GenDigital

Not Everyone Goes To College...HS Grad Rates Sink

A lot of us living and working on the coasts or parts of the Midwest or south on occasion fall into a trap thinking everyone who graduates high school goes on to college, at least it was that way when they were in school so the thinking goes. That's true to some extent, but there is a huge emphasis on regionality. It is absolutely true that college matriculation rates in certain areas are 90%+ but if you look it from a national perspective, it's a lot closer to 40%--and these are all-time high numbers btw. What keeping the numbers lower than most people expect. Well of course you have the ridiculously high cost, but beyond that, you have lower HS graduation rates in some very large markets. A report released today even caused me to pause for a moment and re-think. Only a quarter of the kids of Detroit public schools will graduate high school, yikes. It's not much better in other cites, it's 31% in Indianapolis and 34% in Cleveland. Perhaps the mega touted "No Child Left Behind" initiative might want to take a bit of a reality check, conveniently starting with these three Midwestern city school districts.

More Foreign Students Come To U.S.

After several years of declining numbers, the Institute for International Education reports the number of international students coming to the United States grew. The report due out today, along with the reality of a substantially more diverse campus environment compared to 10 or 20 years ago creates challenges for marketers, or greater opportunities, if you're an optimist. According to the report, the U.S. State Department issued a record 591,050 student visas over the past year (The reporting period ended Sept 14). This represents an increase of 14% over the last year and nearly a 20% increase since 2001. Student visas went into somewhat of tailspin after 9/11.