Immigration and higher education : institutional responses to changing demographics / Maryann Jacobi Gray, Elizabeth Rolph, Elan Melamid

Author: Gray, Maryann Jacobi
Published: Santa Monica, CA : RAND, 1996.
Physical Description: xvii, 117 pages ; 23 cm
Additional Creators: Rolph, Elizabeth S., Melamid, Elan, Rand Corporation, Program for Research on Immigration Policy (U.S.), and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

Online Version

www.rand.org , Online access

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Summary

As immigration increases, so does its influence on U.S. demographics, including the demographics of higher education. Almost as many legal immigrants entered the United States during the 1980s (7.3 million) as during the preceding two decades (7.8 million). How and why have the nation's colleges and universities responded to a growing immigrant population on campus? This report addresses these questions. The picture that emerges is largely one of inattention coupled with widespread assumptions about immigrant students, assumptions that are unconfirmed by empirical data and analysis. The authors argue that, unchecked, these assumptions could result in unfair practices and reduced educational quality for immigrant students. Because of higher education's critical role in promoting economic assimilation, its leaders should be paying more attention to issues involving these students. To do so, they need descriptive statistics about immigrants' enrollment and retention in college, attitudinal and needs assessment studies, and evaluations of student outcomes and the effectiveness of remedial and English-as-a-second-language programs. Such information can help institutions determine whether administration and faculty perceptions and assumptions about immigrants provide an accurate foundation for future policy and program development.

Report Numbers

RAND/MR-751-AMF

Subject(s)

ISBN

0833023810 (alk. paper)

Note

"Center for Research on Immigration Policy."

Bibliography Note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 107-117).

Other Forms

Preview available on the internet via WWW.

Funding Information

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; 10-21-92; RCN 6832

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