Report card

Tightened visa procedures for foreign students have slowed the rate of growth in the number of international students attending U.S. colleges, according to a new report from the Institute of International Education (IIE). The overall number increased by less than 1 percent, compared to a growth rate of 6.4 percent in each of the previous two years. Last year more than half a million international students studied in the United States.

Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) has introduced legislation that would require universities to publicize information about "legacy" preferences given in admitting children of alumni or donors. The higher education community reportedly has not welcomed the proposal, instead seeking to maintain autonomy from government in admissions and to protect all opportunities to build donor relations.

Catholic-school graduates are more likely to vote than their public-school counterparts, according to a study by Swarthmore College economist Thomas S. Dee presented last month at Harvard University's graduate school of education. The finding helps establish that Catholic schools are "not inferior" to public schools in the civic preparation of students, Mr. Dee told Education Week.