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Highlights from Higher Ed: Campus Safety and STEM Job Security

RJ Nichol
Aug 17, 2018

43%

That’s the percentage of the University of Washington’s new freshman class that is domestic, white students. UW boasts a “historically diverse class” this year, with 32% Asian American, 10% Hispanic and 3% African American freshman students. Asian students make up a higher than the state-average percentage, in part due to the draw from students in the I-5 area in Washington, Oregon and California.

Source: The Seattle Times

1 year

That’s how long it’s been since the white supremacist riots in Charlottesville. A year later, students attending and applying to the University of Virginia are still concerned about safety, they are asking questions about diversity in their classmates and professors and they are pushing the conversation about racism and equality forward at every turn possible.

Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education

12%

According to a study from the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice, that’s how much more a STEM degree holder can expect to earn over non-STEM degree holders, holding all other factors constant. STEM majors may also be less likely to face unemployment.

With these two findings in mind, a STEM degree can be life changing for low-income students, yet some students still do not study STEM because the subjects or job opportunities do not appeal to them, or they are not academically strong enough in math and science to pass required courses.

Source: The Hechinger Report

13

That’s how many transfer students Princeton University accepted into its 2018 class. The University hasn’t had transfer students enroll since 1990. While transfer students make up 38% of the students in higher education, they are generally an afterthought and seen as a way to address lack of retention after first- or second-year losses. Since undergraduate enrollment numbers have been declining for the past six years, many institutions would do well to rethink their approach to recruiting and enrolling transfer students. 

Source: New York Times

RJ Nichol

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