Shawn Vestal

Like a lot of violence that occurs within families, child abuse can be awfully tough to measure. The federal government's most oft-cited number of abused children nationwide is 900,000 a year. That's based on statistics from 2004 that peg that as the number of cases reported to authorities and considered substantiated enough to warrant an investigation.

The Senate budget includes money for an "unprecedented" growth in college enrollments statewide, an expansion of several financial aid programs, and construction projects on Inland Northwest campuses. The Senate also proposes spending $11.2 million to establish medical and dental programs at the Riverpoint campus in Spokane, $5.6 million for biofuels research at Washington State University, and $3.5 million toward an Applied Sciences Lab in Spokane to help develop spinoff companies and other business applications from university research.

A Washington State University police officer was awarded $96,000 in back pay and benefits this week in a federal lawsuit alleging the university fired him in retaliation for speaking out about civil rights issues. The jury reached its verdict Monday afternoon in federal court in Spokane in the lawsuit brought by Bryan Jacobson, a black officer who's been involved in a long-running struggle with his bosses in the WSU department.

Bill Condon's been sniffing out plagiarism a lot longer than the Internet's been around. Condon, director of writing programs at Washington State University, recalls a case from 25 years ago in which he tested a student about the contents of his own paper.

Personal information for about 2,700 University of Idaho employees was inadvertently posted at the school's Web site for 19 days in February, though officials say it was not easy to access and there's no reason yet to believe it was misused. It was the latest data breach at a regional college, following the theft of some computers from the UI's fund-raising office and the theft of a portable hard drive from an Eastern Washington University employee late last year. Officials say they have not heard of any crimes or other problems stemming from the incidents.

Starting next year, Whitworth College will stop requiring applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores, joining a growing number of colleges that are downgrading the importance of the standardized tests in admissions decisions. Whitworth, which is set to formally announce the decision today, is making the move because of a range of concerns that test critics have been raising for years – that the tests are a narrow way of judging college potential; they favor wealthier students whose families can pay for test-prep courses and materials; and the tests are misleading predictors of college success for women and minorities.

Professors at the region's universities are looking for a new route into students' minds – the ubiquitous white cords hanging from seemingly every ear on campus. Podcasts and a variety of new technologies are making their way into academia, as professors test the waters with everything from recordings of lectures to multimedia offerings to the emerging possibilities of virtual classrooms.

A husband and wife who work at the University of Idaho's research park have sued the university, alleging they were punished for speaking up about conflicts of interest between researchers and two private companies. Kenneth and Margaret Hass say they've been defamed and retaliated against for reporting their concerns over the relationship between the Center for Advanced Microelectronics and Biomolecular Research in the UI's Post Falls research park and two private companies with ties to researchers there.

A $2 million donation from a Bellevue-based company that specializes in designing long-haul trucks is helping Gonzaga University build a new science center that will expand the school's engineering programs, the school said Friday. The donation from Paccar Inc. will cover about a quarter of the cost of the new $7.9 million Paccar Center for Applied Science, which is scheduled to open in time for classes in fall 2008, GU said. The 25,000-square-foot building will be just south of the Herak Center for Engineering, with construction set to begin in the spring.

A foundation run by the founder of Coldwater Creek has quietly proposed spending $20 million to establish a University of Idaho campus in Sandpoint – something civic leaders have long sought. Though the proposal is in preliminary stages, the nonprofit Wild Rose Foundation and the UI have drafted a memorandum of understanding that will go before the Idaho State Board of Education on Feb. 22. The proposal envisions the creation of "a unique model for education and research on a local, state and national level," with classes and research programs beginning in 2010.

When two Gonzaga University basketball players were arrested on suspicion of drug possession over the weekend, administrators at the college said it came as a shock. But national and regional statistics show that drug use – and especially pot smoking – has remained a part of life for a significant minority of teens and college-aged youths for years.

Washington State University has received a grant to use satellite data to improve forecasts of air quality in the Northwest. Using readings collected from three NASA satellites, scientists will get a better picture of pollutants in the region, in part so officials may issue air quality alerts when conditions are poor.

A sexual harassment lawsuit against Washington State University and a distinguished professor will proceed toward trial, a judge ruled recently after WSU asked him to throw out the suit. In an opinion filed Jan. 16, Judge David Frazier dismissed one of the claims in the suit but ruled that graduate student Christina Garcia's claim of quid pro quo sexual harassment could advance. Frazier set a tentative trial date of Sept. 10.

In a project that cuts across all levels of education in the Spokane area, universities, community colleges and school districts plan to collaborate on improving student performance in math and science. In an agreement to be formalized Monday, officials will start working toward aligning curricula among high schools, community colleges and university classrooms – trying to ensure that students are learning the things they'll need as they move up. Leaders from the institutions will also collaborate in an effort to hire more "highly qualified" math and science teachers and develop extracurricular programs.

When Benjamin Spaun finishes his undergraduate work at Whitworth College, he hopes to head to one of the country's top research universities for graduate school. "I'm thinking either nuclear physics or plasma physics," said Spaun, a 21-year-old junior from Wenatchee.