This newsletter is designed to provide the prospective college student, whether freshman or transfer, with information about the availability of higher education in North Carolina, both public and private. It provides information on The University of North Carolina, community colleges, private senior colleges and universities, theological seminary, Bible colleges, and private junior colleges. The information was obtained from reports submitted by the respective officers of each institution. Part I is an overview providing the name and location of each institution; the year founded; the type of student body enrolled; the chief administrator's name and title; the degree level offered; the fall 2003 total headcount enrollment; the undergraduate tuition and fees (in-state and out-of-state students); and the estimated room and board expenses for the 2004-2005 academic year. Part II lists the 2004-2005 academic calendar for each institution of higher education in North Carolina. It indicates whether the institution operates under a semester, modified semester, or trimester system; the dates for first day of registration in the fall; the dates classes begin and exams end for each term (including summer sessions); the dates for major student vacations during the school year; and the commencement dates.

Two sociologists reveal how small towns in Middle America are exporting their most precious resource—young people—and share what can be done to save these dwindling communities In 2001, with funding from the MacArthur Foundation, sociologists Patrick J. Carr and Maria J. Kefalas moved to Iowa to understand the rural brain drain and the exodus of young people from America’s countryside. They met and followed working-class “stayers”; ambitious and college-bound “achievers”; “seekers,” who head off to war to see what the world beyond offers; and “returners,” who eventually circle back to their hometowns. What surprised them most was that adults in the community were playing a pivotal part in the town’s decline by pushing the best and brightest young people to leave. In a timely, new afterword, Carr and Kefalas address the question “so what can be done to save our communities?” They profile the efforts of dedicated community leaders actively resisting the hollowing out of Middle America. These individuals have creatively engaged small town youth—stayers and returners, seekers and achievers—and have implemented a variety of programs to combat the rural brain drain. These stories of civic engagement will certainly inspire and encourage readers struggling to defend their communities.