Thomas Jefferson College, the first cluster college of Michigan's Grand Valley State Colleges, has become stable and successful in just 4 years. (Author/HS)

New Directions in the Humanities, a series of five-day regional conferences, involved 300 faculty and administrators from more than 90 institutions. It provided information about established NEH-grant programs to colleges whose humanities programs needed innovation or massive support. (LBH)

The Freshman Year Program at the New School for Social Research is meant to be an alternative to the disaffection that appears in high school seniors. This freshman year establishes an interrelated approach to knowledge, while introducing students to a variety of educational disciplines. (Author/PG)

Analytical view of a major interdisciplinary experimental program. (Editor)

The premise of "A Quest for Common Learning," which questioned the value of distribution requirements in 95 percent of U.S. colleges, is challenged. It is suggested that the varied academic disciplines demonstrate the pursuit of truth, and general education must immerse the student in a number of disciplines. (MLW)

The University Seminars at Columbia University demonstrate how faculty members can enrich their intellectual lives through contact with colleagues from other fields and institutions and with nonacademic researchers. The development of the program at Columbia and similar programs at other institutions are described. (MLW)

With the help of the National Endowment for the Humanities, a plan to infuse preprofessional training with the humanities is now halfway through its second year of operation at the University of Florida at Gainesville. Participating students and faculty in medicine and health-related fields, law, engineering, and business are participating in this…

A Chicago program that had nonscience faculty attend science classes as students, interrupting instruction with questions and comments and recording their cognitive and emotional reactions to the instruction process, revealed that such an approach to providing feedback to teachers is feasible, productive, and enjoyable. (MSE)

The College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University challenges conventional health care training on every level. Students are far more diverse than in the usual medical school and follow a curriculum emphasizing small-group learning, independent study, interdisciplinary problem-solving, and direct contact with patients. (LBH)