What in the world is going on at Dickinson?State University?
Just months after firing its president for allegedly padding the university's enrollment figures, Dickinson State is under scrutiny again, this time after an audit that showed the school awarded hundreds of degrees to foreign students who didn't earn them, enrolled students who couldn't speak English and enrolled some students without proper qualifying grades.
The audit listed 410 students who received a degree in a program that allowed them to earn degrees both from Dickinson State and a university in their home country. Of those students, 400 were missing required course work or credits, but received degrees anyway. Some students received bachelor degrees after completing only two semesters of course work. The reports said agreements made between Dickinson State and foreign universities were "seriously lacking controls and oversight."
The situation worsened Friday afternoon, before the report could be officially presented. The campus was put on lockdown after a university official was reported missing, and reportedly armed. The lockdown ended hours later, after the official's body was found. Police said 59-year-old Doug LaPlante, dean of the university's college of education, business and applied sciences, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
There will be time later to discuss the report, and how to solve the problems at the university. For now, we're happy no one else was harmed in Friday's incident. But one has to wonder what the future holds for Dickinson State University.