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Higher Education News

World & Nation
University officials are noticing a remarkable decline in the numbers of foreign students enrolling in U.S. programs. The Council of Graduate Schools found an 18 percent decrease in admissions of foreign graduate students this fall from fall 2003.

The University of Southern California, with the largest international enrollment of any American institution, noted a decrease of 30 percent of applicants this fall.

Visa restrictions, aggressive recruiting by other developed nations, and the near impossibility of travel abroad are reasons cited for the reluctance of international students and scholars to come to the United States.

Middle-income families have less cash in their pockets than they did in 2000, according to a study by the Economic Policy Institute. Fewer family-supporting jobs and skyrocketing health care costs are attributed to the decrease in net income. Contrary to President Bush's claims that his tax cuts have helped the middle class, the job losses and the health care costs surpass any benefits from the tax cuts, which heavily favor the wealthy. Download the report, Less Cash in Their Pockets: Trends in Income, Wages, Taxes, and Health Spending of Middle-Income Families, 2000-03, at www.epinet.org/content.cfm/bp154.

More than one-quarter of U.S. working families earn wages so low they have trouble surviving financially. At least one-fifth of all jobs in the United States—28 million jobs—do not pay enough to keep a family of four above the poverty level. For more, visit the Working Poor Families Project at www.aecf.org/initiatives/jobsinitiative/workingpoor.htm.

Tuition rose again in our nation's colleges and universities, according to the College Board's annual report Trends in College Pricing 2004. This year's increase in four-year, public college tuition of 10 percent is less than last year's 14 percent hike, but nonetheless a large increase by historical standards. The report is free at the College Board's Web site, www.collegeboard.com.

Faculty & Staff
The lack of racial diversity in the health care professions is threatening the health of at least one-third of the U.S. population, according to a report released by the Sullivan Commission on Diversity in the Healthcare Workforce. Colleges and universities could help reverse the trend, however, by making education and training more affordable and attainable for minority students, who are more likely to practice in underserved areas; shifting aid from loans to scholarships; reducing reliance on standardized tests; and strengthening the role of two-year colleges in training minority health care workers.

A delegation of Cuban scholars was denied visas to attend a conference of the Latin American Studies Association in Las Vegas. A spokesperson for the State Department blamed the problem on the government of Fidel Castro, and said that the decision was consistent with the tightening of U.S. policy toward the Castro regime.

Professional News
High school is not preparing students for college-level work or job readiness, according to a report, Crisis at the Core: Preparing All Students for College and Work, released by ACT, the company that administers the college entrance exam.

Only 22 percent of the 1.2 million high school students who took the ACT during the 2003-04 school year were prepared for college-level courses in English, math, and science, notes the report.

Graduation rates for Black male basketball players are catching up to those of their white peers and to other college athletes, according to a report issued by the NCAA.

But while more rigorous academic standards for athletes are pushing graduation rates up in most areas, graduation rates among white basketball and football players are actually declining.

Change in Resident Undergraduate Student Costs and State Appropriations

Source: The College Board; Grapevine (Illinois State University).
* Subject to revision.