Headlines @ U.Va.

AN ‘A’ IN AP DOESN’T ALWAYS MEAN AN ‘A’ AT COLLEGE
Advanced Placement courses in high school are no substitute for college courses, a U.Va. researcher said Monday (Feb. 20). “AP is selling their test as somehow an equivalent of a college course,” said Robert H. Tai, an assistant professor of science education at U.Va. “What we’re finding in our study is that’s not the case.” AP classes are considered the most demanding courses, approximating college-level work, at most high schools. At the end of the class, students can take an AP test, graded on a scale of 1 to 5. They can use scores of 3 to 5 to possibly get college credits. Tai and Harvard University professor Philip Sadler surveyed the grades of 500 college students who had taken an AP course in biology, chemistry and physics and then took the same class in college. Those with a 5 on the AP test received an average grade of 90 in the college class, said Sadler, a senior lecturer in astronomy. Students with a 4 averaged an 87, and students with a 3 averaged an 85. Those who took honors courses, and not AP, in high school averaged an 82 in college. Tai and Sadler also said only 56 percent of the students who received the top score on the AP test later got an “A” in the college course. (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, Feb. 21)

DARDEN GOES ON TOUR TO CAPTURE EASTERN DYNAMISM
Most business school deans have the opportunity to meet their foreign students once the admissions cycle is over and the would-be MBAs have arrived and settled in the campus. Not Professor Robert Bruner, the newly appointed dean of U.Va.’s Darden Graduate School of Business, who was in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Manila in December to give a series of talks to MBA applicants. Perhaps it is a part of what Prof. Bruner, appointed dean in November, describes as Darden’s “high touch” approach to business education, which emphasizes a high level of engagement between faculty, alumni, students and prospective students. (Financial Times, Feb. 19)

IN VIRGINIA, LOVE AND POLITICS MIX
Forget mud slinging and attack ads. When it comes to politics, all you need is love. A new survey [conducted in November by U.Va.’s Center for Politics] suggests that Virginians who confessed to being in love were more likely to have voted for governor last fall. They were more likely to have watched a speech or volunteered for a candidate. Lovers were less likely to have watched a televised debate — too busy on the couch, perhaps. The poll also suggests that Cupid is more Republican than Democrat, but he’s apparently lousy at getting out the vote. More than 84 percent of Republicans said they were in love, compared to 75 percent for Democrats. That trend extended to the two major-party candidates for governor. (Hampton Roads Daily Press, Feb. 14)

ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK
Hospital infection kills as many Americans annually as AIDS, breast cancer and auto accidents combined, according to a former lieutenant governor of New York State, Betsy McCaughey ... On the positive side, Ms. McCaughey described some successes at improving hygiene and drastically reducing drug-resistant infections. She said the University of Virginia, the University of Pittsburgh and Allegheny Hospital in Pittsburgh have made serious strides toward reducing hospital infections. Abroad, hospitals in Denmark, Holland and Finland have very high cleanliness standards. (New York Sun, Feb. 9)