Growing up in Westminster in northern Maryland, Ron Shriver, 29, used to pass by the stately brick buildings of the college that is now McDaniel College and wonder: What went on up there on that hill overlooking Main Street? What would it be like to go to a college like that? What would it be like to go to college at all? Nobody in Mr. Shriver's…

Original research in biology, which is thought to spark student interest and bolster majors, makes its way to the associate-degree level. Through a grant from the National Science Foundation, students of biology in community colleges will have the chance to do research on open-ended, real-world questions with no predetermined answers--and…

The open-door policy at community colleges is unique in American higher education. It allows all comers--a retired grandmother, an Army veteran, a laid-off machinist--to learn a skill or get a credential. That broad access--the bedrock of the community-college system--has prepared hundreds of millions of people for transfer to four-year colleges…

American colleges and universities are often thought as being divided into two tiers--the elite institutions and everybody else. That grouping raises two important questions, however: Is that a full picture of degree providers in the United States, and do the tiers provide similar credentials? The answer to both is no. There are actually between…

The United States is falling behind other developed nations in terms of the share of its population with a college degree, and the gap will widen substantially unless the nation makes postsecondary education much more accessible, according to a report released last week by Jobs for the Future, a Boston-based research organization. If current…

Nursing educators in two-year programs are resisting efforts by educators in four-year nursing programs to lobby state legislatures to require all new registered nurses to hold bachelor's degrees. Two-year advocates cite their graduates' superior performance on the profession's standardized entrance exam, whereas four-year advocates cite…

Information on degrees conferred in 1992-93 is presented in tabular and graphic form and includes data on the number of degrees awarded, by degree type (associate, bachelor's master's doctoral, professional), gender, ethnic group or alien status, discipline area, and percentage change over five years. (MSE)

Data on the distribution of postsecondary degrees (associate, bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and professional) in 1990-91 are presented by racial/ethnic group and foreign student status, by gender, and by discipline or discipline group. (MSE)

A federal survey on academic degrees awarded and a report on the colleges and universities doing the best job of graduating minority students are summarized. Data on associate, bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and professional degrees awarded in major ethnic groups and to men and women in different disciplines are also presented. (MSE)

For 1992-2003, data are presented on projected college enrollment (total, by gender, full- and part-time, 4-year institution, 2-year institution, undergraduate, graduate, and first-professional, both public and private); degrees awarded (associate, bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and first-professional, both public and private); and public and…

Data are presented on high school completion and college attendance trends for whites, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and American Indians. Also shown are minority group college enrollment trends; degrees earned by minority group; and enrollment (undergraduate, graduate, full- and part-time) by race at about 3,400 colleges and universities, organized…

Data on college enrollment (men/women, full-time/part-time, four-year and two-year institutions, public and private), degrees awarded (associate, bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and first professional), and high school graduates (public and private) are projected for each year to 2005. (MSE)

Projections are offered for college enrollments (men, women, part-time, full-time, full-time-equivalent, four-year institutions, two-year institutions, undergraduate, graduate, first professional, public, and private institutions), degrees awarded (associate, bachelor's, master's doctoral, first professional, separately for men and women), and…