Vol. 20 No. 6 February 2006

Internal Focus
Global Affairs Impact Admissions
ONLY 24 PERCENT OF PUBLIC elementary schools teach a foreign language, according to the Center for Applied Linguists. And most of them only provide introductory exposure rather than striving for foreign language proficiency.

In contrast, 200 million Chinese children study English, which is a required language in Chinese elementary schools.

At the same time, only 44 percent of U.S. high school students take foreign language classes. Of those students, 69 percent are enrolled in Spanish and 18 percent in French.

And less than 1 percent of U. S. high school students study Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Japanese, Korean, Russian or Urdu.

Equally disturbing, less than 8 percent of college undergraduates take a foreign language, and less than 2 percent study abroad in any given year.

Yet, it is becoming more and more evident that U.S. students must master "critical need" foreign languages in order for the United States to remain economically competitive and to meet new national security concerns.

President Urges New Language Initiative
So President Bush has introduced a new $57 million national initiative to educate students and teachers in the languages considered vital to the economic future and security of the nation, and to expand all foreign language training.

The first step will fund 24 school districts across the country to form partnerships with colleges and universities and begin instruction in these languages.

Another goal will be to train 1,000 new foreign language teachers before the end of the decade. To that end, the U.S. Dept. of Education is setting aside $5 million to create a Language Teacher Corps. A new E-Language Clearinghouse will deliver language education resources to teachers and students across the nation. The DOE will also spend $3 million to expand its Teacher-to-Teacher seminars to reach thousands of foreign language teachers in 2007.

LOCAL RESPONSES
Other public officials, such as Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago, are on board. Daley returned from a trip to China in 2004 where he witnessed Chinese students learning English. He then urged his city to start teaching Chinese in elementary schools, warning that cities such as his will face economic troubles in the future unless they can better compete globally. Now Chicago has the nation's largest Chinese language program for non-Chinese speaking students.

In December, the Yale Bulletin announced that a select number of Chinese and non-Chinese speaking Yale U. students will be attending class with honors students from the U. of Peking in a new joint undergraduate program. "Those who will lead our two countries need to understand each other," Yale president Richard C. Levin said in Beijing at the signing of the agreement between the two universities.

Twenty Yale students will take a full course load taught in English by Yale and Peking U. faculty and will study Chinese language. They will live in a new residence hall on the Peking campus with 20 Chinese honor students. The program is open to all sophomore, junior, and first-semester Yale seniors. Yale has a total of 60 collaborations in China.

Northern Virginia Community College and the Arlington County Public Schools have proposed a program to begin next fall that will grant dual credit for high school and NVCC courses if students study Chinese or Arabic, according to the Community College Times.

And CB noted in its Annual Survey of Admissions Trends this fall, that a number of colleges are adding new "critical languages" to their programs. Fordham U., for example, has begun offering Mandarin Chinese. Middlebury C. has a new program abroad in China. The Ohio State has begun offering Korean. The U. of Oklahoma has a new B.A. in Chinese. Wake Forest U. has added a new major in East Asian Languages and Cultures.

Purdue U. has notified prospective students that almost all Purdue programs now expect four semesters of foreign language for admission consideration. The only exceptions are the College of Consumer and Family Services, the College of Technology (required in 2007) and the Veterinary Technology.

NEW AP TEST
Recognizing the new trend, the College Board will begin offering a Chinese Advanced Placement test in 2006. The Modern Language Association notes Chinese language instruction in college jumped 20 percent from 1998 to 2002. And study abroad in China jumped 90 percent between 2003 and 2004. But that is just a start and the President's new initiative will help on several fronts.

Summit on International Education
Also, in early January, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings co-hosted the U.S. University Presidents Summit on International Education in Washington D.C.

Presidents from public and private universities and colleges, community colleges and higher education associations from all 50 states and Puerto Rico gathered to "reinforce a common need in attracting foreign students and scholars to U.S. institutions" and improve how to educate "globally competitive U.S. students to work in fields of international interest."

Also discussed were: U.S. higher education programs abroad, how to reach out to underserved populations, understanding visa and regulatory process, student and scholar exchange priorities, utilizing the international education resources of community colleges, improving international education for U.S. students, increasing study abroad, encouraging non-traditional study abroad locations, strengthening non-traditional language acquisition and developing new international partnerships.

The federal government also plans to expand its Gilman scholarship for financially disadvantaged U.S. undergraduates to study abroad to include 200 more students.

Visit http://exchanges.state.gov to find the full text of remarks by President Bush, Secretaries Rice and Spellings and others, and for a briefing on the Summit and National Security Language Initiative and other related programs.

STATE OF FOREIGN STUDY
These initiatives come against the backdrop of the latest study by the Institute of International Education, which tracks the ebb and flow of foreign study by students world-wide. It found that more U.S. students studied abroad in the 2003-2004 academic year by nearly 10 percent.

The top 10 destinations for U. S. students were Britain, up 2 percent; Italy, up 16 percent; Spain, up 6 percent; France, up 5 percent; Australia, up 7 percent; Mexico, up 6 percent; Germany, up 7 percent; Ireland, up 6 percent; China, up 90 percent and Costa Rica, up 5 percent. Number 13 New Zealand saw a 24 percent increase and number 14 Cuba registered a 46 percent gain.

But I.I.E. also recently released its annual "Open Doors" report, noting that more non-U.S. students continue to go elsewhere for their college education in the wake of 9/11. For the second year in a row, the number of foreign students enrolling in U.S. colleges fell, according to I.I.E.

The number of foreign student undergraduates declined by a little over 3 percent during the 2004-2005 school year while foreign graduate students tumbled by 4 percent.

However, the I.I.E. report also noted that the number of non-degree foreign students studying in the U.S. soared by almost 23 percent. Most of these students are seeking to improve their English language skills before seeking enrollment in U.S. schools.

Some of the largest declines have come from Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia, down nearly 14 percent, and Indonesia, down 26 percent.

One counter force is that other nations have become more aggressive in recruiting the same students. In Australia, for example, the number of students from India and China jumped from 13,056 to 47,911 between 2003 and 2004. But the U.S. has a natural advantage with 4,000 colleges and universities, versus 35 in Australia, 260 in Britain and 85 in Canada.

Most experts point to the problems or perceived problems for foreign students in obtaining U.S. visas. And to counter recent declines, both the State Department and U.S. embassies worldwide are seeking to streamline the visa process and are seeking to spread the message that serious overseas students are still welcome in the U.S.

TOEFL COMPLAINTS
There are also complaints about the entrance requirements for foreign students. Last October, the Educational Testing Service began phasing out the written version of the Test of English as a Foreign Language, known as TOEFL, for on online version. But according to a January 6 article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, European educators are complaining that the change is hurting their students. They say there were not enough sites offering the test and technological glitches hurt other test takers. If students can't take the test, they complained, they can't get into the programs to which they have applied.

ETS promises the glitches that come with any change and other problems will be overcome and that through the Internet version more students ultimately will have access to the test.

NEW GLOBAL LEARNING INITIATIVE
Finally, the American Association of Colleges and Universities hopes to improve what students are learning about the world. It recently selected 16 colleges and universities throughout the country for a National Initiative on General Education for Global Learning. The colleges will form a network to develop new global learning curricula.

"The schools chosen to participate in this cutting edge initiative are positioned to develop general education courses and programs that will be models for others as the academy seeks to better educate all students for the global challenges of our world," said AAC&U senior scholar Lee Knefelkamp.

The colleges include: Arcadia U., Butler U., California State U.-Long Beach, Chandler-Gilbert Community C., Dickinson C., Drury U., Hawaii Pacific U., Marquette U., Mesa Community C., Otterbein C., Stephens C., U. S. Military Academy, U. of N. C. at Chapel Hill, U. of Wyoming, Wheaton C. in Massachusetts and Whittier C.

Kevin Hovland, project director, suggests that, "Just as 'Western Civilization' was the focus at many institutions of a strong general education curriculum in the 20th century, so global challenges and global interdependence can provide a profound new framing for general education in the 21st century."

AAC&U will also publish a series of reports on global learning over the course of the coming year. For more info, www.aacu.org/sharedfutures/gened_global_learning.

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THE COUNSELOR'S CORNER
The International Student
in the U.S.
THE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS increasingly found in American high schools today are not a homogeneous group. Excerpts from talks at a recent NACAC meeting note the challenges counselors face in guiding such students and how they address their problems with admissions to college.

Michael Chimes, director of college guidance, Gil St. Bernard School in New Jersey, noted, "International students are an increasing presence at a great many American secondary schools. In part, this is because immigration rates are high. In certain parts of the country, notably the Southern tier and also the West Coast, school-age demographics have changed dramatically over the last couple of decades.

"A smaller group of international students is also changing the look of many American high schools. These are students that are sent to the U. S. for their high school years so that they will be in a better position to successfully gain entrance to an American university.

"In fact, the term 'international students' might more broadly be seen to apply to all students who come from homes that are culturally and linguistically tied to another place. Students who are American citizens, but are raised in households where English is a second language, are often akin to international students in terms of their counseling needs."

Guidance counselors, then, face certain challenges with international students. These include: Verbal test scores may appear low. Although students are adept speakers, they may be less familiar with the intricacies of proper English usage. These same language stumbling blocks may prevent high levels of achievement in courses. Additionally, these students may view a university education with different sensibilities. "Some may put undue emphasis on postsecondary schooling as a long-term ticket to success," Mr. Chimes said. However, they may have a short list of colleges as the ticket to their success. Others may not see themselves as college material because there is no tradition of college education in their family.

SENSITIVITY TO INTERNATIONAL PARENTS
Fran Samuels, formerly director of college counseling, The Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, New York, said she has worked with both international students who are wealthy and an immigrant population which tended to be poor. But in both cases, she's found the parents bring different values, perspective and history. These include:

A Difference in Identity. For the international parents who come to the U.S. with their children or send their children here alone, there is a history of revering education. Education is prestigious. American parents "know that education is important," Ms. Samuels said. But international parents "feel education gives them some extra background, some extra status. It is almost spiritual."

The Mission. "In America, the possibility of higher education is a given," Ms. Samuels said. "In America, there's no question that if a student wants to, he or she can get help to go on to a community college, a trade school, an art institute, a university, a college. American parents then want to know what the options are and how to go about proceeding with the process of applying." Many international and especially immigrant parents do not see education as a "given" for their children. It's fiercely competitive to get into most schools in most other countries, she noted. International parents then feel their mission is to create possibilities for their children in this country.

Fear of Coming to School. Yet, some international students come to a guidance counselor without parents. Poorer students, the immigrant students, will often have an older sibling or a cousin come with them to the guidance counselor. The parents won't come for a variety of reasons. They don't come because of a language barrier, they are embarrassed about accents or they feel it is futile because they don't understand. Some are afraid of losing their child to a distant, foreign, "forbidding" institution. Many are frightened by the financial burdens and they don't want to talk to counselors about such private matters.

Pressure on Students. Getting into a "prestigious" school is important. This manifests itself with pressure on students in unique ways. International students may already have a major in mind because they do not feel they have the luxury of being "undecided." International students further believe they must do rigorous test prep because that is what they need to do to get into schools in their own countries.

THE SCARSDALE'S PROGRAM
Scarsdale High School, north of New York City, has created a program that focuses on the emotional needs of international students as well as their education. Long viewed as highly attractive public school for international business families, Scarsdale High now includes immigrant students ranging from those who are highly Americanized to those who are recent arrivals to this country.

According to Lynda Mandlawitz, guidance counselor, the international students at Scarsdale were once primarily the children of Japanese businessmen and the school offered primarily English as a Second Language for them. Today, students come from a variety of countries, including those where English is already taught. But Scarsdale has found that this has placed greater demands on counselors and teachers. The students are now sprinkled throughout school and the challenge for counselors is to keep track of them academically and socially.

So Scarsdale has made multicultural education its organizing theme for the entire school. New teachers receive training about issues facing international students. A committee oversees ways to enhance multicultural awareness of students and faculty. The school sponsors a teacher's institute and works with families new to the district. It has broadened its foreign language offerings, provides ESL to parents, and sponsors open meetings for parents, another for students. If students need support in academic classes, other students volunteer to help. A group meets once a week for all newcomers to help acclimate them.

Some international students report feeling isolated and have trouble fitting in. Regardless of backgrounds, students often experience stress in trying to succeed. So students now receive individual and group counseling on how to cope if they feel ignored or avoided. Counselors keep a watchful eye. They also try to manage parents' expectation about admissions to college. Counselors host meetings for international parents. At Scarsdale High School, the pressures on students are "huge," added Ms. Mandlawitz, but counselors focus on the emotional needs of students as well.

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More CB Survey Results
Colleges continue to send in their final numbers for the entering class of Fall 2005.

Cornell C. in Iowa received 1,653 applications in 2005, fewer than in 2004; admitted 1,096, fewer than the previous year; for a first-year class of 319, larger than in 2004; wait listed 65, more than the previous year, admitting 11; for a yield of 29 percent. About the "new" SAT Writing test, Susan C. Minger, associate director of Institutional Research, said, "So far the Office of Admission has been disappointed by the quality of writing found in these essays and will continue to require an essay as a part of the admission process for this reason."

DePauw U. received 3,884 applications in 2005, fewer than in 2004; admitted 2,310, fewer than the previous year; for a first-year class of 610, smaller than 2004; for a yield of 27 percent, lower than in 2004; 7 percent of the class was accepted early. DePauw has a new major in Environmental Geo Science. According to Earl Macam, senior associate director of admission, "Classroom work/academic progress is the most important factor in the admission process."

Lawrence U. in Wisconsin received 2,060 applications in 2005, more than in 2004; admitted 1,405, more than the previous year; for a first-year class of 401, larger than 2004; wait listed 58, more than the previous year, admitting 2; for a yield of 29 percent, higher than in 2004; 27 percent of the class was accepted early. Ken Anselment, director, admissions, notes Lawrence's commitment to individualized instruction stating, "Each year, of the more than 1,700 courses Lawrence offers, nearly half have total enrollments of one student each."

University of the Arts in Philadelphia received 2,285 applications in 2005, more than in 2004; admitted 1,115, more than the previous year; for a first-year class of 510, larger than 2004; wait listed 44, more than the previous year, admitting 26; for a yield of 48 percent, the same as in 2004. The U. of the Arts is, "the only university in the U.S. devoted exclusively to the professional training and education in the visual, performing and media arts," said Susan Gandy, director.

Wake Forest U. in North Carolina received 7,484 applications in 2005, more than in 2004; admitted 2,882, fewer than in the previous year; for a first-year class of 1,120, the same as in 2004; for a yield of about 39 percent, higher than in 2004; 34 percent of the class was accepted early. In the last two years, Wake Forest added a new major, East Asian Language and Cultures, according to Martha B. Allman, director of admissions. The Department of Music now offers two majors, in music performance and music history/theory/composition. Also, the Environmental Program now offers two minors, one in environmental science and the other in environmental studies. Students can also earn new minors in Film Studies and Entrepreneurships and Social Enterprise.

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ADMISSIONS WATCH
Harvard's Early Numbers. Just over 800 students were admitted to Harvard C.'s Class of 2010 under its Early Action program this year. That's the smallest number since the Class of 1999. In each of the past three years, about 4,000 students applied early to Harvard, compared to more than 7,600 who applied for Harvard's Class of 2007, when students could apply to an unlimited number of Early Action colleges, as well as one binding Early Decision school.

"Our return three years ago to our long-standing policy of 'single-choice' Early Action has helped to abate some of the frenzy that has beset early admission programs across America over the past decade or so," William R. Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and financial aid, told the Harvard University Gazette. "The pattern of the past three years suggests a return to a better era, when students could take the time during their senior year in high school to make more thoughtful decisions about where they wanted to spend the next four years."

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Beloit C. Reports Record Applications. Beloit C. in Wisconsin continues to receive record numbers of applications for first-year students. "Most interesting from my point of view is that 30 percent of our applicants appeared on Beloit's doorstep with the application, or some part of it, as their first contact with the College," said Nancy Monnich Benedict, vice president for enrollment services, in Beloit College Magazine Fall/Winter 2005.

The magazine also reported that "of the 325 first-year students in 2005, 22 had a Beloit family connection, 12 percent were under-represented minority students, 7 percent citizens of a foreign country. The new students' median GPA was 3.52, 120 belonged to the National Honor Society, 122 earned a varsity letter in sports and 219 listed community service as a significant activity they expected to continue in college."

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New Orleans Calling. The population of flood-soaked New Orleans rose by 20 percent in January as thousands of college students returned to their old schools. More than 100,000 students were forced to flee 14 closed Gulf Coast colleges and universities in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Now many are making a slow comeback.

More than 90 percent of Tulane U.'s 10,000 students showed up for classes after a washed out fall semester. Applications are up 19 percent for next semester, according PBS's NewsHour. Tulane suffered losses of $200 million to its campuses.

Dillard U., one of the nation's oldest black colleges, was entirely underwater and incurred over a half a billion dollars in damages. But half of the pre-Katrina students, about 1,100, are back in class in the luxurious Hilton Hotel along the banks of the Mississippi.

Xavier U., which was also devastated, has "miraculously" reopened its doors. College officials state that the entire city in recovery has become a learning lab for excited students, and colleges are sharing resources as they rebuild a new city.

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Negative Letters of Recommendation. About 5 to 10 percent of letters of recommendation from teachers and counselors are "negative or damn an applicant with faint praise," according to a December 27 USA Today article which included letter of recommendation writing tips and quoted admissions deans.

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SAT-Optional. Chatham C., a selective institution for women in Pittsburgh, has dropped all standardized test score requirements for admissions. According to Michael Poll, vice president for admissions, applicants can now submit graded test papers, high school GPA and portfolios in lieu of ACT or SAT scores. "Standardized tests only reveal verbal and mathematical aptitude within a very controlled environment," Poll said, "but Chatham also considers qualities like creativity, ingenuity, leadership or reasoning that better indicate a successful college student. We see no correlation between SAT scores alone and academic success" For more details on Chatham, see www.chatham.edu.

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COLLEGE BOUND's Publisher/Editor: R. Craig Sautter, DePaul University; Chief Operating Officer: Sally Reed; Circulation: Irma Gonzalez-Hider; Illustration: Louis Coronel; Board of Advisors: David Breeden, Edina High School, Minnesota; 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; M. Fredric Volkmann, Washington University in St. Louis; Mary Ann Willis, Bayside Academy (Daphne, Ala.).

In This Issue

Feature Articles
Global Affairs Impact
Admissions

-President Urges New Language Initiative

-Summit on International Education

-Scholarship Scoops

COUNSELOR'S CORNER
-The International Student in the U.S.

-More CB Survey Results

ADMISSIONS WATCH
-Harvard's Early Numbers
-Beloit C. Reports Record Applications
-New Orleans Calling
-Negative Letters of Recommendation
-SAT-Optional

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