Capella University Lawsuits

The amount of naivety and ignorance regarding the rights of those with disabilities is extremely disturbing. Take, for example, a recent post that appeared at DigitalStakeholders.org.

"As I read it I had to laugh. The student who is filing the lawsuit wants to get a degree in Information Technology Systems Design! If the student can not figure out WebCT how is he going to make it in the real world?"

The individual who posted the comment is, obviously, completely oblivious to the facts surrounding the case as well as the needs of real "Digital Stakeholders" to be provided with fully accessible web applications. One can only feel sorry for the individual making these remarks as he/she is completely clueless. Let's set the facts straight:

1. The student who filed the lawsuit was just three (3) courses away from completing a second master's degree in system design and programming.
2. The student had earned a 4.0 (e.g., "straight A's") in all courses being applied to that degree up until the time that WebCT was implemented at Capella.
3. The lawsuit has absolutely nothing to do with "figuring out WebCT" - it has to do with the incompetent design of WebCT that makes it inaccessible to those with disabilities. There is a vast distinction between the two.
4. The question "If the student can not figure out WebCT how is he going to make it in the real world?" is completely moot. It certainly makes one question the competence of someone who claims to represent "digital stakeholders." The fact is that large numbers of students, including other graduate students in Capella's Information Technology programs where also pointing out the incompetence of Capella's implementation of WebCT, along with its horrendous design flaws, is significant. So is the that fact that many of the instructors were also complaining.

Most of remaining portion of the DigitalStakeHolders post discusses whether or not college is a "right or a privilege."  Again, that's a moot issue pertaining the Capella lawsuit. As noted in the Chronicle of Higher Education, the student already holds one master's degree (from a real university). Accessibility issues have, in the most literal sense, nothing to do with any student's intelligence and/or ability to do well in an academic program, assuming adequate accommodations are provided. Of course, nothing is mentioned about the quality of programs, like those at Capella, either.

Interestingly, the Chronicle article failed to mention several other facts pertaining to the case. Some of these include, but are not limited to:

• The "instructor" at the center of the lawsuit is Diane Stottlemyer - who is a complete charlatan. To date, very few are commenting on the fact that Stottlemyer literally purchased her "graduate degrees" from a diploma mill, Lacrosse University. She has claimed that she holds master's and doctorate degrees in "Computer Science." Furthermore, Stottlemyer acted with callous disregard to her ethical and contractual obligations as an instructor - she literally refused to communicate to the student.
• Diane Stottlemyer's lack of competence is also demonstrated by those commenting on her book, "Automated Web Testing Tool Kit" on Amazon.com, as well as on a very recent (October 22, 2005) post at RateMyProfessors.com. Assuming that post is true (which we have every reason to believe it is), it now looks like Stottlemyer continues to retaliate against students who complain about her incompetence. The only difference between her actions against the student who filed the lawsuit and those who continue to complain about her is that she now changes their grades from "F's" to "A's." Previously, she merely had students thrown out of Capella.
• Capella University refused, in the most literal sense of the term, to provide that student with any due process rights. Interestingly, Capella has an army of cronies who actively scour the Internet to post otherwise. Some of these include: Shawn Ambrose, an individual who has been relentless in his attacks (his posts may be found all over the Internet, most of them using the nickname of "CapellaRocks"); Robert Evans, who committed defamation against the plaintiff by contacting the plaintiff's part-time employer to "warn them"; and Corrie Bergeron, an individual who apparently worked (maybe still does) for Capella University and has stated that "Capella followed their policies to the letter. . ." The plain and simple fact of the matter is that  these people are all liars - the student was literally denied all due process rights. Capella University refused to follow any of their written policies.
• Even now, more than a full year after Capella University locked the student out of all of his classes, Capella University has refused to turn over all that student's records as required under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). In fact, Capella University refused to turn over ANY of their records pertaining to their retaliatory actions against the student until just a few months ago when they were forced to by the United States Department of Education. Of course, they again refused to turn over everything as required under FERPA and they are still under investigation for that matter.

These are just a few issues that will be examined, in much greater detail, during the trial against Capella University. Of course, there are many, many more matters that have not been discussed here. It's really sad to think that there are those who claim to be interested in "Digital Stakeholders" can twist the facts, based upon mere speculation, and change the focus from the rights of those with disabilities to whether or not their participation in education is a "right or a privilege." Sad, really sad.