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71. Voices of Hope, Voices of Frustration

Author:
Kathrin Keil
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
Abstract:
Can international students successfully obtain visas and pass through security checks in order to study in the United States? For most international students interested in studying in the United States, the answer is yes. In the 2005 fiscal year, nearly 256,000 student visas were issued, which marked a significant improvement from the approximately 236,000 issued in 2003 and the approximately 238,000 issued in 2004. While visa issuance for international students has not rebounded to pre-September 11 levels—approximately 320,000 student visas were issued in fiscal year 2001—it would be erroneous to assume that changes implemented to U.S. admission policies post-9/11 are the sole cause for this drop in international student enrollment in U.S. institutions of higher education. First of all, a comprehensive study of the impact of 9/11 on the U.S. visa system conducted by the Washington, DC-based Migration Policy Institute revealed that changes made to the visa system following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were mostly administrative. While these “administrative” changes may have caused visa interview and adjudication backlogs that hindered visa processing, changes to the system were not designed to make it harder for international students to obtain visas. Also, the State Department contends that the worldwide number of visa applications dropped after September 11 and that “the overall visa refusal rate has remained virtually constant since prior to September 11.” Most importantly, there are other factors to consider when evaluating why international student enrollment has declined, such as the growing competition from other countries' universities in terms of tuition costs, student recruitment activities, and academic programs.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Education, Terrorism, and Immigration
Political Geography:
United States

72. No Child Left Behind: How to give It a Passing Grade

Author:
Martin R. West
Publication Date:
12-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has the potential to improve many of America's schools, but this potential is currently undermined by serious flaws in how the program evaluates school performance. Because NCLB's measurement system compares only students' performance at a single point in time against state-determined standards, the information generated on school performance is often misleading and creates perverse incentives for states to lower their expectations.
Topic:
Development, Education, and Politics
Political Geography:
United States

73. CATO Institute: Corruption in the Public Schools: The Market Is the Answer

Author:
Neal McCluskey
Publication Date:
04-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
One of the most frequently voiced objections to school choice is that the free market lacks the "accountability" that governs public education. Public schools are constantly monitored by district administrators, state officials, federal officials, school board members, and throngs of other people tasked with making sure that the schools follow all the rules and regulations governing them. That level of bureaucratic oversight does not exist in the free market, and critics fear choice-based education will be plagued by corruption, poor-quality schools, and failure.
Topic:
Economics, Education, and Politics
Political Geography:
United States

74. CATO Institute: Making College More Expensive: The Unintended Consequences of Federal Tuition Aid

Author:
Gary Wolfram
Publication Date:
01-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
As Congress debates the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, it should heed Friedrich Hayek's warning that democracy is “peculiarly liable, if not guided by accepted common principles, to produce over-all results that nobody wanted.” One result of the federal government's student financial aid programs is higher tuition costs at our nation's colleges and universities. Basic economic theory suggests that the increased demand for higher education generated by HEA will have the effect of increasing tuitions. The empirical evidence is consistent with that—federal loans, Pell grants, and other assistance programs result in higher tuition for students at our nation's colleges and universities.
Topic:
Economics, Education, and Government
Political Geography:
United States

75. Special Education and the Risk of Becoming Less Educated in Germany and the United States

Author:
Justin J.W. Powell
Publication Date:
02-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:
Over the twentieth century, a growing group of students has been transferred into considerably expanded special education systems. These programs serve children with diagnosed impairments and disabilities and students with a variety of learning difficulties. Children and youth “with special educational needs” constitute a heterogeneous group with social, ethnic, linguistic, and physical disadvantages. An increasingly large percentage of those students at risk of leaving school without credentials participate in special education, a highly legitimated low status (and stigmatizing) school form. While most countries commit themselves to school integration or inclusive education to replace segregated schools and separate classes, cross-national and regional comparisons of special education's diverse student bodies show considerable disparities in their (1) rates of classification, (2) provided learning opportunities, and (3) educational attainments. Analyzing special education demographics and organizational structures indicates which children and youth are most likely to grow up less educated and how educational systems distribute educational success and failure. Findings from a German-American comparison show that which students bear the greatest risk of becoming less educated depends largely on definitions of “special educational needs” and the institutionalization of special education systems.
Topic:
Development and Education
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and Germany

76. Why Does College Cost So Much?

Author:
Richard Vedder
Publication Date:
09-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
As college students begin a new academic year, many parents are reeling from tuition charges. This fall's estimated 8 percent average increase at public universities, added onto double-digit hikes in the two previous years, means tuition at a typical state university is up 36 percent over 2002—at a time when consumer prices in general have risen less than 9 percent. In inflation-adjusted terms, tuition today is roughly triple what it was when parents of today's college students attended school in the 1970s. Tuition charges are rising faster than family incomes, an unsustainable trend in the long run. This holds true even when scholarships and financial aid are considered. One consequence of rising costs is that college enrollments are no longer increasing as much as before. Price-sensitive groups such as low-income students and minorities are missing out. A smaller proportion of Hispanics between eighteen and twenty-four attends college today than in 1976. The United States is beginning to fall below some other industrial nations in population-adjusted college attendance.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Education, and Government
Political Geography:
United States

77. CATO Institute: A Lesson in Waste: Where Does All the Federal Education Money Go?

Author:
Neal McCluskey
Publication Date:
07-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Since the 1965 passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which concentrated unprecedented authority over American education in the hands of the federal government, federal lawmakers have passed increasingly restrictive laws and drastically escalated education spending, which ballooned from around $25 billion in 1965 (adjusted for inflation) to more than $108 billion in 2002.
Topic:
Economics, Education, and Government
Political Geography:
United States and America

78. Education and Indoctrination in the Muslim World Is There a Problem? What Can We Do about It?

Author:
Andrew Coulson
Publication Date:
03-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
This paper describes the threat posed to U.S. national security by militant schools in lessdeveloped nations, evaluates current policies for dealing with that threat, and suggests an alternative set of policies that would likely be more effective and also more consistent with the laws and principles of the United States.
Topic:
Education, International Trade and Finance, and Religion
Political Geography:
United States and Arabia

79. The Creative Campus: The Training, Sustaining, and Presenting of the Performing Arts in American Higher Education

Publication Date:
03-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
American Assembly at Columbia University
Abstract:
At the close of their discussions, the participants in the 104th American Assembly on “The Creative Cam pus: The Training, Sustaining, and Presenting of the Performing Arts in American Higher Education” at Arden House in Harriman, New York, March 11-13, 2004 reviewed as a group an outline of this statement. While not everything that follows was endorsed by everyone, this reflects the general discussions of the group.
Topic:
Economics, Education, and Government
Political Geography:
United States, New York, and America

80. Civil Society Groups And Political Parties: Supporting Constructive Relationships

Publication Date:
03-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Agency for International Development
Abstract:
Many of us working in the United States on democracy assistance tend to consider civil society organizations (CSOs) and political parties, and support for them, separately. But reality remains much more complex, and the nature of existing relationships in the countries we work in and the effects of democracy assistance on those relationships matter for our larger democracy and governance (DG) goals. They, therefore, deserve explicit examination. This paper deals with two broad sets of questions. First, what do we think we should be aiming for at the systemic level, in terms of the relationship between civil society and political parties? Second, in a given setting, what kinds of relationships, at the micro level (among individual organizations), can contribute to democratization?
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, Education, and Politics
Political Geography:
United States