To help new regents understand the serious nature of their responsibilities, Oklahoma requires them to take 15 hours of classes, including 2 hours on ethics. The program sets a new standard for higher education governance, intended to increase committed leadership, public respect, competitive and nationally recognizable programs, and student…

Public universities, especially those in state systems, are facing a crisis in governance, the result of divisive conflicts on state campuses and of deadening constraints from state capitals. Each campus must develop a clear statement of its purposes and priorities. (MLW)

The centralization of authority in public higher education from a local campus to the multicampus system and from local governing boards to state mechanisms is discussed. Dissipation of staff time in meeting bureaucratic requirements and faculty uneasiness with centralized planning and long-distance decision-making are described. (MLW)

Statewide master plans are discussed as guides for development of the academic programs, fiscal patterns and physical plants of the state's public higher education system. Three criteria deemed most significant for evaluation of planning are identified as goal setting, funding and institutional role, and mission statements. (MLW)

With the traditional college market declining, new clienteles uncertain, old pricing and funding mechanisms upset, new rules and new demands for accountability; statewide coordination has emerged. It is suggested that the most beneficent form of it is the independent board, which represents a "challenge with promise." (Author/LBH)

Results of a survey of statewide boards for four-year colleges show that the typical new member is appointed, gets little indoctrination, has previous experience on boards, sees finance as the main issue, and gives two to four days a month on board work. (Editor/LBH)

Issues, such as admissions and tuition, that once were institutional prerogatives are seen now as having to be addressed more collectively. The need for states to have independent boards and staffs sensitive to educational values, but with the public-interested-oriented perspective is argued. (MLW)

Some suggestions for state agency action to restore, maintain and augment quality are provided. They include upgrading minimum standards, monitoring programs at military installations, providing planning and coordination emphasizing quality, raising questions about goals and outputs at each institution, and encouraging interinstitutional…

The effectiveness of a statewide coordinating agency is dependent upon its statutory powers, makeup of its board and prestige of its members, the size and quality of its staff, the credibility and reliability of its policies, its ability to establish continuing and working relationships with institutions, executive and legislative leaders, budget…

The needs of legislatures for a source of reliable, independent information on higher education costs are examined along with the role of statewide planning or coordinating agencies in providing that information. (JT)

Helping all members of a public multicampus university community contribute to a successful fund-raising program is the job of the systemwide development office. Establishing partnership, the corporate edge, and coaxing alumni support are discussed. (MLW)

The President of Ohio State University discusses the movement for statewide coordination of higher education noting its disadvantages and widespread criticism of it. He concludes, however, that since the balancing of competing claims is the name of the game it is still best done at the state level where the search for the public interest should…

California's efforts in recent years to strengthen education at all levels by statewide articulation and local and classroom reforms are outlined. Emphasis is on the need to strengthen teacher education by coordinating it more closely with other areas of higher education. (MSE)

Items representative of the success of student lobbying organizations in recent years are described: representation on governing boards, influence in state budgeting for student financial aid, influence on federal and state legislation. Addresses, descriptions, and activities of a number of student organizations are given. (MSE)

Some examples of successful partnerships between universities and schools in California are described. It is suggested that the college and university leaders throughout the U.S. need to cooperate with those responsible for the education of youngsters at lower levels. (MLW)