What's New

Minority admissions rise in California

BERKELEY, CALIF. - The number of black and Hispanic freshmen admitted to the University of California system has rebounded to 1997 levels, when race preferences were still in place. However, much of the recovery comes from students being admitted to lesser-known campuses. The flagship Berkeley and UCLA campuses are still well below 1997 totals. Nevertheless, proponents of the new procedures say outreach efforts are helping the UC system to boost black and Hispanic admissions overall. Those include aggressive recruiting, a guarantee that the top 4 percent of graduates in each high school will get a place at UC provided they meet eligibility requirements, and greater emphasis on evaluating how each applicant may have overcome obstacles like bad schools or poverty.

Graduate students allowed to unionize

NEW YORK - New York University graduate-student teaching assistants have the right to organize a union, a federal labor official ruled last week in the first such decision involving a private college. The decision covers 1,700 of 17,000 graduate students. "We grade papers, teach courses and recitations, hold office hours, conduct research, and perform administrative tasks.... We deserve the right to vote for a union," said NYU graduate assistant Laura Tanenbaum. Across the United States, graduate students at public universities are fighting for - and sometimes winning - collective-bargaining rights. As of December, 27 campuses had recognized graduate student unions. More than 20 graduate employee unions exist at US public universities, according to the United Auto Workers, which represented the New York students.

Print your textbooks on demand

Having trouble getting the book you need for your esoteric college class? Publisher's Weekly reports that two booksellers, Sprout and Follett, just announced a partnership to provide quick access to a broad range of titles. They will install print-on-demand machines in select store locations on Aug. 1. The college market is a particularly appealing venue for on-demand printing, given the fast rate at which textbooks are updated.

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