A Colloquium on Government and Higher Education resulted in this appeal, containing four steps trustees can take to deal with the increasing problem of the governmental presence. Focus is on ways in which trustees can provide policy guidance to their institutions to preserve their individual characteristics and independence of action. (Author/LBH)

Today's specialized accrediting threatens to strangle general and liberal education, to dissipate public confidence in voluntary accreditation, and to increase the danger of governmental intrusion. The need for adoption of voluntary national guidelines on admissions and recruitment practices is advocated. (Author/MLW)

Seven weaknesses of accreditation are described: long intervals between site visits, automatic accreditation of branches, weak penalties, inadequate public disclosure, inadequate enforcement, leadership shortcomings, and problems with program evaluation. (Author/MLW)

Higher education is seen as having had a good decade in the '70s, but changes that have occurred include: the rise of the public sector, regulation, more public money, larger institutions, decline in public confidence, enrollment rate shifts, aging faculty, "defensive" posture, new students, and new market orientation. (Author/MLW)