2008 Woodie Awards
{college nation}
Compiled by James Halpin
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'Other' may be the new white
University of Pennsylvania
A new report shows that most college hopefuls who say they are of "unknown" or "other" race on their applications are actually white -- and suggests that this may impact minority enrollment. The study, released by the California-based James Irvine Foundation, found that the number of students who check "unknown" or "other" has grown from 3.2 percent to 5.9 percent in the last decade -- and that the majority of those checking the boxes are actually white.
The report concludes that universities across the country are admitting fewer minority students than they anticipate because admissions officers assume applicants who check "other" are part of minority groups.
"The racial or ethnic composition of an institution can be distorted when there is a large unknown population," reads the December study, entitled "'Unknown' Students on College Campuses: An Exploratory Analysis." It includes data from 28 colleges and universities nationwide.
-Courtesy of The Daily Pennsylvanian
Bill could raise tuition for undocumented immigrants
University of Utah
A new bill being considered by the Utah State Legislature could increase the financial burden on immigrant university students who are not U.S. citizens.
Since 2002, students who are undocumented immigrants have been allowed to pay in-state tuition if they completed high school in Utah. House Bill 7, sponsored by Rep. Glenn A. Donnelson, R-North Ogden, proposes to repeal that privilege. The bill will be voted on by the House Education Committee later this legislative session.
The university's administration has taken an official position against the bill.
"At the university, we recognize that all are benefited by the contributions that college-educated students make to the workplace and society as a whole," Kim Wirthlin, vice president for Government Relations, said.
Proponents of the bill say it will prevent a costly lawsuit and support existing immigration laws. Opponents say there is no danger from a lawsuit, and that repealing the exemption would hurt statewide economic development and prevent a disadvantaged community from improving itself.
In July 2005, a federal court dismissed a lawsuit brought by a group of students in Kansas challenging that the state's out-of-state tuition exemption for non-citizen residents. The judge stated that the plaintiffs did not have standing to sue because they were not personally damaged by the immigrant students being charged in-state tuition.
-Courtesy of The Daily Utah Chronicle
New Orleans students return to a ravaged city
Tulane University
WASHINGTON -- For New Orleans area college students, New Year's Eve marked just the first in a series of new beginnings.
Just days after the start of 2006, thousands of students at colleges across the Gulf Coast returned to begin their first post-Katrina semester in an academic community that has changed greatly from the one they left nearly five months ago.
While no colleges in the area have had to close their doors, none managed to escape Katrina's impact. Tulane University's uptown and downtown campuses suffered roughly $200 million in damages, forcing the school to lay off more than 200 professors and scale back some academic programs.
Despite the changes at Tulane, university officials report pre-registration estimates showing that between 88 and 92 percent of the undergraduate population will return this spring.
The reopening of Tulane alone €" which boasts more students than any other area college €" is expected to expand the local population by 20 percent.
However, while several New Orleans-area school officials have expressed delight at the numbers of returning students, many schools are still struggling to recover, and a major concern is that the revenue from returning students will not compensate for the damages.
-Courtesy of Uwire