As the nation's student-loan debt surpasses the $1-trillion mark, alarming students, parents, and politicians, few are thinking about the effects it is having on people like Michael J. Trivette, a 28-year-old graduate student in higher education at the University of Georgia. Two-thirds of Ph.D. and other doctoral students and nearly three-quarters…

When colleges look to compare themselves with others, they are not much different from high-school students chasing popularity: Everyone wants to be friends with the Ivy League, but the Ivy League is really picky about whom it hangs out with. Each year colleges submit "comparison groups" to the U.S. Department of Education to get…

When Valencia College became the first recipient of the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence last month, an unsung sector earned uncommon recognition. Now that the speeches are over and the prize money has been awarded, the Aspen Institute is sharing early lessons from its yearlong effort to determine the top community college in the…

As the economy spirals downward, community colleges face what one president calls "a tsunami of students" that many institutions don't have space to accommodate, especially at peak times and in high-demand programs. Colleges are scrambling to respond--by scheduling courses whenever they have empty classrooms, including early mornings and…

Universities are not immune to the effects of the slumping economy, yet many of them are reporting their highest application and enrollment rates ever, as hard times compel people to look for new ways to increase their skills. Students' efforts to improve their job prospects, along with colleges' marketing efforts, have, indeed, translated to…

This article reports that the nation's economic crisis is bringing colleges higher borrowing costs, smaller endowments, tighter budgets, and fears over the availability of loans for their students. Yet one of the most critical factors in colleges' health--student enrollment--appears to be largely holding strong, at least for now. Tuition and fees…

A summary of foreign student enrollments lists the 78 institutions with the largest enrollments and their proportions of the student body, student distribution by field of study, a ranking of countries of origin, and the number of foreign students in each state. (MSE)

Describes how two-year colleges are doing some soul searching about why they have problems attracting male students. (EV)

After a difficult year for colleges and universities in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, the enrollment outlook for this fall is a lot brighter. Tulane University reported last week that 1,375 high-school seniors had committed to attending, a 56-percent jump over last year's 882 new freshmen. Xavier University of Louisiana reported that it…

A year in which most college admissions officials had expected a drop in applicants, many colleges are reporting applications increases of up to 60 percent. On the surface, such figures are cause for celebration, but some feel they are both the product and the cause of current admissions uncertainty. (MSE)

Data are given for the numbers and proportions of foreign students in the 78 U.S. colleges and universities with the largest foreign enrollments, numerical and proportional changes in the last year by field of study, and the number of students coming from each of 65 countries in each state. (MSE)

National data on foreign student enrollment lists the 80 2- and 4-year colleges and universities with the largest foreign student enrollments, the number of foreign students in each state, distribution of students in 1989-90 and 1990-91 by field of study (number and percentage), and countries of origin (ranked, with total student numbers). (MSE)

The number of private, public, and total universities, four-year colleges, and two-year colleges are charted to show fall 1983 student enrollments of: under 200, 200-499, 500-999, 1,000-2,499, 2,500-4,999, 5,000-9,999, 10,000-19,999, 20,000-29,999, and 30,000 or more. (MSE)

The 57 colleges and universities enrolling the most freshman Merit Scholars named in 1989 are listed, with the total number of Merit Scholarship winners and the number whose scholarships were paid for by the institution. Overall, 6,290 freshman Merit Scholars were enrolled, 3,228 at private and 2,652 at public institutions. (Author/MSE)

By offering admission to more students than ever and introducing tuition plans attractive to middle-income families, many colleges have larger first-year classes. Poor job prospects are boosting enrollments, and recession is driving students to look for education bargains. However, the trend does not apply to all groups or institutions. (MSE)