Like many other public Mexican universities, the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP) has tried to contribute to the national development of Mexico by offering new undergraduate majors presumed to be better attuned to the needs of the labor market, while capping enrollments in traditional majors presumed to be redundant. Using data from one of the most extensive alumni studies in Mexico, we found that BUAP alumni who graduated in traditional majors do not show high unemployment or low satisfaction. On the contrary, the lowest levels of job satisfaction and the highest rates of unemployment are found among the graduates of non-traditional majors.

nificantly, and several institutions were on their way to becoming world-class institutions. Most universities had signed onto the tenure-track system. The first master's and PhD students were returning from their studies to good facilities and substantial research support. Many expatriate Pakistanis returned from abroad with access to competitive salaries. About 95 percent of people sent abroad for training returned, an unusually high result for a developing country in response to improved salaries and working conditions at universities as well as bonding and strict follow-up by the commission, Fulbright, and others. Student enrollment increases brought the total enrollment of college age students to 3.9 percent-well on the way to the target of 5 percent by 2010.Research publications more than doubled between 2004 and 2006. Especially important was the emphasis on quality in all areas including recruitment, PhD training, tenure, publications-all requiring external examiners. While the percentage of PhD faculty has slipped slightly from 29 to 22 percent, largely because rising enrollments have taken place faster than increases in PhD training with higher standards, the extensive faculty development programs of the commission will soon result in the return of sufficient numbers of PhDs to more than reverse that trend. During this time the student/faculty ratio has improved from 1:21 to 1:19, and a number of universities have focused on upgrading the quality of their teaching programs. By 2008, a broad transformation of higher education had taken place. Political and Economic CrisesIn early 2008 the political and economic situation worsened. The Pakistan People's Party and the Muslim League coalition was shaky and the government unable to exert effective leadership because of disagreements about reinstating fired supreme court judges and dealing with President Musharraf. This led to the withdrawal of several ministers from government, including the minister of education, and their eventual withdrawal from the coalition. During this period the major crises worsened, complicated by growing insecurity. Inflation increased to 21.6 percent, the fuel import bill grew 66 percent, the cost of imported food doubled, and the trade deficit increased more than 50 percent. The election of President Asif Ali Zardari did little to reverse a growing sense of unease, frustration, and anger.In July, the government reduced its quarterly payment to the Higher Education Commission by one-third and announced a decline in the recurring budget of 20 percent-a decrease of 13 percent from the previous year-and cut the development budget by 14 percent. These cuts would be problematic under normal circumstances. In a period of growth, when the commission has commitments to new faculty members, fellowships for more than 2,000 people working on PhD and master's degrees abroad, and the automatic effects of increased admissions, the economic crisis is potentially crippling to the transformation process. ConclusionUncertainty about the budgetary ...