College Shorts

Author: Kathryn Flagg

American students broaden horizons

More American college students are choosing to study abroad in exotic, non-English speaking locations, according to figures released Monday by the Institute of International Education. Although Britain remains the most popular choice for the 8 percent of college students who study abroad, the study reports that the popularity of programs in non-English speaking European countries and in Asia is on the rise.

China is now the 8th most popular destination for American students, seeing a 35 percent increase in U.S. exchange students from the previous year. Argentina and India, although attracting only around 2,000 students apiece, each saw increases of more than 50 percent.

Allan Goodman, president of the Institute, attributes the trend to a range of factors from the growing awareness of globalization to programs such as the Bush administration's National Security Language Initiative.

"What Americans are doing is waking up and discovering there's a world out there," he told CNN.

-CNN.com


Bowdoin nears $250 million benchmark

Bowdoin College publicly launched a $250 million capital campaign Friday, kicking off what officials believe will be the largest fundraising drive in Maine history, according to The Bowdoin Orient.

The college's fundraising coincides with drives at other Maine NESCAC colleges. Last year, Bates College completed its own capital campaign, raising $120 million after their 2000 launch, and nearby Colby College launched a $235 million campaign in January of this year.

"The Bowdoin Campaign," as the school has dubbed the drive, has already raised 60 percent of the campaign's total goal during the "silent phase" of the campaign, the school announced Friday. The drive targets financial aid as its primary goal, striving to raise nearly $77 million for tuition aid. The college also hopes to fund 12 new faculty positions, fund building projects currently in progress and support the institution's operation budget.

Friday's launch marked the halfway point in the campaign, The Orient reported, which is slated for completion in June 2009.

-The Bowdoin Orient


Cognitively disabled pursue higher ed

More students with Down syndrome and other cognitive disabilities are pursuing higher education, The New York Times reported earlier this month. Despite difficulties facing students with lower than average cognitive abilities, more individuals and their families who have grown up in the wake of the 1975 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act are exploring postgraduate education opportunities.

The Web site ThinkCollege.net, a database of higher education financed by the United States Department of Education, lists 106 programs that place cognitively disabled students in classrooms and sometimes in university dormitories. Current programs vary significantly, ranging from vocational training to associate degree programs, but according to an education specialist at the Institute for Community Inclusion, the number of such programs is growing every year.

Although many parents and educators extol the social and experiential merits of higher education, practical concerns also fuel the growing interest in education for individuals with cognitive disabilities. The National Down Syndrome Society reports, however, that the quality and quantity of jobs for people with cognitive disabilities increase with postsecondary education.

-The New York Times