But some education advocates worry that new limits would disproportionately affect low-income students — particularly those who pursue a master's degree. Susan Ortega, head of the Council of Graduate Schools, told Inside Higher Ed that a postgraduate degree should not be looked at as a luxury.

Suzanne Ortega, president of the Council of Graduate Schools, argued that capping graduate lending would disenfranchise low-income and minority students who need loans to pursue further postsecondary education beyond a bachelor's degree.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Katherine Hazelrigg, CGS: (202) 461-3888 / khazelrigg@cgs.nche.edu

Washington, DC — The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has announced that Charles Ambler, currently associate provost and dean of the Graduate School at The University of Texas at El Paso, has been named the CGS Dean-in-Residence for 2019-2020.  Ambler has long been an advocate for diversity in graduate education, serving as a director of the McNair Scholars program at El Paso and leading a National Science Foundation (NSF) Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) grant in collaboration with Howard University. He is a member of the boards of CGS and the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

The CGS Dean-in-Residence program was created to infuse a campus-based perspective across a variety of the Council’s initiatives. The program offers an opportunity for graduate deans, associate, or assistant deans at member institutions to spend an academic year at CGS’s Washington D.C. office. Each year the CGS president selects one applicant to pursue projects aligned with the dean’s interests and the Council’s needs.

Dr. Ambler, a historian of Africa who has had visiting scholar appointments at universities in Africa and the United Kingdom, will help the Council build strategic relationships with graduate education leaders in sub-Saharan Africa. This work will support CGS’s broader goals of supporting diversity and inclusion and helping CGS members internationalize their campuses.

“Dr. Ambler has spent his academic career dedicated to student success, mentoring, and ensuring access to quality graduate education,” said CGS President Suzanne T. Ortega. “His expertise and leadership in African studies will help CGS members better understand the evolving place of sub-Saharan Africa in the global graduate education landscape.”

In accepting the appointment, Ambler noted that working at CGS represents “an exciting opportunity to combine my deep interests in both graduate studies and international education. The Council is an essential resource for anyone interested in graduate education, and I look forward to contributing to its mission.”

Ambler received his Ph.D. from Yale University and is author or editor of four books. In 2010, he served as president of the African Studies Association, the major professional organization for scholars, teachers, and practitioners with interests in Africa. He has served as dean at El Paso for fifteen years, during a period when UT El Paso reached R1 status. He will step down from the dean’s role and the CGS board in July; his Dean-in-Residence position begins on August 1.

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Recently, however, the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) reported that enrollment growth of new graduate students stayed flat and that application levels had dipped between the fall of 2016 and 2017. In a news release, CGS President Suzanne Ortega attributed the slowdown to "typical cycles in the economy."

Dr. JoAnn Canales, chair of the AAHHE board and Dean-in-Residence at the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) said that this year’s conference was focused on building a robust pipeline.

“We still have a very long way to go,” said Suzanne Ortega, president of the Council of Graduate Schools, a trade group that represents graduate deans.

In early February, the Council of Graduate Schools released a study showing a 4% decrease in international graduate applications over the past year, following a 3% decrease the year before. Late last year, the Institute for International Education reported a 6.6% decline overall in our international student population -- the first such decline in a decade.

The overall decline is primarily driven by a 6 percent decrease in applications and 2 percent decrease in first-time enrollment in master's and certificate programs, according to a report conducted by the Council of Graduate Schools, which surveyed 240 institutions in 2017 and 2018.

International student master’s applications have fallen as well, according to the Council of Graduate Schools, with a 12 percent decline from the prior year in India, and a 13 percent decline from European countries. While some attribute the international decline to unwelcoming visa and immigration policies, the U.S. decline is usually attributed to the economy.

The report, which saw 240 institutions participating in the survey, found that the number of international graduate applications from prospective students fell by four percent between Fall 2017 and Fall 2018. By comparison, the number of graduate applications declined by three percent in the same period the year before.