"Doing well by doing good" is the business mantra of the for-profit-college industry. But one does not have to look far to find people who question the slogan's sincerity or the very legitimacy of that model. And that was even before reports of some companies' abusive student-recruiting practices and questionable educational standards fed a public…

The story of Bernard Madoff rivals outrageous fiction. It was astonishing that this seemingly kindly, respectable financier, a pioneer in electronic trading, a founding partner in the Nasdaq exchange, turned out to have been running a $65-billion Ponzi scheme that victimized country-club elites, middle-class retirees, foundations, universities,…

When Nickie Dobo wrote a column in 2003 for her college newspaper--"The Daily Collegian" at Pennsylvania State University--decrying the "hook-up culture" on the campus, she never expected it to resurface years later in an attack on her professional credibility. But that's what happened when Ms. Dobo, now a reporter for the…

Administrators at West Virginia University violated procedures and displayed poor judgment in their "seriously flawed" response to an inquiry about a high-profile academic transcript, according to a report issued last week by an independent panel. The harshly worded report found that when the "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" raised…

This article reports that an essay by a film professor at California State University at Long Beach that questions the credentials of his colleagues is stirring controversy on the campus--and sparking investigations. The essay, written by Brian Alan Lane, an associate professor of film, accuses three of his colleagues in the department of film and…

As the Web evolves, so will the ways people measure scholarly authority. Scholarly authority is being influenced by many of the features that have collectively been dubbed Web 2.0 by Tim O'Reilly and others, and what the author will call Authority 2.0 in order to explore more fully the shifts that seem likely in the near future. In Web 1.0,…

Describes how Iowa State University's mishandling of a bequest of farmland (the land was sold despite a directive that it be maintained by the university) cut to the heart of both its own credibility and the region's source of pride. (EV)

Since its creation in 1992, the Public Health Service's Office of Research Integrity has not won a single case against a scientist accused of research misconduct. Cases are adjudicated by a panel of lawyers. Scientists and critics agree that the government's failure will have serious consequences for the research community. (MSE)

The National Collegiate Athletic Association governance system makes it difficult for presidents to develop a consensus on what needs to be done about college athletics. The Presidents' Commission must be strengthened as the present procedures for making decisions are not likely to sustain a reform movement. (MLW)

A report by a panel of retired college presidents endorsed giving presidents more power in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, cost cutting, the abolition of freshman eligibility, and greater sharing of sports revenues. Efforts to reform college sports are critical because the integrity and credibility of universities are at risk. (MLW)

Wilford S. Bailey of Auburn University is heading the National Collegiate Athletic Association as it struggles to cope with several controversial issues: testing athletes for drug abuse, new academic standards for freshman athletes, the role of college presidents in governing sports, and the integrity of college athletics. (MLW)