the National Advisory Committee on Accreditation and Institutional Eligibility is criticized by various groups for doing and saying too much or too little. Current controversial issues on its agenda include loan defaults, shoddy trade schools, and treatment of minority students and faculty. The committee's role in some areas is also unclear. (MSE)

In a major victory for civil rights groups, a federal appeals court has revived the lawsuit that forced the Education Department to monitor the desegregation of public colleges in 18 southern and border states, claiming the groups bringing the suit still had the legal standing to pursue it. (MSE)

The Department of Education has suffered legal defeats in Missouri and Arkansas in its campaign to prevent colleges from publicly releasing names of students arrested by campus security. Controversy involves interpretation of a 1974 privacy-protection law, the Buckley Amendment. College officials are unsure about how to deal with the issue. (MSE)