Two years ago, the only historically black medical school west of the Mississippi faced a grim prognosis after county officials pulled the plug on its relationship with a troubled hospital. Today the medical school that has reportedly trained about a third of Los Angeles County's black and Hispanic physicians is back on its feet and planning an…

Describes the "slow and steady" approach to growth embraced by the owner of Stratford College, a Virginia-based, for-profit school that offers degrees in the culinary arts, information technology, and hotel and event management and business. (EV)

Many historically black colleges and universities want to take advantage of a strong economy and generous donors. Typically, even relatively wealthy institutions do not have the financial capabilities and access to wealthy benefactors that predominantly white institutions have accumulated and can use more money, either as a cushion against hard…

Colleges and universities are finding that improvements in the guaranteed student loan process are making it more attractive than direct lending. In its third year, the direct lending program's total loan volume remains at 33%, well below the 50% goal set in originating legislation. Even some of its strongest supporters fear the program will have…

Trends in innovative investment of college funds are discussed, and the nontraditional, entrepreneurial investments of Bowdoin, Bryn Mawr, Duke, and the Universities of Missouri at Kansas City, Utah, and Virginia are described. (MSE)

Many colleges in New Jersey are opposed to the for-profit University of Phoenix plan to offer six degree programs within that state. The university currently enrolls 50,000 on 87 campuses in 13 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico and has formally applied for licensing in this and three other northeastern states. Thirteen colleges operate within a…

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education has adopted standards to guide colleges and universities in defining the purpose and length of fund-raising campaigns and in counting gifts. Debate over the standards has focused on the reporting of deferred gifts, government money, bequests, and other specific types of gifts. (MSE)

At Oregon State University, an investigation into physical plant administration in response to complaints found significant problems with customer service. Adopting an approach called Total Quality Management, the staff identified and resolved problems, improved quality, and reduced cost. Administrators feel the principles could be applied in all…

Leaders at Voorhees College (South Carolina), a small historically black institution with limited finances, have used ingenuity and hard work to develop a campus computer system. Despite lack of faculty and staff sophistication in computer use, the college is gradually improving computer resources and faculty computing skills, and enterprising…

While the National Collegiate Athletic Association made no policy changes in its recent meeting, many presidents, athletics directors, and other sports officials attending may have made substantial progress toward reform through extensive exchange of ideas on the notion of federation within divisions, the legislative process, and financial aid…

The Harvard University Business School will establish a new program on ethics, leadership, and competitiveness in business, to be financed with $30 million in private gifts. The major contributor is the chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, an alumnus and former ambassador. (MSE)

As Internet 2 takes shape, the university administrators and researchers behind it are taking care to address the political and economic challenges experienced by the original Internet. The new, privatized system will be faster and more powerful, but some fear privatization has shifted the balance of power toward profit-making instead of meeting…

Although most business school deans accept criticisms emerging in a new report, they predicted it would take a decade or more to develop programs that have the recommended qualities of being truly interdisciplinary, emphasizing the global economy, and providing students with effective interpersonal skills. (MSE)

A federal district judge ruled that state officials failed to demonstrate the need to close Mississippi Valley State University and merge Mississippi University for Women with Mississippi State University to meet desegregation requirements. He ordered Mississippi to provide additional funds to two other black colleges, and approved a state plan…

Public officials and student aid experts agree that the federal program delivery system is outdated, inefficient, and vulnerable to fraud, but they disagree on how bad the situation is and whether the Education Department has the structure necessary to fix it. A 1995 project to integrate all federal grant and loan programs into one system has not…