Universities And Colleges

State higher education officials are encouraged by statistics that show more Maryland high school graduates staying in the state to attend college.The Maryland Higher Education Commission last week released data showing 38.5 percent of state high school graduates enrolled as full-time freshman at a college or university in the state. That figure was compared to statistics from 1985, when 34.5 percent of graduates did so.State Higher Education Secretary Shaila Aery attributes the slight increase to better funding of state universities and colleges and to her administration's focus to make scholarships available to more students.

When the University of Maryland issues its end-of-year crime report to the U.S. Department of Education - as is required by federal law - it will not include the recent off-campus shooting that left two students dead and another wounded. Though the violence occurred less than a quarter-mile from campus, the university is not required to report it under the 1990 Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistic Act . "The rules for Clery reporting are very exact, and this incident will not fall into the geographic area for which we report," Crystal Brown, a university spokeswoman, said in an email.

FACTS, AS THEY say, are stubborn things. Unfortunately, there have been scant few facts in recent statements by elected officials or the media in the debate on the funding of public higher education in Maryland. So I offer examples of where reality has yet to meet the road: Myth: Maryland's public universities and colleges have responded to the recent budget cuts with huge tuition increases rather than working toward greater operating efficiencies. Reality: The University of Maryland, College Park, for one, has responded to the budget cuts with two tuition increases that will yield only 40 percent of this shortfall.

Bogus e-mail appearing to come from universities and colleges is making the rounds to "phish" for personal or sensitive information such as passwords, credit card account data and Social Security numbers. In a warning last week, Penn State warned its students, faculty, staff and alumni to beware of e-mail messages from addresses such as The Psu.edu Team, websupport@webmaster.com, and ALERT@psu.edu. One version of the message states that it's from the "webmail messaging center" and that the university is upgrading Penn State WebMail so recipients should "upgrade their user accounts."

Lacrosse is one of the oldest team sports in North America, with its origin dating back to the 1400s. Native Americans originally played the game, known then as "baggataway," with hundreds and sometimes thousands of players, and often women and men competed together on the same team. These massive games would last two to three days and often the goals were miles apart. It was not until the early 1800s that French settlers started adopting the game. Lacrosse is a combination of basketball, soccer and hockey, and the game uses the same principles of the early game.

Bogus e-mail appearing to come from universities and colleges is making the rounds to "phish" for personal or sensitive information such as passwords, credit card account data and Social Security numbers. In a warning last week, Penn State warned its students, faculty, staff and alumni to beware of e-mail messages from addresses such as The Psu.edu Team, websupport@webmaster.com, and ALERT@psu.edu. One version of the message states that it's from the "webmail messaging center" and that the university is upgrading Penn State WebMail so recipients should "upgrade their user accounts."

Nelson P. Guild, a political science professor and president for 16 years of what is now Frostburg State University, died of emphysema and internal hemorrhaging Monday at Sacred Heart Hospital in Cumberland. Dr. Guild, who had received a diagnosis of cancer recently, was 75 and lived in Frostburg. Heading Frostburg State from 1969 to 1985, Dr. Guild helped to transform the former teachers' college into a liberal arts college, laying the groundwork for it to join the University System of Maryland, which it did in 1988, said Frostburg President Catherine R. Gira.

When the University of Maryland issues its end-of-year crime report to the U.S. Department of Education - as is required by federal law - it will not include the recent off-campus shooting that left two students dead and another wounded. Though the violence occurred less than a quarter-mile from campus, the university is not required to report it under the 1990 Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistic Act . "The rules for Clery reporting are very exact, and this incident will not fall into the geographic area for which we report," Crystal Brown, a university spokeswoman, said in an email.

Taxpayer support for public universities, measured per student, has plunged more precipitously since 2001 than at any time in two decades, and several university presidents are calling the decline a de facto privatization of the institutions that played a crucial role in the creation of the American middle class. Graham Spanier, president of Pennsylvania State University, said this year that skyrocketing tuition was a result of what he called "public higher education's slow slide toward privatization."

THE NATION's colleges are in the midst of a transformation the likes of which hasn't been seen in years. Suddenly, there's a rush of high-achieving students -- those who would only have applied to elite private schools a few years ago -- applying to flagship public universities.As a result, their peers with slightly lower SAT scores and grades are increasingly being squeezed out of the flagship schools.Two major factors are fueling this trend: status and price.Elite colleges, such as the Johns Hopkins University, have always attracted their share of top high school graduates for a variety of reasons, including noted professors, superior facilities, high-achieving students, diverse course offerings and distinguished reputations.

America has a very diverse system of higher education. Students can choose from among community colleges, liberal arts colleges or universities. Those classifications include a rich mosaic of opportunities rooted in a history of change. When comparing universities and colleges, only the division of the academic enterprise clearly stands out as a difference. Some universities offer a research focus, but out of the 4,200 higher-education institutions in the United States, only a small number have an exclusive model of scholarship.

Taxpayer support for public universities, measured per student, has plunged more precipitously since 2001 than at any time in two decades, and several university presidents are calling the decline a de facto privatization of the institutions that played a crucial role in the creation of the American middle class. Graham Spanier, president of Pennsylvania State University, said this year that skyrocketing tuition was a result of what he called "public higher education's slow slide toward privatization."

Md. could face its own crisis in access to college Mike Bowler's column "College rank, rejections go hand in hand" (April 21) probably struck a chord with many college applicants and their parents, who may understandably be more than a little dismayed to learn that in being rejected by a selective university or college, they could actually be helping to boost that institution's national ranking. Mr. Bowler writes: "In the twisted value system of higher education in America, it's considered good to be selective, bad to be scrambling for students."

A group that promotes conservative values at Catholic universities and colleges is targeting several Maryland schools in its nationwide protest against the controversial play The Vagina Monologues. A full-page advertisement in Tuesday's USA Today is headlined: "Scandal! Notre Dame, Georgetown, Boston College, Holy Cross, Loyola, DePaul and 24 more Catholic colleges to host X-rated `play' that glorifies child seduction and other horrors." The advertisement also criticizes by name secular colleges it says are planning productions of the Monologues by Eve Ensler in the next four to six weeks, including the Johns Hopkins University, Towson University and University of Maryland.

Nelson P. Guild, a political science professor and president for 16 years of what is now Frostburg State University, died of emphysema and internal hemorrhaging Monday at Sacred Heart Hospital in Cumberland. Dr. Guild, who had received a diagnosis of cancer recently, was 75 and lived in Frostburg. Heading Frostburg State from 1969 to 1985, Dr. Guild helped to transform the former teachers' college into a liberal arts college, laying the groundwork for it to join the University System of Maryland, which it did in 1988, said Frostburg President Catherine R. Gira.

FACTS, AS THEY say, are stubborn things. Unfortunately, there have been scant few facts in recent statements by elected officials or the media in the debate on the funding of public higher education in Maryland. So I offer examples of where reality has yet to meet the road: Myth: Maryland's public universities and colleges have responded to the recent budget cuts with huge tuition increases rather than working toward greater operating efficiencies. Reality: The University of Maryland, College Park, for one, has responded to the budget cuts with two tuition increases that will yield only 40 percent of this shortfall.

A group that promotes conservative values at Catholic universities and colleges is targeting several Maryland schools in its nationwide protest against the controversial play The Vagina Monologues. A full-page advertisement in Tuesday's USA Today is headlined: "Scandal! Notre Dame, Georgetown, Boston College, Holy Cross, Loyola, DePaul and 24 more Catholic colleges to host X-rated `play' that glorifies child seduction and other horrors." The advertisement also criticizes by name secular colleges it says are planning productions of the Monologues by Eve Ensler in the next four to six weeks, including the Johns Hopkins University, Towson University and University of Maryland.

Second of two parts At College of the Atlantic, bigger isn't better. The small school in Bar Harbor, Maine, uses its size strategically to compete with the pack of larger, and less expensive, public universities.And every small organization can learn from the teachings of the college's officials.The College of the Atlantic's advantages stem from its small size, which allows students and faculty to interact in ways nearly impossible on larger campuses.This can provide enormous benefits to students, who get to do front-line research with dedicated faculty.

Lacrosse is one of the oldest team sports in North America, with its origin dating back to the 1400s. Native Americans originally played the game, known then as "baggataway," with hundreds and sometimes thousands of players, and often women and men competed together on the same team. These massive games would last two to three days and often the goals were miles apart. It was not until the early 1800s that French settlers started adopting the game. Lacrosse is a combination of basketball, soccer and hockey, and the game uses the same principles of the early game.

THE NATION's colleges are in the midst of a transformation the likes of which hasn't been seen in years. Suddenly, there's a rush of high-achieving students -- those who would only have applied to elite private schools a few years ago -- applying to flagship public universities.As a result, their peers with slightly lower SAT scores and grades are increasingly being squeezed out of the flagship schools.Two major factors are fueling this trend: status and price.Elite colleges, such as the Johns Hopkins University, have always attracted their share of top high school graduates for a variety of reasons, including noted professors, superior facilities, high-achieving students, diverse course offerings and distinguished reputations.