarter of Michigan's 65-21 win over Bowling Green at Michigan Stadium on
Saturday. Robinson missed the rest of the game with a minor injury to his left knee as a result of the tackle. For more on the game, see SportsMonday, Page1B.
Robi n
Robinsni epaeb

National Research
Council rankings
have shaped colleges'
priorities in past
By KYLE SWANSON
Daily News Editor
Across the country, higher edu-
cation officials are pouring over
copious amounts of data, bracing
for the release of the country's
most respected survey and rank-
ing of Ph.D.
programs later '
this week. - ofg
The .rank-'
ings, which ,
are assembled
by the Nation-
al Research KYLE SWANSON
Council of the KYLE__WANS__
National Acad- Covering the
emies, will be Administration
released pub-
licly on Tuesday at I p.m.. That
release date comes several years
- yes, years - after the rankings
were originally scheduled to be
released. And with a new method-
ology in place, questions remain
about how well the rankings will
be received within the field of
higher education.
In an e-mail interview over

the weekend, University Presi-
dent Emeritus James Duderstadt
said past rankings have carried a
great deal of weight at universities
across the country, and have been
an important factor in determining
universities' priorities.
"Done correctly, they can
very valuable," Duderstadt wrote
of the rankings. "Both the1982 and
1995 rankings influenced Universi-
ty decisions aboutinvestment(and,
in a few cases, disinvestment)."
However, Duderstadt said the
new methodology being used in
the survey means it may be diffi-
cult for institutions to accurately
compare previous rankings to the
new set being released on Tuesday.
"One of the problems with the
new evaluations is that they do
not connect well with the earlier
efforts and hence are unlikely to
provide a useful measure of prog-
ress (or deterioration),"Duderstadt
wrote.
The University has done well in
the past two NRC rankings, with
approximately 80 percent of its
Ph.D. programs rated in the top
25 percent nationally each time.
But, the new criteria could alter
the perceived quality of some pro-
grams.
Among the new criteria,the NRC
has divided quality into three dis-
tinct categories: research impact,
See RANKINGS, Page SA

After Tate Forcier lost his
starting job this summer,
Michigan coach Rich
Rodriguez told his maligned sig-
nal caller to "stay ready" because
his time as a backup would come.
So when sophomore Denard
Robinson went down with a
minor knee injury in the first
quarter, Forcier was given the
chance to prove very soon after
that that he indeed was ready to
run the Wolverines' offense bet-
ter than he did in the second half
of last season.
And after playing much of the

second half
in the Wol-
verines' 65-21
rout, Forcier
looked just as
poised, just as
accurate and
just as mobile RYAN
as he did at
the beginning KARTJE
of last season
when he led
Michigan to an eerily similar 4-0
start.
The sophomore threw for
110 yards and a touchdown and

became the third FBS quarter-
back since 2004 to finish with a
100-percent completion percent-
age. He literally couldn't do any
better.
And freshman Devin Gard-
ner, who came into the game
before Forcier, impressed as
well, throwing for 85 yards and
a touchdown while running for
another. He did account for the
Wolverines' only three incomple-
tions. Without splitting hairs like
that though, I'd say things went
pretty smoothly under center.
But despite the encouraging

effort, there should be no confu-
sion.
There is no quarterback con-
troversy. There will never be a
quarterback controversy with
Denard Robinson healthy and
still wearing the winged helmet.
After two straight summers of
battles, Michigan fans won't
have to witness one of those for
a while.
In fact, without Shoelace under
center, the Wolverines have no
shot of exceeding preseason
expectations in the Big Ten any
See KARTJE, Page 5A

PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP
To better use space, WCC holds
classes in Mason Hall at night A

Washtenaw Comm.
College leased four
classrooms from 'U'
By JEFF WARANIAK
For the Daily
In the first collaboration of its
kind between Washtenaw Com-
munity College and the Univer-
sity of Michigan, WCC is holding
classes on Central Campus this
semester.
WCC is currently leasing four
classrooms in Mason Hall. The
classrooms, which would other-

wise remain empty at night, are
located on the second floor and
are occupied by WCC from 6 to 8
p.m. Monday through Thursday.
Nearly 100 students are enrolled
in the WCC classes on campus.
WCC is offering a variety of
courses including English com-
position, basic statistics and
two psychology sections. Offi-
cials from both schools say WCC
works closely with LSA to pre-
vent any scheduling conflicts
with University classes and to
ensure that the best interests of
both institutions are preserved.
University spokesman Rick
Fitzgerald said WCC's classes in

Mason Hall do not interfere with
University course schedules.
"These are classes that don't
conflict with our class offerings
here," Fitzgerald said. "They
don't conflict with the times
when our classrooms are most
in use."
The partnership between the
institutions began in July when
WCC President Larry Whit-
worth approached the Univer-
sity's administration in search
of a convenient location to house
WCC classes.
WCC classrooms have become
more crowded over the last three
See WCC, Page 5A

ANNA SCHULTE/Daily
LSA senior Yousef Rabhi campaigns door-to-door on Friday. Rabhi, who one the Democratic primary for county commissioner
by one vote, said he hopes to increase student voter turnout in the November election.
On the trail: Ra 1prefers
face-to-face campaigning

STUDENT BUSINESS
1000 Pitches looks to grow once more

MPowered launched members hope to expand entre-
preneurship on campus and moti-
third annual vate students to transform their
business dreams into realities.
entrepreneurship MPowered President and LSA
junior Ankit Mehta said since the
contest Friday competition started three years
ago, an increasing number of
By VERONICA MENALDI students are participating in the
Daily StaffReporter project that allows them to lay
the foundations for forming their
With the launch of MPow- own companies. The competition
ered's third annual 1000 Pitches is open to all University students
business competition on Friday, on Ann Arbor, Flint and Dearborn

campuses.
In 2008 - the first year of the
competition - 1,018 pitches were
submitted. The number nearly
doubled last year with 2,065
pitches. Engineering sophomore
Rachel Barch, 1000 Pitches proj-
ect director, said the goal is to
exceed last year's number.
MPowered strives to open a
door for students to the entrepre-
neurial world, empower them to
take the next few steps in forming
See 1000 PITCHES, Page SA

Dem. candidate for election, the 22 year old came out
one vote ahead of his closest oppo-
county comissioner nent to become the Democratic
Party's candidate for the Washt-
went door-to-door enaw County Board of Commis-
sioners in the 11th district.
on Friday A subsequent recount still
placed Rabhi ahead - this time by
By DYLAN CINTI two votes.
Daily StaffReporter As he prepares for the Novem-
ber election, Rabhi said he's not
For LSA senior Yousef Rabhi, going to take a single vote for
the phrase "every vote counts" granted, especially the student
carries special significance. vote. To make sure he garners as
During the August primary many votes as possible, Rabhi set

out Friday on his first day of door-
to-door canvassing in student-
populated neighborhoods.
As Rabhi pointed out, Univer-
sity students have a historically
low-voter turnout.
At last November's city election,
only .99 percent of voters in stu-
dent-heavy districts voted at the
Michigan Union precinct, accord-
ing to a Nov. 9, 2009 article in The
Michigan Daily. The highest stu-
dent turnout was at East Quad Res-
idence Hall, where 3.06 percent of
See RABHI, Page 6A


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