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Reports on a decline in fraternity membership, which is ascribed to changing demographics, bad publicity about alcohol abuse and hazing incidents, and changing student values. Graphs illustrate fraternity membership trends at six universities, including 10-year comparisons in membership, academic performance, and pledges; and average number of men per chapter since 1971. (DB)

Discusses results of the National Survey of Student Engagement, a $3.3 million project sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts which gauged the extent to which colleges encourage actual learning. More than 63,000 undergraduates filled out the questionnaire in spring 2000. Findings indicated that small and liberal arts colleges fared well in the five benchmark categories of student engagement. (EV)

Discusses results of and university responses to a 1998 amendment to the Higher Education Act that allows schools to inform parents any time a student under 21 violates drug or alcohol laws. Research findings indicate a drop in the recidivism rate from notification policies, but many universities continue to shy away from alerting parents. (EV)

Discusses the move toward coeducation being made by some women's colleges. Economic pressures and decreasing enrollment motivate some schools to become coeducational; others have a new view of their missions in an era in which women have increasing numbers of role models outside the college environment. (SLD)

Discusses factors possibly contributing to the non-enrollment of all seven black students admitted to the California Institute of Technology including few black faculty, the rigorous curriculum, lack of aggressive recruiting of minorities, and emphasis on test scores. Compares CalTech with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's which enrolled 71 black freshmen the same year. (DB)

Discusses the increasing dropout rates at many colleges and various efforts by institutions to retain students, including a greater emphasis on smaller "learning communities," special programs for high-risk students, tuition credits, development of early warning systems. Notes, however, that some students and colleges are mismatched and that some students return later. (DB)

Enrollments at evangelical and other Christian colleges have surged in the last decade, outpacing that of secular institutions. The students, many from home schooling or church-operated schools, want to avoid lifestyles found at many secular colleges and universities. Some critics, however, fear lack of diversity in both enrollments and opinions at church-related colleges will limit development of students' critical-thinking skills. (MSE)

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 [...]

Colleges are building luxurious wellness, fitness, and recreation centers in part to attract and retain students. They offer such features as rock-climbing walls, water slides, hot tubs, elevated tracks, massage rooms, racquetball courts, and wellness resource laboratories. Many college officials believe that investments in recreation are worthwhile for a variety of reasons. (SM)

Examines the special pressures felt by student newspapers at black colleges to portray their institutions and administrations in a positive light. Some students report self-censorship of publications is necessary for publication survival; however, administrators state that although unhappy with some media, they do not condone censorship of campus newspapers. Notes the declining role of student newspapers at black colleges. (DB)

Reports on efforts at several colleges (Ithaca College, New York; Princeton University, New Jersey; Luther College, Iowa; and Vassar College, New York) to end such school traditions as nude streaking or naked soccer, usually accompanied by heavy drinking. School officials see such activities as significant threats to students' health and safety. (DB)

Discusses plans by various universities to provide or not provide the newly approved abortion pill RU486. Samples opinions from administrators, doctors, and pro-choice and pro-life advocates. (EV)

Reports on the controversial stands taken by John H. McWhorter, a black University of Berkeley associate professor, in his book "Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America." The book opposes affirmative action and suggests that black academic achievement lags because of a mindset endemic to black culture that discourages learning, while encouraging concepts of victimology, separatism, and anti-intellectualism. (DB)

Examines "social norms" marketing, an effort by several colleges and universities to encourage healthy student behaviors by countering perceptions of unhealthy "cool" behaviors and stressing the positive behaviors of "most" students. Examples of posters and other marketing strategies are from Virginia Commonwealth University, Gustavus Adolphus College (Minnesota), James Madison University (Virginia), and University of Hawaii. (DB)

Reports on efforts at several universities to encourage more male students to use student health services, including establishment of male-only health clinics. Programs at the University of Colorado (Boulder), San Francisco State University (California), University of Rochester (New York), and Tulane University (Louisiana) are noted. (DB)

Reports that several authors and publishers of college guidebooks receive money from schools selected for coverage, or sell space to admissions offices for additional coverage beyond the standard profiles. Both supporters, who say that such charges are necessary to support the publication, and critics, who feel these practices undercut objectivity, are quoted. (DB)

Describes how distribution of national, local, and college newspapers at no charge has increased newspaper readership at Pennsylvania State University from 8 to 75 percent. Reports that at least 140 other colleges are experimenting with the idea, which builds the costs into general student fees. Critics suggest that student papers and activities will suffer from the competition. (DB)

Describes a new undergraduate minor at Emory University (Georgia) that focuses on the causes and consequences of violence through interdisciplinary courses, campus programs, and community service. Undergraduates study the causes and consequences of violence from the viewpoints of more than a dozen disciplines. (DB)

The annual incidence of meningococcal disease among 15- to 25-year olds has doubled since 1991, to over 600 cases, and recent studies indicate outbreaks may be increasing on college campuses. Six of the 83 cases appearing at academic institutions have been fatal. The trend has fueled the debate over whether a vaccine should be administered routinely to students. (MSE)

Increasingly, high school students are earning college credits while still in high school, through dual enrollment or advanced placement, which enable some to earn bachelor's degrees in three years or with 12-credit semesters. The trend can reduce student costs, but has sparked debate among professors about whether students are unwisely skipping entry-level courses and are unprepared for advanced classes. (MSE)

A surprising upturn in fall 1998 college enrollments is attributed largely to increases in the number of high school graduates but also to some state policies concerning admission to state institutions. While campus officials are pleased at the trend, many are struggling to find housing for the students. (MSE)

The alcohol-related death of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) freshman has focused attention on problems in the institution's housing policies and fraternity system, including unclear policy about housing and long-ignored complaints about hazing and dangerous drinking in the Greek system. (MSE)

About 700 college programs, ranging from short workshops to degree programs, now specialize in leadership development, twice as many as four years ago. Critics wonder whether the subject has enough substance to warrant an academic minor or major. Others doubt whether the skills of leadership can be acquired through classroom instruction. (MSE)

As part of a broader trend to cut costs and remain affordable, many private colleges are keeping tuition increases to a minimum. Institutions are cutting operating expenses and reducing financial aid, while trying to raise faculty salaries and install new technology. Nonetheless, many of the smaller tuition hikes still outpace inflation. (MSE)

Middle Tennessee State University actively recruits students with disabilities, and students in this category have increased from 115 to 708 since 1985, despite a relatively small budget. The student-disabilities office focuses on recruitment, program provision, accessibility, and trouble-shooting. Some accessibility problems persist, despite the campus' flat terrain. (MSE)

Early-entrance programs for academically gifted students aged 10 to 14 are offered at a number of colleges and universities. Admissions officials and experts on gifted children worry that some students are not mature enough, that their social development will suffer, and that they will experience social isolation. Highly selective colleges may be reluctant to accept the students despite their abilities. (MSE)

Because efforts to curb campus alcohol abuse have largely failed, some colleges are contacting parents when students violate campus alcohol rules. Some institutions fear that sharing disciplinary records with parents violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which protects student privacy, but a recent amendment to the Higher Education Act allows colleges to inform parents of such violations. (MSE)

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 [...]