ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

Fast Facts

Gary Pattillo

→ Study abroad student numbers rising

The latest figures from the Institute of International Education reveal that, for the 2001-02 academic year, 4.4 percent more students received credit for study abroad than in the previous year. Since the early 1990s, the number of students studying abroad has more than doubled from 71,154 in 1991-92 to the present 160,920. Interest in less traditional destinations is also growing. Among the countries with the largest increases in for-credit study were China, Japan, and the Czech Republic.

Institute of International Education, "American students study abroad in growing numbers," Washington, D.C., November 17, 2003, opendoors.iienetwork.org/?p=36524. January 25, 2004

→ Identity theft, Internet fraud

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has released its report of the top consumer complaint categories for 2003. Identity theft continues to top the list, accounting for 42 percent of the complaints lodged in the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel database, up from 40 percent in 2002. Internet-related complaints accounted for 55 percent of all fraud reports, up from 45 percent in 2002. The FTC received more than half a million consumer complaints in 2003. Internet auctions accounted for 15 percent of complaints. The median loss to victims of Internet related fraud was $195.

Federal Trade Commission, "National and state trends in fraud and identity theft: January-December 2003," www.consumer.gov/sentinel/pubs/Top10Fraud2003.pdf.January 22, 2004

→ Students' political interest

Interest in politics is on the rise among incoming college freshmen. A recent study by the Higher Education Research Institute indicates a reversal of a long-term trend of disengagement from politics. Nearly 34 percent of students feel that “keeping up to date with political affairs” is a very important life goal. This number, however, is far below the 60.3 percent reported in 1966, when the study first began tracking political interest among college freshmen. The number of selflabeled “liberals” was down last year, while the number of “conservatives” was up from previous years. About half the freshmen consider themselves “middle-of-the-road.”

Higher Education Research Institute, "The American freshman: National norms for fall 2003," University of California, Los Angeles Graduate School of Education and Information studies, www.gseis.uda.edu/heri/findings.html. January 29,2004

→ Combating cybersquatting

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is combatting the abusive registration of trademarks as domain names, or cybersquatting. Since the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) went into effect in December 1999, WIPO’s Arbitration and Mediation Center has handled some 6,000 disputes covering 10,000 domain names. More than 80 percent of WIPO decisions went in favor of the trademark holder. So far, parties to WIPO UDRP disputes have come from 116 different countries.

World Intellectual Property Organization, "WIPO continues efforts to stamp out cybersquatting," www.wipo.int/ edocs/prdocs/en/2004/wipo_upd_2004_217.html. Geneva, Switzerland. January 27, 2004

→ High school enrollment

The number of U.S. high school graduates is rising and projected to peak in 2008-09, with 3.2 million students earning their diplomas. Long-term projections show Hispanic graduates on the rise, while graduation rates for white students will decline. Numbers for black students are expected to remain about the same. Projections also show great diversity in income and regional distribution, with the West expecting the highest rate of growth among low-income students, while the Northeast expects the most growth in the top income group.

Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, "Knocking at the college door: Projections of high school graduates by state, income, and race/ethnicity, 1988 to 2018," www.wiche.edu/policy/knocking/1988-2018/. January 29, 2004

Gary Pattillo is reference librarian at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, e-mail: pattillo@refstaff.lib.unc.edu