By Janet Lorin. Private nonprofit colleges are offering students tuition discounts of 45 percent, on average, in response to a changing financial environment that stems from the weak economic recovery. Price reductions, designed to boost attendance, were at an all-time high in 2012 and outpaced the rate during the recession, according to a study of 383 private-nonprofit four-year schools, released today by the National Association of College and University Business Officers. Some colleges are struggling with enrollment declines even after offering a reduction and enduring price sensitivity is driving the drop, according to chief business officers at institutions that have been affected. Attending some private colleges can run more than $60,000 annually, including room and board, books and other costs. Read more...

By Michael Woods. New data on Canada’s aboriginal people are likely to underscore the need to address education for indigenous youth, the country’s fastest-growing group, experts say. Wednesday morning, Statistics Canada will release the first batch of data from the 2011 National Household Survey, including new information about the country’s burgeoning aboriginal population.
The data will include total numbers of First Nations, Metis and Inuit, including breakdowns by area, age structure and the living arrangements of aboriginal children. It will also look at the languages spoken by aboriginal peoples. Statisticians caution there is no way of knowing how good or bad the information is from the National Household Survey. The voluntary nature of the survey, which replaced the once-mandatory long-form census, leaves gaps in information for some groups that tend not to respond to voluntary surveys – including aboriginals.
But experts believe the data should provide a fairly accurate broad-scale picture of Canada. Canada’s aboriginal population grew by 45 per cent between 1996 and 2006, nearly six times faster than the rate of increase in the non-aboriginal population, according to the 2006 census, the last time the comprehensive study was done. Almost half the aboriginal population consisted of children and youths aged 24 and under. Read more...

An all-time high of 69 percent of Hispanics graduating from high school in 2012 enrolled in college that fall, according to analysis by the Pew Research Center. This is a greater proportion than that of white graduates from the same class, of whom 67 percent enrolled in college. According to Pew, Hispanic college-going has seen a long-term increase, especially since the recession hit, whereas enrollment by white high school graduates has gradually declined since 2008. Read more...