People of Color and Women Gain In Enrollment
WASHINGTON — Students of color represent a larger share of the college population than they did at the beginning of this decade, a new Education Department report says.
Minorities in 1997 accounted for 27 percent of all college students, up from 20 percent in 1990, says the study, Getting There: A Report for National College Week. Among African American students, about 14 percent – or 222,000 – attend historically Black colleges and universities, the department said.
The report also makes the argument that a rigorous high school curriculum is more likely to spur Black and Hispanic students to succeed in college. Those who completed a high-level math course while still in high school were more likely to complete a bachelor's degree than those with a less rigorous course schedule. Elsewhere, the study also found:
* women represent 56 percent of all college students and will receive more than half of all bachelor's and master's degrees;
* average aid per full-time student has increased from $3,614 in 1990 to $6,085 in 1999; and
about 13 million students are eligible for the HOPE and Lifelong Learning tax credits enacted in 1997. These students could receive about $7 billion through these programs.
For more information, visit the ED Web site at www.ed.gov/pubs/CollegeWeek.
Education Department's Revolving Door Continues
WASHINGTON — The federal government has a new top-ranking higher education official, while another is planning his departure.
Before adjourning for the year, the Senate confirmed the nomination of A. Lee Fritschler as the new assistant secretary for postsecondary education. Fritschler, the former president of Dickinson College, replaces David Longanecker, who left to head a Western regional higher education organization. Fritschler has day-to-day responsibility for managing programs such as TRIO, GEAR UP and the Title III Black college program.
But ED will lose one key advocate with the resignation of Marshall Smith, the acting deputy secretary of ED since 1996. The Senate has refused to confirm Smith for a permanent appointment to the deputy secretary job because of criticism over his roles in the direct loan program and in national testing initiatives. Smith plans to return to Stanford University, where he was an education professor and dean. ED has not named a replacement for Smith.
