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Unveils some findings of the National Survey of Student Engagement, which measures institutional quality in the United States. National benchmarks of effective educational practices; Percentage of the students surveyed that said their institution expects them to study a significant amount of time; Percentage of the seniors surveyed that participated in community service; Effective educational practices outlined in the survey. INSET: Exemplary Institutions.

Discusses the decline in fraternity membership in colleges and universities in the United States. Reasons for the decline; Harmful incidents which have occurred due to fraternity hazing, initiation, or pranks; Attempts to change the image and values of fraternities; Reactions to such changes; The effects of more diverse activities on campuses. INSETS: Ethnic and Multicultural Fraternities Are Booming on Many Camp...;Fraternities Try to Clean Up Their Acts--to the Dismay of Some....

Deals with the effectiveness of the parental notification policies of colleges in the United States in reducing binge drinking among college students. Role of parents in regulating student behavior; Results of surveys on the effectiveness of the regulation; Loophole in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

Offers a look at the state of women's colleges in the United States as of November 2000. Several women's colleges that have gone coeducational; Women's colleges that have successful reputations; Tactics adopted by some women's colleges to boost enrollments.

Discusses enrollment demographics at California Institute of Technology, or Caltech. Number of black freshman at the university between 1989 and 1999; Issue of minority candidates being unprepared for the rigorous curriculum; Criticism that Caltech lacks recruitment tactics to encourage diversity; Standardized-test scores in the admission process; Efforts to help students who are initially rejected.

Discusses the efforts by colleges in the United States to raise their retention rates. Chart showing rise in dropout rates; Example of Fort Lewis College; Steps being taken to reduce the exodus of students; Fear of lowering of academic standards to keep students from leaving; Comments; Reasons why students leave; Outlook.

Discusses the record number of student enrollments at Christian colleges during 1990-1998. Reaction of universities to the higher enrollment; Rules and social standards of Christian colleges; Marketing techniques of Christian colleges; Academic standards; Religious beliefs in the classrooms.

Reports on the death of Matthew Garofalo at the University of Iowa. How the student drank too much alcohol and choked on his own vomit on the evening of a fraternity ceremony at Lambda Chi Alpha; Lawsuit against the fraternity by the Garofalo family; Lenient punishment by the University of the students who supplied the alcohol and pressured Garafalo to drink it; Dismissal of the case by district court judge, L. Vern Robinson; Prior drinking habits of Garofalo.

Reports on the recreation facilities at colleges in the United States. Wellness/Recreation Center at the University of Northern Iowa; Colleges that are building wellness and recreation centers; Why investments in recreation are worthwhile, according to college officials.

Reports on the plans of universities and colleges in the United States to offer the abortion pill RU-486 or mifepristone through their campus health centers. Demand of abortion-rights groups and student editors; Overview of abortion through the use of mifepristone; Problems of colleges in meeting the guidelines of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Reports on the growing pagan movement on campuses in the United States. Beliefs adhered by pagans; Traditional and religious influences of pagans; Several universities and colleges where paganism is active; Relationship between Christians and pagans; Sample of a pagan ritual.

Focuses on the proliferation of student organizations at colleges and universities in the United States. Statistics on student organizations; Factors that resulted to the growth of organizations; Consequence of the expanding number of student organizations.

Discusses so-called social norms marketing at colleges and universities in the United States, which is designed to encourage healthy behaviors among college students. Skepticism about the approach expressed by Richard P. Keeling, editor of the 'Journal of American College Health;' Study on the effectiveness of the marketing by the student health and safety association Bacchus; Description of campaigns at specific colleges to curb behaviors such as drinking, smoking, unsafe sex, and sexual assault.

Reports on the development of men's health clinics on college campuses in the United States and the reluctancy of males to seek out medical help. Evaluation of present clinics and the tendency for males to avoid them; Quality of male health after the implementation of men's health clinics on college campuses; Appearance of men's health centers at San Francisco State University, Tulane University, and others.

Reports on the filming by writer, producer and director Jonathan Flicker of the independent motion picture `Followers,' which deals with a racist hazing incident. Plot of the film; Shooting permission; Students' favorable and unfavorable reactions; Problem of racism in fraternities. INSET: Crash during hazing incident killed U. of Georgia student....

Focuses on small and big businesses' recruitment and marketing programs. Setting up of recruiting and marketing booths in various United States cities; Total number of students who attended the career fair in Panama City Beach, Florida; Efforts of various companies to attract students to their booths; Significance of the recruitment program to students.

Reports on the censorship problems facing student press at black colleges in the United States. Publication issues approved by the school administration in order not lose their financial aid; Faculty and public relations staff members' proofreading of student papers.

Discusses the controversy over whether university campus traditions that involve alcohol and nudity should be banned in the United States. Arguments from officials at Princeton University, Ithaca, and University of Michigan pointing to activities that resulted in alcohol-related illnesses and injuries; Problems of assault and exploitation of nude photographs; View from class president at Princeton University, Ben Shopsin, to preserve student tradition.

Highlights the findings of a survey on the prevalence of stress among college freshmen in the United States. Experience of feelings of being overwhelmed with amount of work to be done; Plans of taking a full-time job while attending college; Increased incidence of stress among female students.

Reports plans by colleges and universities in the United States to provide newspaper to students. Success of the plan at Penn State in University Park, Pennsylvania; How the plan provides the papers and charges them to students' housing costs; Statistics on the number of college students reading newspapers; Increase in newspaper circulation; Criticism by some members of the College Media Advisers.

Reports that Emory University at Atlanta, Georgia has created a interdisciplinary undergraduate minor program that focuses on violence. Curriculum; Assessment by Karen Colvard, of the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, of the program developed by professors Michael A. Bellesiles and Patricia Brennan; Attendance in the sexual violence prevention seminar.

Focuses on the debate over graphic anti-drinking advertisements. Reflection of differing views on how to change student behavior; Campaign by the City of Boston, called 'Party Smart'; Criticism of the scare-tactics approach; Support for a strategy known as social norms approach by college administrators; Experiment at the Northern Illinois University; Financial problems; Outlook.

Discusses the controversy over the issue of admission policies and performance standards for doctoral students at Nova Southeastern University. Allegations of racial discrimination; Details of the law suit by former students; Response from the university; History of the university; Nova's plagiarism policy; Comments.

Focuses on the ongoing debate about vaccinating students against meningococcal diseases in light of the increasing number of cases of meningitis in United States universities and colleges as reported in 1999. Higher rate of infection among freshmen who live in dormitories; Spreading of the microbe, Neisseria meningitidis; Steps taken at various colleges and universities; Recommendation by the American College Health Association; Comments.

Reports that the demand for college graduates with degrees in computer science, electrical engineering, and other technical fields has outpaced the supply. Assertion that the labor market in the United States is good as long as the employee has some competency with technology; Average starting salary for new hires with bachelor's degrees in computer science; How a strong economy has lulled some students into complacency over finding a career.

Focuses on the popularity of the television program `Felicity' as of June 4, 1999. Viewers; Reasons for the popularity, including the ability of students to relate to situations; Details of the program; Importance of the subject matter; Comments from creator J.J. Abrams; Betsy O. Barefoot, co-director of research and publication at the University of South Carolina's National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience.

Reports on the changing roles of Asian-American college students in several universities in the United States. The stereotyping of Asian-American students as studious high achievers; The lack of programs and services for students from South and Southeast Asia; The focus on East Asian students; Incomplete data on student population figures; The Filipino-American Student Cultural Arts Center at Old Dominion University; Dispute over Hindi as a college major.

Looks at the complex issues concerning the Balkans and the response and opinions of students to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) air strikes in Yugoslavia as of April 30, 1999. Efforts to stop the Serbian campaign of ethnic cleansing; Attendance of apolitical teach-ins and vigils to pay homage to both Serbs and Kosovars killed; Clothing drives for refugees; How captured American soldier Steven Gonzales is being honored by Texas A&M University.

Discusses why parents are paying a smaller share of their children's tuition bill in the United States. Study by the Institute for Higher Education Policy on the issue; Statistics on the contributions of parents toward children's education; Need for more support for lower income families; Views of Richard M. Flaherty on the importance of saving for college; Role of loans.

Examines efforts by colleges and universities in the United States to increase enrollment of minority students. Example of Tito Jackson at the University of New Hampshire; Stereotypes in New Hampshire; Blacks only one percent of the population in New Hampshire; Desire of colleges to have racial diversity; Concerns minority students have on predominantly white campuses; Strategies for recruitment by colleges; Marketing aspects.

Focuses on `Frat House,' a documentary of hazing in Greek letter societies of universities and colleges in the United States, made by Todd Phillips and Andrew Gurland. Awards that the movie won at the Sundance Film Festival; Reasons that the film doesn't qualify as a documentary by the standards of cable network HBO; Views of national fraternity leaders on the film; Comments of the producers on the authenticity of the film.

Looks at the data from a 1998 survey of college freshman conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles. Percentage of freshman who believe abortion should be legal; Views on casual sex; Political viewpoints.

Focuses on the efforts of the University of La Verne, California to remove social obstacles that hinder the success of Latino students. Dropout rates of first-generation college students, according to a study by the National Center for Education Statistics; Study being led by Professor Mary Prieto-Bayard to understand and remove obstacles to first-generation, minority, students; Latino students participating in Bayard's program; What the program entails.

Discusses the early entrance programs of colleges and universities in the United States for gifted youngsters. Concern of admissions officials and experts in allowing the gifted to enroll; Alternative suggested by Ellen Winner, a professor of psychology, instead of rushing to send the young gifted to colleges; What California State University's Early Entrance Program can provide for the students.

Focuses on an amendment to the Higher Education Act which allows colleges to inform parents anytime a student under 21-years-old violates drug or alcohol laws. The University of Delaware, Radford University and a few other institutions as trying out the plan as an effort to curb alcohol abuse among students; Educators and parents who question the tactic; Comments.

Reports on the increased number of college freshman in the United States during the late 1990s and the problems the increase is causing. Statistics on college enrollment; Lack of dormitory rooms; How freshman attending the University of Northern Colorado are staying at a nearby Ramada Inn; Efforts to increase living space; How private colleges such as Huntington College are facing the same problems due to over enrollment.

Focuses on the death of Scott Krueger, a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Shortage of dorm rooms that requires MIT to funnel its students into unsupervised fraternity houses; Krueger's 40 hour coma and subsequent death on the evening of his initiation into Phi Gamma Delta; Attempt to assign responsibility for his death; Comments of Eugene D. Gulland, a Washington lawyer who advises colleges on how to develop legally sound alcohol policies.

Comments on the leadership degrees offered by some universities. University of Richmond, Chapman University in California, and Fort Hays State University in Kansas offering the programs; Description of the programs; Criticism of the programs.

Reports that an increasing number of gay students are gaining acceptance in the fraternity system at universities. Homophobia experienced by gay fraternity brothers; The anthology `Out on Fraternity Row: Personal Accounts of Being Gay in a College Fraternity'; Comments from editor of the anthology Shane L. Windmeyer; Writers of the anthology; Plan for another anthology about lesbians in sororities.

Focuses on the persistent United States college rumor that surviving roommates of suicide victims automatically get straight A's. 1998 movies that exploit the concept, including `Dead Man on Campus' and `Dead Man's Curve'; Efforts of college administrators to debunk the belief; Factors in the myth's staying power; Comments from administrators.

Focuses on Alain R. Mestat, who cares for international students in the United States. Personal background of Mestat; Number of students he has; Where his students are from; Fees; Services he provides; Rise in the number of international college students.

Reports that administers are clamping down on student newspapers for controversial stories and embarrassing typos. Student-newspaper advisers as taking the blame for allowing student to publish investigative stories or editorials that paint the college in a negative light; The case of Garret L. Boatman, newspaper adviser at Essex County College in new Jersey, who lost his job; Others who lost jobs; The court's protection of students' free-press rights as causing officials to find other ways to silence them.

Discusses topics related to United States college students. Questions about programs that allow high-school students to earn college credits; Doubts about the courses' rigor raised by proliferation of dual enrollment and increases in advanced placement; Investigation of University Student Services, issuer of a controversial student debit card, which resulted in its closure.

Discusses efforts by colleges to combat student alcohol abuse. Failure of approaches such as banning alcohol in residence halls and fraternities and orchestrating campus advertising campaigns about the dangers of excessive drinking; Liberal stance of some colleges they hope will teach students to drink responsibly; Attempts at other institutions of sterner measures involving expulsion for repeat offenders; Involvement of more college presidents in the problem once handled by low-level administrators.

Reports on how undergraduate research is growing in importance in the late 1990s. Details of the National Conference on Undergraduate Research; How many of the presentations made at the conference are based in the sciences; How students feel about research projects; Comments from students and professors.

Reports on advertisements for Rooster snuff, a smokeless-tobacco product, that appeared in college campus newspapers. U. S. Tobacco's campaign of a page inserted into college newspapers with a coupon for a free can of Copenhagen snuff; The anger of Michigan's Attorney General, a tobacco opponent; Advertisements for tobacco that appeared in The Michigan State News after that college newspaper had criticized the the University's ownership of stock in tobacco companies.

Focuses on the emerging popularity of secular humanist groups on United States college campuses. How the groups attract students via the Internet; Several groups mentioned; Scientific reasoning as one way secular humanists find meaning and moral guidance; Why students begin to question their beliefs in college; Increasing popularity of religious groups; Debates over prayer on college campuses; Viewpoints.

Focuses on the tradition in colleges in the United States of making joke issues of student newspapers on April Fools Day. Comment of John David Reed, journalism professor at Eastern Illinois University, on what the gag issues usually contain; Universities that have intervened or stopped the tradition.

Offers forecasts of the United States high-shool graduating class. Report from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education; Growth in the sunbelt states; Statistics on projected change in the number of high-school graduates from the year 1996 to the year 2012; State-by-state breakdown.

Reports on efforts being made by colleges and universities, in the United States, to keep tuition for the 1998-1999 academic year at the same level as 1997. Freezing of faculty salaries at Virginia Wesleyan College; Methods used at other colleges; Difficulty in keeping costs down; Statistics; Use of incentives.