This article describes Emory University's Excellence Through Leadership program. Started in 2006, the yearlong program is designed to help up to 20 administrators and faculty members annually improve their leadership skills, as well as create a pipeline to eventually replace senior leaders at the institution. Emory's leadership program is just one…

Not later than this winter, the National Research Council plans to release its assessments of American doctoral programs. Due to its inability to wait for the results, Ohio State University took steps last year to review its doctoral programs. Of its 90 doctoral programs, the university found five programs tagged as "candidates for…

Throughout American education, black boys and men, on the whole, have struggled for years. They graduate from high school and attend and complete college at disproportionately low rates. The overall college performance of black men is so poor that some college officials and advocates for black students are reluctant to even talk about the problem,…

A federal committee has found that there is almost no evidence to judge whether the more than $3-billion the federal government spends annually to improve science and mathematics education is effective. The committee's report calls for greater assessment and coordination of such programs. The committee, known as the Academic Competitiveness…

This article discusses a new standard for measuring graduate programs in the United States. The Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index, produced by Academic Analytics, a for-profit company, rates faculty members' scholarly output at nearly 7,300 doctoral programs around the country. It examines the number of book and journal articles published by…

Researchers, economists, and campus administrators who have followed federal student aid programs worry that businesses have turned the Guaranteed Student Loan Program into a lucrative industry that doesn't always have the students' interest in mind, and a congressional study group is also concerned about aspects of the program. (MSE)

Describes how the college-preparation program Upward Bound, in a bruising battle with GEAR UP for federal funds, is being closely scrutinized by the Bush administration. (EV)

Colorado College is reconsidering its block scheduling, in which students take eight immersion courses consecutively within the academic year, rather than taking several courses concurrently. Advantages of block scheduling include more intensive instruction and increased student focus on subject matter. Some students and faculty are concerned that…

This article describes a book by William Bowen and Neil Rudenstine titled "In Pursuit of the Ph.D.," which analyzes Ph.D. completion rates and time-to-degree. The book recommends improvements in program design and management, better-focused financial aid, and more structure.(DB)

European educators concerned with international higher education are experimenting with assessment of educational quality within and across national boundaries, particularly for purposes of international educational exchange. More and better information on program quality is needed, and some would welcome institutional or program rankings. (MSE)

Discusses the decision by Columbia University's new president to reevaluate the mission of its journalism school before naming a new dean, in order to explore how the journalism school fits into the mission of a research university. (EV)

Discusses how online programs are using new strategies of testing, both to teach students and to prove that distance education works; however, some educators question their efficacy. (EV)

Reading First is a $900-million-a-year project that offers states grants to improve reading instruction for children in kindergarten through third grade. However, Reading First is now awash in allegations of mismanagement and conflicts of interest. The Education Department's inspector general issued a report that declared that the program's…

To produce professionals trained to use new technology, library schools are reworking programs to include instruction on computers and telecommunications systems, hiring information-system specialists rather than traditional library educators, recruiting technically oriented students, obtaining funding to restructure programs, and submitting to…

National Collegiate Athletic Association president's commission proposals are summarized for institutional control of athletic budgets, annual athletic program audits, annual submission of Division I athlete information to the NCAA, athletic program self-study requirements, enforcement procedures revision, timely infraction punishment,…