Computer viruses are programs that propagate themselves from disk to disk and destroy programs or information files. Several universities have recently reported virus outbreaks. Some suggestions for avoiding the viruses are provided. (MLW)

Beta testing--the process of trying a product in a real-world setting before releasing it commercially--exploits a natural interface between universities and high-technology industries. High-tech companies need confidential, real-world tests of new products, and universities are eager to get an early look at tomorrow's technology. (MLW)

The text of the EDUCOM statement on software and intellectual rights that educators are being urged to adopt on campus is presented and discussed. (MSE)

Growing sophistication about computer use among students and faculty, ready availability of microcomputers, and rapid advances in technology and software have led to more computing in all courses. While computer literacy used to mean programing, it now means familiarity with the technology and its everyday applications. (MSE)

Faculty members are writing computer programs that could change the ways professors teach and students learn. Five examples of software are described including those for presenting mathematical concepts in architecture, staging a scene of a play, and an introductory course in plasma physics. (MLW)

Winners of a contest run by the EDUCOM Software Initiative, a project to promote development and dissemination of instructional software for higher education, are identified. Criteria included the appropriateness of the software for use in higher education, its reliability, appeal and ease of use, etc. (MLW)

A survey found the most selective colleges were most likely to require or recommend student ownership of microcomputers, specify the brand, offer purchase discounts, and have a low ratio of students, faculty, and staff to each microcomputer. It also gathered information on microcomputer ownership, access, software, assistance, and illegal use.…

The NeXT computer is described. With the programing tools that NeXT provides to help create software, professors could create programs for instruction in a few hours or days. The computer is aimed at scholars in the humanities as well as scientists and engineers. (MLW)

No college or university last year joined the 14 institutions that already require students to buy computers. The reasons include: greater than expected costs of supporting required computers, lack of educational software, and adequency of computer laboratories are sufficient for the needs of most students. (MLW)

Interviews with computer-company officials and a survey show that: despite higher education discounts, computer companies make money; colleges offer computer companies intellectual capital; students take hardware and software preferences with them into jobs; higher education influences computers built and sold; and higher education is a…

With little appropriate commercial software available, college faculty are creating their own specialized software and are willing to share it with colleagues. To fill the gap between creator and user, colleges, scholarly societies, grant-making organizations, and computer manufacturers have created a variety of software-dissemination programs.…

Faculty members who write computer software for teaching often find that their chances of getting credit for it during promotion-and-tenure reviews are slim. Software development needs to be considered scholarship just like research. (MLW)