Vol. 19 No. 6 February 2005

People Are Talking About
Mid-Winter Round Up
on College Costs
Pell Grant Changes Pending. President Bush has announced that he will ask the new Congress to increase the maximum Pell Grant by $100-a-year to $4,150 next year. The maximum Pell amount would continue to rise to $4,550 by 2010, a 12 percent increase over the current $4,050. The President predicted the increase will help about 5.5 million of the nation's poorest students.

In December, the U.S. Department of Education released its new formula for calculating eligibility for Pell Grants. The move was aimed at targeting aid money to the poorest students, those who receive the current maximum scholarship of $4,050. In 2004, 5.3 million students received Pell Grants. However, the new formula will remove as many as 90,000 students from middle-and lower-income families.

About 90 percent of current Pell recipients come from families earning under $35,000 a year. The average Pell Grant is $2,400 a year. Most of those who will be removed from the program are at the upper end of income eligibility. They receive only the minimum grant of $400 a year.

The new calculations are based on 2002 data, replacing data gathered in 1990. Despite the tightening of guidelines, DOE expects a 25,000 net increase in Pell recipients for the 2005-2006 school year when the new regulations take effect. That number is expected to grow through 2008, when the largest class of high school graduates in U.S. history will matriculate in college. Congress has appropriated $12.4 billion for 2005 Pell Grants, an increase of $400 million over 2004, but less than the amount requested by the Bush Administration.

Tuitions Climb. When will they slow down? College Board's annual tuition survey found the four-year public colleges charged 10 percent more in 2003-04 than the previous year. At four-year private colleges, tuition rose by 9 percent. Both figures outpaced the annual rate of inflation, which was 2.3 percent in 2003.

Presidential Perks. Tuitions are soaring. So is compensation to college presidents. In 2003, 12 presidents of public universities made more than $500,000. In 2004, the number rose to 17. In 2003, 27 private college presidents made more than half a million dollars. In 2004, the number jumped to 42.

Tuition Reduction. North Park University in Chicago is the latest college to dramatically cut the price of tuition, slashing its sticker price by 30 percent. According to the Chicago Tribune, other schools making dramatic cuts since 2000 include: Eureka C., in Illinois, also by 30 percent; Lourdes C., in Ohio, by 41 percent; Salem International U., in West Virginia, by 35 percent; Westminster C., in Missouri, by 20 percent; Albertson C. of Idaho, by 30 percent; Waldorf C., in Iowa, by 15 percent; Heidelberg C., in Ohio, by 32 percent; Bethany C., in West Virginia, by 42 percent; Marlboro C., in Vermont, by 8 percent; and Wells C., in New York by 42 percent.

Tough Love? The U.S. Department of Education is getting tough with student loan defaulters. According to a January 6 Wall Street Journal report, DOE has hired a private collector to recover billions in bad debts from former students. In 1998, Congress made it possible for DOE to recover bad loans from those who have declared personal bankruptcy. It can also seize portions of paychecks, tax refunds and Social Security checks, all without a court order, just like the IRS. And it is using that power to collect decades old debts. Last fiscal year, it recovered $5.7 billion, twice the level of 1998. In 1990, the default rate stood at 22 percent. Last year, it had fallen to just 5.2 percent.

Preparing for College; What Students and Families Can Do. A recent policy brief from the Lumina Foundation, based in Indianapolis, makes recommendations for students and families about the hard facts of succeeding in college. "Collision Course: Rising college costs threaten America's future and require shared solutions," insists that "Preparing for college requires academic planning and effort, and the earlier the start, the better. To enhance the chances of success in college, a student should take rigorous courses in high school. The rigor of the student's high school courses counts more for eventual bachelor's degree completion than either test scores or class rank/academic grade point average."

The Lumina policy brief also noted that, "Parents typically overestimate college prices and underestimate the amount of financial aid that will be available to their children when they go to college. Starting as early as the eighth grade, parents can take a look at 'early estimators' or other pre-qualification guides to access the likelihood of available aid and actual out-of-pocket costs." The report urged parents also to explore tax benefits such as state 529 plans and the Coverdall Education Savings Accounts.

And students should "consider every opportunity for enrolling in Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, College Level Examination Program, accredited distance learning and dual-enrollment programs. Such approaches can materially reduce the time and cost of securing a college education."

The Lumina brief suggests that there are "New Rules of the Game" that students and educators must recognize, and quoted from James E. Rosenbaum's "Beyond High School for Everyone," a paper presented to the Aspen Institute in 2003:

• "All students can attend college, but low-achieving students should be warned about remedial courses and their own likely prospects;
  
• All students can plan to get a college degree; but, if they are unprepared, they must be willing to repeat high school courses in college, spending extra time and effort in non-credit remedial courses, with higher risks of failure;
  
• Even if students have college plans, they must still prepare for work. All career plans should include multiple options, particularly for students who have poor likelihood of completing college;
  
• College plans require increased school effort. If students delay their effort until they get to college, the delay will make degree completion take longer and be less likely;
  
• Policies to improve college preparation do not remove the need to provide information about students' prospects or to provide other options."

Enrollment Time Bomb? How can colleges cope with the influx of millions of new students that the Council for the Aid to Education calls a "time bomb ticking under the nation's social and economic foundations?"

Writing in a recent issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education, Gordon Davies, senior advisor to the Education Commission of the States, recommends several provocative readjustments: requiring students to take at least two summer terms, as is the case at several California State University campuses; a three-year baccalaureate degree, as is the case in England, is feasible because of more advanced work in high school; a more standardized curriculum to free up faculty; more computer-based teaching and learning; and resource sharing and collaboration among colleges and universities.

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ADMISSIONS WATCH
Watching Harvard's EA. Harvard has admitted 885 students for the Class of 2009 through its Early Action program, from a pool of 4,213 applicants. That compares to 902 students who were admitted E.A. to the Class of 2008 from a pool of 3,889 applicants. Another 3,120 of the E.A. pool were deferred to the regular admission cycle, while 135 were rejected outright and 10 withdrew. Over 60 E.A. applications were incomplete.

Additionally, as a result of Harvard's new Financial Aid Initiative (HFAI) and aggressive summer recruiting by Harvard undergraduates working in the office of admissions, more of the admitted E.A. students come from low-and-moderate income backgrounds.

Over 11 percent of the accepted E.A. students are international students. Nearly 18 percent are Asian American students; 8.7 percent are African Americans; 3.4 percent are Hispanic students and 2 percent are Mexican Americans.

NU's EDs Fall. Early Decision applications to Northwestern U.'s Class of 2009 fell by 5.6 percent compared to last year, but remain above the number of ED applicants to the Class of 2007.

Statistics analyzing the Class of 2008 indicate that admitted students scored the highest in school history on the SAT, posting a mean score of 1398, nine points higher than the Class of 2007. About 30 percent of 2008 applicants were accepted. About 16 percent more African-American students and 18 percent more Latino students joined the Class of 2008 than the previous year.

Yale's International Outreach. Yale U. has announced that it will pay the $100 fee required by the federal government of all its new degree-seeking international students. The new $100 fee is used by the Department of Homeland Security to finance its Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), which tracks international students and scholars. Yale attracts about 500 new international students each year to its undergraduate, graduate and professional programs.

College-Bound Freshmen. Purdue U. in Indiana has launched a new web site to help high school freshmen interested in any college to prepare for admissions. Topics include: Choosing the Right Classes; Tips Galore; Paying for College; Having Fun. See: www.purdue.edu/admissions/yourfuture/.

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TESTING TABS
Writing Tests Rejected. Beloit College in Wisconsin has announced that it will not count the new writing sections of the SAT or ACT in its admissions calculations of prospective students. While intensive writing "across the curriculum" is an integral part of learning at Beloit, the school does not think the new tests are reliable indicators of the kind of writing it promotes.

"At a time when so much anxiety and hype surrounds college admissions," said Beloit's vice president for enrollment services, Nancy Monnich, "we need to step back and take a breath. Students, their test-taking coaches and teachers alike are developing strategies for students to use under timed writing conditions. In my view, this is energy put into strategy development rather than good writing, and only heightens the anxiety level of college-bound students and their parents."

Monnich added, "I am concerned that the assessment of the writing exam is being placed on an objective scale when writing is nearly impossible to quantify. We are concernedthat these tests will be unproductive and the results will be inconsistent."

Other Colleges Weigh In. The fall 2004 issue of FairTest Examiner reported that 63 percent of four-year colleges responding to an ACT survey said they will not require applicants to submit either the ACT or SAT's writing test. To find the specific writing test requirements of various colleges and universities, consult: www.actstudent.org/writing/index.html.

Math Woes. The latest results from the Program for International Student Assessment found that U.S. 15-year-olds lag behind 20 of 29 industrialized countries in total math literacy and every specific area tested from geometry and algebra to statistics and computation. Top nations? Finland, Korea, the Netherlands, Japan, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland and New Zealand. The consequences for colleges? More remedial math courses.

Test Scores

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THE COUNSELOR'S CORNER
WHO OFFERS Ecuadorian Studies? What women's college has a new program in engineering? What new majors or degrees are available to students at the colleges and universities? Here are a some CB found in its latest survey of colleges coast to coast.

NEW MAJORS, NEW PROGRAMS
Mental health counseling. Adelphi U.

Criminology. Belmont Abbey C.

Students may now declare concentrations to make their degrees more specific to their interests. There are 21 areas of concentration: 15 in business, 6 in liberal arts. Babson C.

Health Sciences, Business Law. Boston U.

Bimolecular Science. Central Connecticut State U.

Financial Economics. Centre C.

Early Childhood and Middle Level Education. College of Charleston

Undergraduate: Criminology/Sociology, Aging Services Administration/Social Work, Aging Services Administration/Recreational Therapy. College of Mount St. Joseph.

Art History Concentration in Art and Design Major. Columbia C. Chicago

Native American Studies. Creighton U.

Law and Policy, Neuroscience, Policy Management. Dickinson C.

Pre-law. Eastern Mennonite U.

American Studies, Chinese Studies. Emory U.

Middle Eastern Studies. Florida State U.

New College of Information Technology. Georgia Southern U.

Military Leadership and National Security Studies. Hampden-Sydney C.

English. Husson C.

Justice Studies, Statistics, Health Services Administration, Athletic Training. James Madison U.

Japanese. Linfield C.

Retailing Concentration in Business. Longwood U.

Forensic Science. Marygrove C.

Adventure Education, Family and Consumer Sciences Education, Humanities-Art History. Messiah C.

Biotech. Northwest Missouri State U.

Biochemistry, Environmental Studies. Moravian C.

Comparative American Studies, Cinema Studies. Oberlin C.

Forensic Biology and Information Technology planned for 2005. Ohio Northern U.

Nursing. Pine Manor C.

Native American Studies Program. Portland State U.

Global Studies. Providence C.

Passport to Houston. Rice U.

Information Systems. Saint Michael's C.

Leadership, Community Service. Saint Louis U.

Engineering, Japanese. Sarah Lawrence C.

Engineering. Smith C.

Markets and Culture. Southern Methodist U.

Engineering, MAT. Sweet Briar C.

Forensic Chemistry. Towson U.

Biotechnology; Entrepreneurial Studies. U. of Illinois

PGA Golf Management. U. of Nebraska

New curriculum in Jewish Studies. U. of North Carolina

Accelerated B.S. and M.S. in Aerospace Engineering, accelerated B.S. in Industrial Engineering and M.B.A. U. of Oklahoma

Ecuadorian Studies Program. Wabash C.

Honors Program in Philosophy, Politics and the Public (PPP), an interdisciplinary honors program that prepares students to undertake graduate studies in philosophy, political science or public policy as well as pursue the study of international business or law. Xavier U.

NEW MINORS
Creative Writing, Environmental Studies. Centre C.

Film and Media Studies. Colgate U.

American Sign Language and Deaf Studies, Mathematics for Elementary Education. U. of North Dakota.

Screen and Stage, Latino/a Studies, U. of North Carolina

NEW DEGREES
B. A. Humane Leadership. Duquesne U.

B.S. Actuarial Science. Elizabethtown C.

B.S. Health Sciences; B.S. Applied Physics. UC Santa Cruz.

B.S. in Nursing planned in 2005. Ohio Northern U.

DUAL-DEGREES
Economics-Engineering. Claremont McKenna C.

Teaching Credential will be earned through a fifth-year master of arts in teaching. DePauw U.

Three new dual level programs: in five years students receive a BS in Bible and either an MS in Education, Christian Counseling, Organizational Leadership. Philadelphia Biblical U.

Many new combined bachelors/masters programs. SUNY at Buffalo

NEW CERTIFICATES
Elementary Education and Special Education Dual Certification. Messiah C.

CLS Categorical Tr: Clinical Chemistry/Urinalysis, Hematology/Hemostasis, Immunohematology, Microbiology; Certificate in Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing: Nurse Practicioner, Clinical Nurse Specialist. U. of North Dakota

GRADUATE DEGREES
Masters of Accounting, Masters of Pastoral Ministry, MS in Community Leadership, MS in Leadership and IT. Duquesne U.

MS Electronics Engineering, MS in Optical Engineering. Norfolk State U.

Direct-entry doctorate in Physical Therapy (DPT) Program. Saint Louis U.

Master of Geological Engineering, Doctorate in Music Education, Masters in Technology Education. U. North Dakota

P.S. What are the most popular majors or programs on campus, according to CB's survey? Biology reigns supreme this year followed by psychology, business and education.

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NEWS YOU CAN USE
Who's Studying? What are students doing once they reach college campuses? Results from the recent National Survey of Student Engagement suggest they aren't doing much studying. Only 11 percent of the 163,000 undergraduates surveyed at 472 four-year colleges said that they put in the 25 hours of class preparation each week recommended by their professors. Some 44 percent spent 10 hours or less studying. And about 44 percent of freshman and 25 percent of seniors said they don't discuss ideas or reading from their courses with faculty outside of class. None-the-less, 40 percent of these students earned mostly A's and 41 percent mostly B's. Also, 60 percent of college seniors had engaged in some kind of volunteer work. As a result, about 90 percent of students reported they had either "good" or "excellent" college experiences.

Job Prospects Improve. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the job outlook for 2005 graduates is looking up, with over 13 percent more graduates likely to find employment. Those facing the brightest prospects will be graduates in accounting, business administration, computer science, economics, electrical engineering, finance and mechanical engineering.

Fast Growing Jobs. What kinds of jobs will a high school degree land graduates in the future? The U.S. Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that by 2012, job categories with the most momentum for high school grads and dropouts will be menial, low-paying health services jobs.

However, those with college degrees have a brighter future. Fast growing professions for college graduates will include registered nurses, graduate-level college professions and general managers. Other fast-growing occupations requiring a college degree are network systems and communications analysts, with an expected 57 percent growth; physician assistants, with an expected 49 percent growth; and preschool teachers, with a 36 percent growth predicted. In the global economy, intellectual skills will still be of value, experts predict.

Private School Growth. The biennial Private School Universe Survey, published by the National Center for Education Statistics, indicates that enrollment in private primary and secondary schools in the U.S. grew by 7.5 percent, or 2,050 students, between 1999 and 2001. Catholic schools still attract the most private students, with 47.1 percent, followed by nonsectarian private schools with 16.7 percent and Conservative Christian schools with 15.4 percent of all private school students.

Online Explosion. Over one million students, or about 6 percent of all postsecondary learners are enrolled in online degree programs, according to Eduventures, a Boston-based consulting firm. Greater accessibility of programs, and convenience of learning are the two factors driving the numbers.

And according to a survey of 1,170 schools conducted by Babson College and the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, 1.9 millions students enrolled in online courses in the fall of 2003, an increase of 19 percent over a year earlier. Administrators at those schools expected 24 percent growth in 2004.

But do online degrees garner respect in the workplace? Increasingly, yes, in part because traditional non-profit universities have joined the for-profits in offering degree programs. A 2004 survey by the Online University Consortium found that 65 percent of human resource executives preferred programs sponsored by traditional universities; 14 percent preferred the for-profit programs and 24 percent were undecided. In all likelihood, the distinction between the two will fade as online graduates become more common. However, buyer beware. According to some estimates, there are over 100 fake online colleges. Students can find the legitimate programs by checking with the Council for Higher Education Accreditation at www.chea.org or at www.GetEducated.com's Diploma Mill Police.

Women's Work? According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, in 2002, more women earned Ph.D.'s than men, 51 to 49 percent. However, only 38 percent of instructional faculty members are women. At research institutions, women held only 28 percent of the instructional posts. But if Ph.D. trends continue, the tide of change appears to be on their side.

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International Affairs
Foreign Competition. The U.S. may be losing its competitive edge when it comes to educating overseas graduate students. According to a recent report by The New York Times, applications by overseas students to U.S. graduate schools plunged by 28 percent. In the end, enrollment by these students fell by only 6 percent. Enrollment by both undergrad and graduate students fell for the first time in three decades.

Part of the problem is competition from the new streamlined universities of the European Union, England, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and Hong Kong. China has also entered the race, rushing to transform 100 of its universities into world-class research institutions. Another problem is the difficulty students have in obtaining timely visas since the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Best Canadian Colleges. Here's Maclean's magazine 2004 ranking of the best comprehensive Canadian colleges: University of Waterloo, in Ontario; U. of Guelph, in Ontario; and U. of Victoria, in British Columbia. The best undergraduate universities: St. Francis Xavier U, in Nova Scotia; Mount Allison U., in New Brunswick; and Acadia U., in Nova Scotia.

Open Doors. Which countries sent the most students to the U.S.? India, China, South Korea, Japan, Canada, Taiwan, Mexico, Turkey, Thailand and Indonesia.

What were the top destination for foreign students? U. of Southern California, Columbia U., Purdue U., New York U., U. of Texas at Austin, U. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, U. of Michigan, Boston U., U. of California at Los Angles and The Ohio State U.

Which nations logged the big percentage drops in students coming to the U.S.? Indonesia -14.9 percent; Japan -11.2 percent; Thailand
-10.5 percent; Hong Kong -9 percent; Brazil -7 percent; Kenya -6.1 percent; Germany -6 percent and France -5.6 percent.

Irish Learning. Hibernia College, Ireland's nationally accredited online college, is offering degrees in primary education, hospitality management, criminal justice, public administration and the history and culture of Ireland. See www.hiberniacollege.org.

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The New SAT
In March, college-bound students will take a new SAT. Scads of new books are rolling off the press on the subject. Here are two just out:

• Pass Key to the NEW SAT by Sharon Weiner Green and Ira K. Wolf, Ph.D. a test-prep manual for students who need a quick review before taking the SAT. (Barron's) 432 pp., ISBN 0-7641-2364-5, $9.95.
  
• Verbal Workbook for the NEW SAT by Sharon Weiner Green. Barron's 11th edition includes four full-length practice tests in critical reading and writing skills, self assessment, a vocabulary list and practice and review questions. Paperback; 400 pp., ISBN 0-7641-2411-0, $14.95.

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COLLEGE BOUND's Publisher/Editor: R. Craig Sautter, DePaul University; Chief Operating Officer: Sally Reed; Contributor: Marc Davis; Circulation: Irma Gonzalez-Hider; Illustration: Louis Coronel; Board of Advisors: Rosita Fernandez-Rojo, Choate-Rosemary Hall; Claire D. Friedlander, Bedford (N.Y.) Central School District; Howard Greene, author, The Greenes' Guides to Educational Planning Series; Frank C. Leana, Ph.D., educational counselor; Virginia Vogel, Educational Guidance Services; M. Fredric Volkmann, Washington University in St. Louis, Mary Ann Willis, Bayside Academy (Daphne, Ala.).

In This Issue

Feature Articles
Mid-Winter Round Up
on College Costs

ADMISSIONS WATCH
-Watching Harvard's EA
-NU's EDs Fall
-Yale's International Outreach
-College-Bound Freshmen

TESTING TABS
-Writing Tests Rejected
-Other Colleges Weigh In
-Math Woes
-Test Scores

COUNSELOR'S CORNER
New Programs or Majors

ADMISSIONS WATCH
-Who's Studying?
-Job Prospects Improve
-Fast Growing Jobs
-Private School Growth
-Online Explosion
-Women's Work?

International Affairs

The New SAT

P.S. To renew your subscription or order Who Got In? 2004 go to www.collegeboundnews.com or call 773-262-5810.