This article examines state court decisions and legislative enactments concerning the applications of public records laws to university presidential searches. It reviews the arguments in support of, and in opposition to, open presidential-search records. Although many administrators favor openness, opponents of open searches argue that they…

Examines relevant case law regarding confidentiality in educational research. Argues that the benefits to society of educational research and the notion of academic freedom provide a rationale for extension of limited legal privilege of confidentiality to educational researchers. Proposes a code defining the nature and extent of research…

The experience of Coastal Carolina College (South Carolina) suggests that, although the small college often has the same academic reporting demands for intercollegiate athletics as a large institution, the nature of the institution creates different recordkeeping and reporting challenges. Computerization and active institutional research staff…

Origins of the University of California's procedures for systematic review of principal investigators' financial disclosures prior to acceptance of grants, and the manner in which they are working at present, are examined. The disclosure requirements, faculty committee, criteria, and disclosures made during 1988 are described. Two case studies are…

Whether governmental funding of academic research entitles the government to impose secrecy conditions on research results is discussed. It is proposed that, although some restraints may be legitimate exercises of government discretion in spending public funds, there may be a limit to those restrictions, based on the recipient's constitutional…

The ways in which accountability issues have affected federal-university relationships, particularly in the area of academic research, are examined. Lessons university administrators have learned since issuance of Office of Management and Budget Circular A-21 in 1958, Congressional hearings on the operations of the National Institutes of Health…

Examines problems in the 1998 Amendment to the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) in its application to student disciplinary records. Reviews enactment and development of FERPA and discusses recent debate over "educational records" provision. Argues that Congress should amend FERPA to expressly mandate that universities…

College students exploit information technology to cheat on papers and assignments, but for the most part university faculty employ few technological techniques to detect cheating. This paper reports on a trial of software for the detection of cheating in a large undergraduate survey class. The paper discusses the decision to adopt electronic…

At the turn of the millennium, the term "spiritual" began to gain more prominence in the educational discourse in Hong Kong, both in official policy documents and in religious schools' descriptions of their own mission. Addressing each of these two cases in turn, a description of the context in which the increased use of the term has…

This book addresses issues of secrecy and disclosure when a child or other family member has AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), and offers examples of how some families have resolved these issues. After an introduction which notes the involvement of many families with an AIDS-infected member, the first chapter addresses the common first…

This document reports on a study in which 96 administrators, 4 authorities, 5 experts, and 16 individuals were sampled to isolate and identify some typologies of belief that administrators may have toward gay people in the workplace and to see how those typologies are affected by sex, sexual preference, and worksetting. A detailed description of…

Evaluation affects the people who participate and the situation studied, and there is no guarantee that the effects will be democratic, constructive, or equitable. A case study illustrates that even the most scrupulous attention to ethical principles and procedures for the release of information cannot always protect the interests of participants…

Five options to simplify the needs assessment formula for Pell Grants are discussed, along with validation alternatives. Analysis focuses on three main effects of simplifications (data element reduction): the impact on the distribution of total Pell funds, the impact on individuals receiving Pell awards, and the impact of reducing error in the…

Educational researchers should be aware of the general consensus of the research community as to what is proper and improper in the conduct of educational research, since there is as yet no explicit code of ethics. Accordingly, this paper examines existing ethical standards to initiate discussion of issues specific to the educational research…

The types and ranges of errors made on applications to the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant (BEOG) program were studied, along with procedures used in recovering overpayments. The objective was to assess the scope and nature of misreporting and misuse of the BEOG program. A 1975-1976 study reviewed cases referred to the U.S. Office of Education…