The number of newly-minted Ph.Ds in the United States increased last year, fueled by a surge of doctorates in science and engineering fields, according to an annual analysis by the National Science Foundation released this week.

But a growing number of science/engineering doctorates in this country are awarded to non-U.S. citizens, so the news will not likely quell widespread concern among many in higher education that the United States is failing to produce enough so-called S.T.E.M. (science, technology, math and engineering) graduates to meet domestic workforce needs.

Among the findings:

* U.S. institutions of higher education awarded a record number of doctoral degrees in 2006: 45,596.

* For the fourth consecutive year the number of doctorates in science and engineering fields has increased, last year by 6.7 percent.

* Among non-science/engineering fields, Ph.Ds in health grew to their highest point in the last decade, while the number of education doctorates awarded were at their lowest point in the last ten years.

* Non-U.S. citizens received more than a third of all U.S. doctoral degrees in 2006, and about 45 percent of awards in science and engineering areas.

* Non-U.S. citizens particularly dominated in engineering fields and computer science, with 68 percent and 65 percent of U.S. doctoral awards last year, respectively.

* Of doctoral recipients whose citizenship was known, Chinese citizens recieved nearly 27 percent of U.S. engineering Ph.D.s in 2006, followed by citizens of India and Korea.

* Since 2002, doctoral awards given to non-U.S. citizens have increased by 44 percent. Awards to women have increased by 25 percent over the same period.

* Of the 29,854 U.S. science-and-engineering doctorates awarded in 2006, women received about 38 percent.

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Students who graduate from college this year - especially those with an internship under their belts -- will find an improved job market, according to an annual survey.

Michigan State University's* 2007-2008 Recruiting Trends Survey forecasts a 7 percent increase in job opportunities this year over last, officials said. Business and engineering jobs for recent grads at large companies will grow by more than 10 percent, according to the survey of nearly 1,000 companies around the country.

The survey will be presented tomorrow at a conference in tomorrow, but you can get some additional details here.

Among the main findings:
* Fifty percent of employers said applicants should have completed at least one internship before applying for a proper job.
* Starting salaries for bachelor's degree recipients will likely increase by 4 percent to 5 percent.
* Employment opportunities for recent grads are expected to pick up around the country. 

*An earlier version of this post incorrectly identified the survey as produced by the University of Michigan.

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There's been a boom since 2002 in foreign language course enrollments at U.S. universities, according to a survey released today by the Modern Language Association.

Interest in traditionally popular Spanish, French and German continued to grow and represented about 70 percent of total enrollments, but "their dominance is slowly decreasing in the face of growing interest in" Arabic, Chinese and Korean, according to the survey of about 2,800 campuses.

The largest growth was seen in Arabic classes, with enrollments up 125 percent since 2002.  That pushed Arabic into the top ten foreign languages studied in the United States for the first time since the MLA began these surveys in 1960.

American Sign Language also showed a nearly 30 percent increase, edging it above Italian for the number four spot.

Here's the organization's breakdown of the top 15 languages taught in higher education, including total enrollments and percentage increases since 2002:

1) Spanish, 822,985, 52.2%, +10.3%

2) French, 206,426, 13.1%, +2.2%

3) German, 94,264, 6.0%, +3.5%

4) American Sign Language, 78,829, 5.0%, +29.7%

5) Italian, 78,368, 5.0%, +22.6%

6) Japanese, 66,605, 4.2%, +27.5%

7) Chinese, 51,582, 3.3%, +51.0%

8) Latin, 32,191, 2.0%, +7.9%

9) Russian, 24,845, 1.6%, +3.9%

10) Arabic, 23,974, 1.5%, +126.5%

11) Ancient Greek, 22,849, 1.4%, +12.1%

12) Biblical Hebrew, 14,140, 0.9%, -0.3%

13) Portuguese, 10,267, 0.7%, +22.4%

14) Modern Hebrew, 9,612, 0.6%, +11.5%

15) Korean, 7,145, 0.5%, +37.1%

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Villa Julie College's gimmick for getting students interested in forensic science degrees is a grueling five-part multiple choice online test designed to test your "forensic IQ."

If five out of six Sun reporters can ace the test, so can you. (Disturbingly, the journalist who missed a question is on the med/sci desk; he pleaded for anonymity.)

Hint: the correct answer to question #2 is not "Don't know answer." Hint to VJC folks: "know" doesn't start with an "n."

What do you think, Horatio?

"Duly noted, now beat it."

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In heralding the new Carey Business School at Johns Hopkins University, officials at the private school have stressed there are no plans to incorporate a traditional business major into the liberal arts-and-sciences undergraduate curriculum.

But this week, Hopkins announced the formation of a "financial economics" minor at Homewood, with eventual plans to turn it into a full-blown major.

"Coursework will include macroeconomics, microeconomics, corporate finance, investments and portfolio management," according to the university announcement.  

Jon Faust, director of the new program, says the Hopkins program will differ from a typical business major, which often have decidedly practical and low-falutin' business administration, marketing and accounting education at their core.

"The planned financial economics major ... will differ from a traditional business degree in the focus and depth of the training," Faust said. "Our students will receive a focussed training in the technical tools of modern finance and in the economic principles that underpin those tools."

Business administration and management is the most popular course of study at U.S. colleges, according to a survey conducted by the Princeton Review. Hopkins already offers a very popular minor in entrepreunership.

So it's no wonder that Hopkins is full of beans about its new Center for Financial Economics. Just don't call it a bean-counting major.  

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This morning's story about Towson University's decision to scrap a controversial admission's scheme favoring men -- has been drawing some interesting reaction from readers.

Launched in 2005, the experiment let in students with relatively low high school grades but high SAT scores -- a combination found more often in males. It was designed in part to address concerns about declining enrollment of males, who make up just 40 percent of Towson's undergraduate student body.  

Here's a sample of reader response, along with some additional items that didn't make it into the story, because of length:

Carl from Baltimore says the low retention rates for this group are Towson's fault, not the students. "So, what Towson is saying is that high potential, low production students are not worth their effort? ... Towson-- YOU failed, not the students! These high potential-low production students deserve your support-- they are usually highly creative, bright kids who need help."

Deborah Leather, the Towson prof who administered the program, says the university poured resources and attention to the group. "I think the university did a phenomenal job of providing exceptional support for this group," she said. "I don't think it's about resources."

Tom from Baltimore said he fit the mediocre grades/high test score profile 20 years ago when he was admitted to Towson. "I got in. Were there bumps along the way? Absolutely. But I graduated with ... honors. I hope Towson finds a way to look at individuals and not simply ditch the philosopy because of the attrition rates."

Tom, you're right in assuming Towson has become increasingly selective in recent years. Public universities in Maryland are under constant pressure to increase retention and graduation rates, in part because recruiting and enrolling students who are statistically less likely to succeed is far more expensive than taking a chance on those who need extra help.

Towson officials have found that high grades and a rigorous college-preparatory curriculum are very good predictors of success there, while the SAT less so. One benefit to Towson's increased emphasis on grades has been increased enrollment and achievement of minority students in particular, who tend to score lower on standardized tests.

Finally, university officials have stressed that not all students enrolled in this program fit the typical "slacker" profile. Some experienced economic or family hardships during high school, challenges which affected their high school years.

Check out this chart for a comparison of graduation and retention rates at Maryland colleges.

What do the rest of you think? Any other questions you'd like us to put to Towson officials?

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As I report in today's Sun, Andres Alonso has ended each Baltimore school board meeting for the past few months with a presentation of student data on various topics, from suspensions to truancy to test scores. The presentation at the end of last night's meeting, on college readiness, was the most sobering yet.

A word of warning: The numbers would have looked somewhat better if Morgan State University had submitted information to the National Student Clearinghouse, which compiled the data. There also would have been a bump if they included students who deferred their college acceptances. But the figures are still frighteningly low.

The presentation, posted on the school system's BoardDocs site, reveals the following:

-- Among Baltimore students who graduated high school in the spring of 2006 (and remember, only about 60 percent graduate), just 44 percent enrolled in a two- or four-year college that fall. That compares with a national college enrollment rate of 66 percent.

-- In Baltimore, the college enrollment rate has declined slightly since 2001, from 49 percent to the 44 percent in 2006. Nationally, it's increased slightly during that period, from 64 percent to 66.

-- Only 14 percent of students in Baltimore's Class of 2001 had earned a college degree within five years.

-- Among students who attended the prestigious citywide magnet schools (Poly, City, Western, Dunbar, School for the Arts), 33 percent earned a college degree in five years.

-- At the city's career and technology high schools (Mervo, Carver, Edmondson), six percent of students in the class of 2001 had a degree five years later. And at the neighborhood high schools, the percentage with a college degree was just four percent. (Keep in mind that the class of 2001 graduated before a major reform, breaking big neighborhood high schools into small ones, took effect.)

High school teachers: Do these figures accurately represent what's happening with your seniors, or do they overstate the problem? And what should Alonso and his team do to better prepare students for college?

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What are you’re thoughts about my story today that delves into digital dirt being used against people?

Were you surprised by the digital dirt that exists in the education community?

Are educators held to an unfair standard? Are employers over reaching in their efforts to monitor the actions of employees outside of the workplace?

I’ll be responding to any comments you have about this story throughout the day.

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The University of Baltimore is looking for scholarly, artistic and other community-based proposals for presentations at its Baltimore '68: Riots and Rebirth conference April 3-5, 2008.

The conference will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the riots that followed Martin Luther King's assassination. For an overview of UB's conference, and some history of the riots themselves, see this story: Baltimore's riots remembered. 

The deadlines for proposals are November 1.  

Here's an overview of the guidelines, per UB: "Proposals for participation may take the form of papers, presentations, panels, roundtables, poster sessions, film screenings, art installations, musical compositions, or workshops and should include a one page abstract, a one page resume including contact information for each participant (phone number, address, affiliation, and e-mail), as well as technology needs."

Send submissions to:

University of Baltimore -- AC 602, 1420 N. Charles St, Baltimore MD 21201, 410 837 5340, baltimore68@ubalt.edu

Continue reading "November 1 deadline for '68 Baltimore riots conference at UB" »

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Kudos to Alexander and Claude, who wrote in to say they scored a 90 and 82, respectively, on that civics test I wrote about on Friday. My boyfriend took the test over the weekend, and he also scored an 82. (He wanted me to point out on the blog that he knows more than the average Harvard student. He went to Princeton.)

I was talking the other day to a middle school social studies teacher, and -- while she aced the civics test herself -- she said it's easy to see why many college students would fail a test of basic facts. Teachers are constantly encouraged to teach students to write and think critically, often at the expense of fact memorization. And, she makes the argument, this test is case in point that there are certain facts that every American should know, in addition to being able to think and write.

Educators, do you agree? Has memorization become taboo in our schools? (Personally, I was embarrassed by how much I had forgotten, so I've been studying the test and accompanying answer sheet.)

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I don't.

I got an email Thursday about an American civic literacy test that the Intercollegiate Studies Institute gave to college students around the country, with pathetic results. Students at Harvard had the highest score in the country on the 60-question test, and their average score was a D-plus.

I went online and started taking the quiz myself. A few questions in, I decided I didn't want to know what my score would be. When was Jamestown first settled by Europeans? When was the Constitution amended to guarantee women the right to vote? Ms. Duffy, my beloved high school history teacher, would be ashamed.

At least I'm not alone. Only 47.7 percent of the college seniors tested knew that Fort Sumter came before Gettysburg and that Gettysburg came before Appomattox. Just 45.9 percent knew that the line “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal” comes from the Declaration of Independence. (Even I got that one.) And a mere 42.7 percent knew that NATO was formed to resist Soviet expansion.

Think you would do better? Click here to take the test yourself.

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If you couldn’t tell by the sarcastic headline, this AP story foreshadows problems in the economy because of high-priced student loans. Surprise, surprise.

These student loan companies are ridiculous! Who knew that going to college would be on par with paying for a mortgage, or car?

Posted by John-John Williams IV at 7:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)
                    

Hopkins spokesman Dennis O'Shea must be happy that Intercollegiate Studies Institute decided to shun the Baltimore school this year in the think tank's annual civics literacy survey-slash-slam of elite colleges.

Last year, as we reported, "the Delaware-based nonprofit ranked the Baltimore school last out of 50 U.S. colleges in a survey of 14,000 students measuring how much they learned -- or, in the case of Hopkins undergrads, forgot -- about American history, economics, political philosophy and U.S. foreign relations during their bright college years."

This year, neither Hopkins -- nor any other Maryland school -- was among the 50 campuses surveyed. "The approach was more of a random sample of the nation’s universities," explained ISI press agent Joe Turman. "The important thing is that right now, students all over Maryland are filling out applications to universities on this list.  They need to know that there is a chance they won’t get what they paid for."

MEANWHILE, public relations staff at area colleges have been furiously flacking away happy news and fundraising coups. Here's a sampling: 

Continue reading "Md. shunned (or spared) in civics survey; FSU enrollment up; other good news" »

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While others are talking about how parents need to get more involved, Rolanda Chambers, president of the New Town Parent Teacher Student Association in Owings Mills, is putting talk into action.

Sun columnist Milton Kent writes in today's Sports section about Chambers, who recently launched a program to help student-athletes boost their SAT scores.

Here's an excerpt from Milton's column:

"If the kids master the SAT, they can get into college even if they don't get scholarships," said Chambers, whose son is a sophomore on the junior varsity football team. "We just have to get them to pay more attention to the test."

Chambers said the disparity in standardized test scores between black students and those of other ethnicities may have a number of causes, but require a more intense effort by parents to prod their children to improve those scores.

"I just think that, overall, other parents put into play other things that are available, and African-American parents just usually don't," Chambers said. "So, where other kids are getting that boost that they need, our students don't. This is why such a program is necessary. It's doing what other parents are doing for their students, giving them that push outside the classroom for the SAT."

Read the rest of Milton's column and find out more about the SAT prep program.

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Two Maryland colleges were rated among the "25 Hottest Schools"  by Newsweek magazine and test-prep service Kaplan. The "subjective and temporary" list appears in the Aug 20 issue of the weekly magazine.

Johns Hopkins University makes the cut on the strength of its
stereotypes, winning "Hottest for Pre-Meds" college. But William
Conley, enrollment dean, tells Newsweek that "increasing appreciation" among applicants for the Baltimore colleges's non-nerdy academics and "its lovely campus in the middle of Baltimore" are responsible for a 66 increase in Regular Decision applications and nearly doubling of Early Decision applications since 2002.

St. Mary's College of Maryland in St. Mary's County gets a nod as
"Hottest for Loving the Great Outdoors." Newsweek quotes St. Mary's junior Shane Hall thusly: "From sailing, swimming, fishing, beach bonfires, kayaking and crabbing to polar-bear swims, windsurfing, using a seine net for a bio class or just playing with the bioluminescent algae, the river is the single greatest stress reliever on campus." Plus, the sailing team won a couple national championships this year.

[Gadi Dechter]

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University of Missouri-Columbia researchers have confirmed that underage college students with fake IDs are more likely to drink alcohol.

This apparent exercise in confirming-the-obvious was published in Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, a journal of the American Psychological Association, officials announced Tuesday.

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This week, the Chronicle of Higher Education blogged on the "flow" of political donations from college presidents to presidential candidates. Of the five donors mentioned, none were from Maryland, so we decided to have a look in our backyard.

Alas, not much of a flow here, either, yet, according to opensecrets.org, which tracks such things. Of the state's public four-year colleges and major private schools, only Salisbury University's Janet Dudley-Eshbach has given in the 2008 election cycle, with a $1,000 offering to Joseph Biden's campaign in February.

Still, that doesn't mean we can't have a good time with a searchable database of public records. Some fun facts:

Of the 40 donations made so far in the 2008 cycle by donors listing Johns Hopkins as an employer, none went to Republican presidential candidates. Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton scored 13 Hopkins-affiliated donations (totaling $12,000) while Barack Obama got just six (totaling $3,650).

The 34 donors* listing the "University of Maryland" as an employer were slightly more ideologically ecumenical, but only slightly. Obama got 11 donations (totaling $2250), Clinton took in 13 (totaling $13,150), but John McCain ($650) and Rudolph Guiliani ($250) also got a touch of academic love.

University of Baltimore law professor Barbara Ann White is the sole UBalter to shell out thus far -- and she gave $300 to Clinton.

*Many of the "donors" are repeat customers. For example, UB's White gave Clinton $300 in three equal installments.

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On June 21, a big chunk of the 2.2 million students who take the SAT every year, will be receiving their test scores. In anticipation, New York neuropsychologist and college admissions coach Jacqueline LoBosco is taking "emergency calls," she recently announced this week in an email touting "7 Easy Tips to Help Kids Handle their SAT Results!"

Among LoBosco's advice for parents whose kids get lower-than-hoped-for scores: "Create a safe space for your child to communicate his or her feelings" and "Congratulate your child for taking the test!" 

While the notion of post-SAT therapy may strike some as evidence of an over-coddled, over-coached generation of families who place too much currency in admission to elite colleges, it's no joke, says Steven Roy Goodman, a private admissions coach who practices in Towson and Washington.

"The admissions process as a whole causes an incredible amount of stress in living rooms across America," Goodman said. "And tests are a component of that."

Goodman, who co-wrote his coming book College Admissions Together: It Takes a Family, with a psychologist, says he refers about 5 to 10 of his clients every year to professional counseling.   

A few years ago, Goodman was working with a student whose father, a Harvard University graduate, couldn't conceive of his daughter enrolling anywhere else, though she was a mediocre student with little chance of admission.  

"She was a mess," Goodman said of the daughter. "The family was paralyzed. The mother thought the father was putting too much pressure on the daughter and it became clear to that I needed to refer this to a psychologist to help them overcome this impasse."

Goodman doesn't think SAT results or the college-admissions process causes psychological trauma so much as brings to the surface underlying issues that already exist. "Normally the stress associated with the college-admission process is a metpahor for broader issue that are affecting the child and the family," he said.

Know of anyone in (or contemplating) counseling for a college-prep crisis? Drop me a line at gadi.dechter@baltsun.com and let's talk about it.

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Media types and Democratic politicians are the favored graduation speakers at area colleges and universities this month.

David Gergen of U.S. News and World Report sends off McDaniel College grads; Goucher College gets Garry Trudeau, Doonesbury creator; Newsweek editor Jon Meacham speechifies at Loyola College; Local broadcast mogul Cathy Hughes tells Morgan State grads to get in on it; and Paula Kerger, president & CEO of the Public Broadcasting Service pledges her words of wisdom at the University of Baltimore. 

Among the pols, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Southern Maryland will attempt to inspire not one, but two classes of graduating seniors, first this weekend at St. Mary's College of Maryland and then May 20 at the University of Maryland, College Park. Hoyer spokeswoman Stephanie Lundberg assures your blogger that while "there will be similar themes" of civic responsibility in both commencement addresses, they will not be identical.

Other elected officials on Maryland's scholastic stump circuit are Sen. Barbara Mikulski (Coppin State), Attorney General Douglas Gansler (University of Maryland, Eastern Shore), Comptroller Peter Franchot (Capitol College) and Baltimore State's Attorney Patricia Jessamy (University of Baltimore).

Johns Hopkins University snags two high-profile speakers this year in Baltimore Ravens coach Brian Billick and music producer Quincy Jones. A partial list of commencement exorcisers after the jump.

Continue reading "Roundup: college graduation speakers" »

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The 13-campus University System of Maryland announced today that in fiscal year 2006, its institutions received $975.9 million in external research grants and contracts -- that is, money separate from state general operational and capital funds.

The figures announced this morning represent a slight decline from the $983.8 million raked in  during fiscal year 2005, but some state campuses not known for major research have been increasingly successful in attracting research dollars, officials said.

These external funds represent a growing portion of many campuses' overall budgets, and are increasingly important during periods of state belt-tightening. 

Towson University's external research funding grew from $12.7 million in 2005 to $16.4 million in 2006. At Bowie State University, research funding increased by about 40 percent to $10 million, while Frostburg State University doubled its funding from 2005 to $3.4 million.

As expected, the overwhelming majority of research money goes to the state's major research centers: the University of Maryland, Baltimore; the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute; the University of Maryland, College Park; and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. Combined, these research-focused institutions accounted for more than $870 million of the total 2006 research funding, officials said.

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The Maryland Higher Education Commission has just made it easier to browse its treasure trove of statistics about nearly all public and private universities, community colleges and vocational schools in the state.

Until recently, the information was scattered throughout the MHEC Web site and often buried in lengthy reports. But now they've sorted it all in one section of the site, where you can compare information about tuition, enrollment, graduation rates and other interesting metrics, from the last ten years.

The commission -- not to be confused with the University System of Maryland, the governing board of 11 public colleges -- oversees for the governor all institutions of higher learning in Maryland. One of its principal functions is gathering and analyzing this material. 

We rely on the data for our stories, and it can also be an invaluable tool for parents and prospective students when making college choices. Warning: addictive.

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