The Justice Department has dropped its antitrust inquiry, started in 1989, concerning 19 private colleges sharing information about tuition rates and financial aid awards. However, no members of the "Overlap Group," 14 prestigious northeast colleges, were notified of charges being dropped. The suit has involved high legal fees by…

The viability of prepaid tuition plans and whether they would unreasonably limit the choices of institutions students could attend are discussed. Many state legislatures are studying the plans; some favor bond plans because they allow students more choice. (MLW)

Governor Schaefer of Maryland declared that higher education would be the top priority this year. His major proposal was to bring the 13 four-year colleges and universities under the governance of a single board, while limiting the power of the statewide coordinating board and eliminating single campus boards. (MLW)

Tight state budgets and regional economic difficulties have prompted a sharp drop in the rate that state appropriations for higher education have increased over the past two years. New England fares well while farm and oil states suffer. (MLW)

Many public colleges feel that, rather than offer specialized curriculum to the entire state, they should provide a wide range of courses to the immediate vicinity. State governments often prefer to cut quantity of programs offered, especially by regional four-year institutions. Massachusetts is proceeding with specialization in seven regional…

A federal appeals court decision suggests that public colleges may not be covered by the Constitution's 11th amendment prohibiting state governments from being sued in federal court. By the ruling, the institution loses immunity by having funds other than state appropriations with which to pay damages in the lawsuits. (MSE)

To meet pressures from politicians and business executives for more job training, community colleges are finding they must make changes in their missions, financing, and relationships with government and industry, and focus on the needs of the locality rather than students seeking additional training. (MSE)

The legislative outlook for higher education is summarized state by state. Appropriations requests show the amount sought by state-wide coordinating boards or by individual college and university systems, not by governors. All appropriations requests are for operating expenses of the 1989-1990 fiscal and academic years. (MLW)

Georgia has met few of the numerical goals in the desegregation plan approved by the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. The goals are seen as unrealistic and some of the plans to attract White students to the state's historically Black colleges have been faulty. (MLW)

The Education Department declared that four states that had been under court order to desegregate their public colleges were now in compliance with federal civil rights laws and that six others were expected to fulfill their obligations easily. Civil rights lawyers said none of the states had met the requirements. (MLW)

A vigorous, well-financed lobbying drive organized by supporters of higher education managed to cajole the Texas Legislature and the Governor to award large increases in state support. At the same time laws to stop the growth of some institutions, to raise academic standards, and overhaul teacher education were adopted. (MLW)

The departure of the University of North Carolina's able and powerful president, William P. Friday, has prompted much debate about the structure and governance of the university system and its relationship to the state legislature. (MSE)

A recent federal welfare reform law requires each state to provide basic education and job training programs, in which colleges have a major role. Areas of disagreement between state and institutions include program length, the role of proprietary schools, and funding adequacy. (MSE)

While it is a land-grant university with ambitious plans, the University of the District of Columbia faces the problems posed by its urban context, expectations, small endowment, administrative turnover, and administrative scandals. (MSE)

Despite positive outward signs, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is seen by some as resting on its reputation. Faculty and alumni complain that intrusive regulation by the state, lack of respect by the university system administration, and inadequate financial support are endangering its quality. (MSE)