University Continuing Education Association Winter Memo 2006 on Where U.S. Higher Education Needs to Be 10-20 Years from Now. . .
"Education Secretary Margaret Spellings took many by surprise when she created a
Commission last September to develop a “comprehensive national strategy” on
higher education. The Commission is charged with examining how “colleges can
serve minority students better, promote lifelong learning, produce more mathematics
and science majors, and prepare students for the global economy.”  more (PDF file)

Comments by Andrew Young former US Ambassador to the United Nations, former two time mayor of the city of Atlanta, Georgia and chairman of Goodworks International. 

"We are interdependent and dependent on one another. We have got to find a way to make this whole planet work."  But Young also said we live in a wonderful world.   "It is a wonderful world. We have the resources to solve almost any problem. In America, if we can conceive it and believe it, we can achieve
it.  "Yet, we are never totally self-sufficient. This world was not our creation. We are just a part of it. ...  More (PDF)

THE KIPLINGER 100. Best Values in Public Colleges. Our fifth ranking of 100 schools that offer academic excellence at an affordable price finds a familiar name at the top of the list. See if your state school is a contender. By Kimberly Lankford

Talk about creative financing. The mortgage industry has nothing on public colleges and universities, which have used lottery tickets, T-shirts, baseball caps and private fundraisers to hold down costs and boost financial aid.  State budget crises pushed up average tuition and fees at four-year public colleges by 57% over the past five years, reports the College Board. At the same time, many colleges have cut financial aid, some by 20% to 40%. But with an average annual tuition of $5,491, public colleges still beat the $21,235 tab you'd pay at a private school. And some of the best public colleges in the country now guarantee that students whose families earn less than $38,000 per year won't have to take out any loans. More at:
http://www.kiplinger.com/personalfinance/magazine/archives/2006/02/colleges.html

Find Your Top College Value. Sort the universities in our survey of public colleges by in-state and out-of-state overall rank, cost, quality measures or financial aid measures (how we scored the schools). More at: http://www.kiplinger.com/personalfinance/tools/colleges/

Smart Ways to Study Abroad. Our crash course in paying for a student's stay overseas, from tuition to cell phone. By Jane Bennett Clark

While many U.S. college students spent their fall weekends cheering for their school's football team, Jonathan Jackson took in his first rugby match, cycled across the spectacular landscape in New Zealand and learned to pronounce "good on ya" Kiwi-style.  For the full article go to: http://www.kiplinger.com/personalfinance/magazine/archives/2006/02/abroad.html

Seeking People to Work Down Under. Australia, which is facing a shortage of skilled labor, is looking abroad to fill the gap. By Evelyn Iritani, Times Staff Writer, January 20 2006

From the small town of Toowoomba near Australia's Gold Coast, Dennis Davey is trolling the world for people to work in his 200-person engineering company. The complete article can be viewed at: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-aussie20jan20,1,6354654.story?coll=la-headlines-business  Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com

TO THE RELIEF OF COLLEGE RESEARCHERS, the U.S. Commerce Department has abandoned a plan that would have restricted foreign scholars' access to sensitive technology based on their countries of birth, rather than their countries of citizenship or permanent residency. College officials still have concerns, however, about other elements of a proposed regulation.
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This article will be available to non-subscribers of The Chronicle for up to five days after it is e-mailed - 1/21/2006

http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/states/ (State Reports)

 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).   Out of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Department of Defense schools, 13 had 25% or more of their 4th graders place below the Basic math achievement level.  For 8th grade students, that number jumps to 41.  With early success in the subjects of math and science being critical to students’ later success in engineering, these low figures do not bode well for attracting more students into the engineering pipeline.

The assessments show that mathematics performance in both grades improved for the nation, the majority of states, and many student groups since 1990.  However, an alarmingly large percentage of American students still placed below the Basic level of achievement.  Scored on a scale of 0-500, the Basic achievement level for 4th graders is a score of 214; for 8th graders it is a score of 262.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as "the Nation's Report Card," is the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas. Since 1969, assessments have been conducted periodically in reading, mathematics, science, writing, U.S. history, civics, geography, and the arts.

UVM develops its own semester-long abroad program. By Jill Fahy

University of Vermont sophomore Zach Ogden, a western Massachusetts native looking to expand his world view, knew he would travel abroad. The question was where and which program he would choose.

Enrolling for a semester at a university in South or Central America appealed to the Spanish minor whose goal was to immerse himself in a language and culture other than his own.

"I was looking to get away from Americans altogether," Ogden said.
More at: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?
AID=/20060110/NEWS02/601100304&SearchID=73232340797829

REPORT CALLS FOR S&E TRAINING TO INCLUDE GLOBAL COMMUNICATION & COLLABORATION

According to the latest edition of Issues in Science and Technology, U.S. researchers will need new skills that allow them to collaborate across international borders.  The authors studied engineering research centers across the U.S. and found, among other things, that they have failed to recognize key structural shifts in the global economy. The U.S. can no longer strive to be ‘number one’ in all research areas. Instead, it must assume a more collaborative stance as knowledge is increasingly diffused around the world. The authors of the article recommend that training in global “collaboration and communication” become a central part of all science and engineering training. They also support more open scientific exchange across borders as well as immigration policies that allow more open circulation of researchers and scientific talent. The research can be found at: http://www.kauffman.org/pdf/collaborative_advantage_12_05.pdf

This article, "Bush Administration Announces Measures to Internationalize American Higher Education," is available online at this address:
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This article will be available to non-subscribers of The Chronicle for up to five days after it is e-mailed. The article is always available to Chronicle subscribers at this address:
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Far, Far and Away. By LESLIE BERGER
Correction Appended
TRINITY COLLEGE, in the heart of Dublin, is Ireland's oldest institution of higher learning, chartered by
Queen Elizabeth and home to the illuminated Book of Kells, from the year 800. Oscar Wilde studied here; so did Oliver Goldsmith and Jonathan Swift. Now Chloe Callahan-Flintoft of New York City is walking the same cobbled paths, though she is minding the grass. No Frisbee playing, making out, guitar strumming or even sitting is allowed on these quads.
Article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/08/education/edlife/abroad.html?ex=
1138078800&en=f9e41e763ee680c5&ei=5070

REPORT TRACKS PATENT FILINGS BY COUNTRY

America's first patent law, said to have been partially drafted by Thomas Jefferson, dates to 1790. Since then, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted about 7.4 million patents (e.g., the stapler in 1923, the telephone in 1876, and the computer mouse in 1964).  The number of annual applications has risen steadily; the U.S. Patent and Trade Office now receives more than 380,000 applications a year and grants about 180,000.  About 1.4 million U.S. patents have gone to foreigners, who were granted the right to file for U.S. patents in 1836.  By 2004, 48 percent of new applications came from abroad.  Japan accounts for more than one-third of foreign patent applications.  Germany is second.  The fastest-growing sources of patent applications seem to be China and India. India's applications are more often for improvements in the manufacturing process (e.g., a process for treating organic wastes). China's patents are more often for new gadgets.   To view 40 years of patent filings by country, see http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/appl_yr.pdf.

MARYLAND COLLEGE MAKES STUDY ABROAD MANDATORY FOR CLASS OF 2006

Goucher College will become one of the first colleges in the United States to make study abroad mandatory for all students entering the school as undergraduates, beginning in fall 2006. The new requirement stems from the college’s strategic plan, which calls for the school to expand international and intercultural awareness throughout its curriculum. The plan won unanimous approval by its Board of Trustees back in May 2002.  Located north of Baltimore, Goucher has an undergraduate student population of approximately 1,300 and a graduate student body of 1,000. The college plans to offer each participating student a $1,200 travel voucher to help with the costs of study abroad. To meet the requirement, students may participate in any of Goucher’s 18 intensive courses abroad, which occur over a three-week period, or any of its semester or yearlong programs. For more information, see http://www.nafsa.org/publication.sec/nafsa.news/nafsa.news_goucher_requires.