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Issues discussed concern the increasing freshmen student dropout rate among universities and colleges. Topics addressed include reasons why many freshmen drop out of college, measures colleges are taking to ensure students have access to academic and social supports, and the questionable use of grade inflation to keep students from leaving college.

A college student pledging to the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity at the University of Iowa died in Sep 1997 from alcohol-related problems. The student's parents sued students who supplied some of the alcohol and the fraternity. No serious charges were brought against the students and they paid a fine for their involvement in the incident. A district court judge dismissed charges against the fraternity. The university has suspended the fraternity until 2001.

Students, many from home schooling or church-run schools, want to avoid the life styles found at secular institutions MARION, IND. ANGELINA STARKEY, a devout Christian, has had enough of public [...]

Byline: LEO REISBERG After waking up in a hospital bed last September, having slept off the eight double shots of Goldschlager he had consumed at a fraternity party, Alexander Zaki [...]

Byline: LEO REISBERG Many American families are ill-prepared to pay the rising costs of their children's college education, and as a result will be forced to tap into retirement funds, [...]

Students value having a group for every interest, but some educators see more Balkanization CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. JUST DAYS after arriving at the University of Virginia for orientation, the new batch [...]

THE Massachusetts Institute of Technology has agreed to pay $6-miilion and to acknowledge some responsibility for the 1997 alcohol-related death of Scott Krueger, an 18-year-old fraternity pledge, to avoid a [...]

Flagship public universities are forced to phase out second-tier admissions JILL BRYANT applied to one college last year: Ohio State University at Columbus. Her two sisters are both happily enrolled [...]

Berkeley scholar says their own anti-intellectualism prevents academic success ONE RECENT FALL at the University of California at Berkeley a black student proposed turning her family history into a fictional [...]

`Social norms' marketing, first used against alcohol abuse, now focuses on smoking and sex EVERYBODY'S doing it. Most college students are, at least. The cool ones, anyway. They sure look [...]

Internet dependence can lead to missed classes and social isolation, study says TORONTO AFTER THREE SEMESTERS of solid academic work, Scott did so poorly at the end of his sophomore [...]

A FEDERAL appeals court has rejected a college newspaper's challenge to a Pennsylvania law that prohibits businesses from running alcohol advertisements in campus publications. The Pitt News, at the University [...]

Some guidebooks, without telling readers, let institutions pay to provide information MIRIAM H. WEINSTEIN compiled the Making a Difference College & Graduate Guide not only to catch the eye of [...]

There is a growing debate concerning the effectiveness of graphic anti-drinking advertisements aimed at scaring young people away from binge drinking. Critics of this approach advocate encouraging alternative activities and publishing statistics to show most students drink responsibly. Most students believe that subtle warnings, rather than disturbing advertisements, will be the most effective.

Nova Southeastern University is being sued by nine former students who allege that racial discrimination motivated the college to expel them from the PhD program in education. The university, which has a history of awarding a high number of doctoral degrees to black students, defends its actions, stating that the students were expelled for plagiarism and unsatisfactory academic work.

The annual number of meningitis cases among 15-25 year olds has doubled since 1991, with increasing risks for students who live in college dormatories. During 1998-99, 83 cases were reported at college campuses, sparking a debate over the responsibility of the college to vaccinate its students. At a cost of approximately $65 per dose, most colleges feel they cannot afford the expense of offering free vaccines to their students.

Recent college graduates without computer literacy are finding employment harder than those with such skills. Average salaries for new hires with bachelor's degrees in computer science is nearly $45,000 a year, while psychology graduates may begin as low as $26,500. The improved economy can become a trap for overconfident seniors who do not carefully analyze job demand.

An episode of the WB network's hit drama, 'Felicity,' was shown to some students from the University of New York (NYU). The show is based on the character of a freshman from NYU played by Keri Russell. Although some students found her character as naive and far-fetched, many educators saw the portrayal of the freshman year very realistic.

A documentary film depicting violent hazing rituals taking place in Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA, has been criticized as inaccurate and concocted. College and fraternity officials have denied that such scenes took place, but just before the film was shot, 5 members of the fraternity were removed for hazing. The film was honored at last year's Sundance Film Festival, and the filmmakers deny any scenes were faked., Greek leaders attack `Frat House,' but the documentary's filmmakers say it portrays reality A LANKY YOUNG MAN sits trapped inside a dog cage. Several college students browbeat him and douse [...]

A program called the Early Entrance Program at California State University's Los Angeles campus provides a challenging environment for students who are gifted. Students from the ages of 10 to 14 are enrolled at many institutions throughout the US bur admission officials and experts worry that some students are not mature enough to handle college.

Many academic institutions, including the University of Delaware, Radford University, have an alcohol policy involving notification of a student's parents. Some institutions, however, fear sharing disciplinary records with parents would violate a law protecting students' privacy, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Congress passed an amendment to the Higher Education Act that allows colleges to inform parents if a student under 21 violates alcohol or drug laws.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity are being sued in the alcohol-related death of a freshman. The university has traditionally ignored compliants about dangerous drinking and hazing in Greek letter societies, assigning freshmen to the groups because of a campus housing shortage. Courts have usually ruled colleges are not responsible for student behavior when alcohol is involved.

Several universities have installed leadership programs like the Pioneer Leadership Program that combines classroom instruction with adventure-based outings. These programs lead to a minor in leadership studies. The study of leadership has become a popular field since 1993 but many critics do not believe the subject warrants an academic major or minor.

Hollywood has contributed to the spread of rumors about college 'suicide rules.' A campus legend about college policies of granting 4.0 grade point averages to students whose roommates commit suicide has been depicted in the movie 'Dead Man on Campus' and the upcoming Trimark Pictures' movie, 'Dead Man's Curve.' No colleges have such policies.

Alain R. Mestat founded Advena Management in 1994 to serve international students' needs. He is hired by foreign families to supervise the academic lives, spending habits, and living arrangements of their children who study in the US. He started his company in 1994 with only 4 clients, but in 1998 he has 45 clients. A majority of his clients are from the Middle East, but he also has clients from Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

Student newspaper advisers are often the target of disgruntled relationships between university officials and student journalists. College administrators believe the role of advisers is to protect the quality and integrity of student-run publications, while many advisers do not believe they have the right to edit student work.

Questions have been raised about dual-enrollment and Advanced Placement programs that enable high school students to obtain college credits. The programs can reduce college costs significantly and provide a challenge to students who are ready for college-level courses. Some professors suggest, however, that students taking advantage of these programs can miss out on some essential learning and be unprepared for advanced courses. The Advanced Placement courses may simply coach students to pass the standardized tests.

The University of Delaware has imposed a 'zero tolerance' policy, which includes suspension or expulsion for students receiving more than three violations for alcohol abuse. Other educational institutions are developing educational programs or implementing lenient policies, such as encouraging students to drink on campus rather than going to off-campus bars, as part of an effort to combat alcohol abuse.

Some educators believe undergraduate 'research' describes unsubstantial student projects that do not deserve the label. Many institutions are responding to the Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Teaching's report on research institutions' neglect of undergraduates by hoping to raise their profile in the search for new grants and students.

The student newspaper at the University of Michigan criticized the school in the Fall of 1997 and demanded it sell the million of dollars of stock it holds in tobacco companies. However, a month later, the newspaper was profiting from tobacco ads for a new smokeless-tobacco product. The editor-in-chief wanted to reject the ads, but the paper's advertising-sales staff decided to run them. The ad campaign marks the first time since the 1960s that tobacco products have been advertised in school newspapers.

A national student group called the Council for Secular Humanism has helped organize chapters at 70 colleges for those who deny or question the existence of God. The council's magazine, Free Inquiry, has increased its subscription from 30,000 in 1994 to 50,000 in 1998. Secular humanists feel scientific reasoning, history, and personal experience can create reasonable guides for life.

April Fools' issues of college newspaper are popular with students. They feature bogus quotes and headlines that poke fun of college officials and organizations. However, some issues make their own headlines when they poke fun of gay and lesbian students or include fake advertisements from controversial organizations such as KKK. The Student Press Law Center officials argue that some jokes are considered libelous and newspapers can be held responsible when they offend a certain group of people.

Many colleges are cutting costs to keep tuition from rising. Many other colleges are raising tuition by only 2.5% to 4%, which is the lowest increase in three decades. However, tuition increases have outpaced inflation, according to the consumer price index. A report by the National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education warned colleges that if they cannot find ways to control tuition increases, the government could intervene.

Middle Tennessee State University recruits students with disabilities the way coaches recruit athletes. Disabled students are enrolling in universities and colleges in record numbers as they become aware of opportunities and laws protecting their right to pursue a college degree. Student-disability services recruit students by talking to guidance counselors in high schools and rehabilitation services. Disabled students welcome this kind of attention which gives them more confidence and self-esteem.

Many college graduates are faced with quickly deciding which job offer to accept early in the recruiting period. Companies are resorting to high-pressure tactics to obtain talented graduates before the recruiting season ends and present competitive salaries and benefits to those willing to accept offers before starting their final semester of college.

A real incident inspires an independent film set at a fictional college RALEIGH, N.C. THE FRATERNITY PLEDGES lined up in the basement of the house, each clad in a white [...]

With many jobs unfilled, companies use career fair in Florida to scope out babes and hunks PANAMA CITY BEACH, FLA. IT SEEMED A TYPICAL EXCHANGE for two college students on [...]

From Nude Olympics to Naked Mile, students and colleges struggle over campus rituals ON A CRISP JANUARY DAY at Princeton University, as students took the last of their fall-term final [...]

Annual survey of freshmen also finds declines in drinking and smoking IT'S NO SURPRISE that college students often find themselves under a lot of pressure. But an annual survey of [...]

But competition from `USA Today' and `The New York Times' may threaten student papers IT'S NOT CLEAR whether they're too poor, too lazy, or too busy, but college students aren't [...]

Emory University uses an interdisciplinary approach in the undergraduate minor ATLANTA HAUNTED BY HEADLINES of hate crimes on college campuses, high-school shootings, and foreign atrocities, many people seem to be [...]

Old Dominion opens a cultural center for Filipino Americans; Duke debates a Hindi major ROGER VANG became something of an outcast at his high school in Merced, Cal., when he [...]

AS CHOCKA GUIDEN was growing up, her parents made sure that she and her sister had clothes to wear and food to eat. They bought a motor home for economical [...]

Rural campuses, state demographics, and reports of racial incidents can all pose challenges HAVING GROWN LIP in Boston, Tito Jackson experienced culture shock during his first week at the University [...]