The relationship between research and teaching has become a highly contested issue perhaps because evidence of synergy between them is modest and inconclusive. It could be argued that the separation of research and teaching is itself the result of policy and operational decisions made over some time to distinguish the way these activities are…

Discusses the "think tank" programs of the New England Resource Center for Higher Education that enable college administrators to become more reflective about their practice and to conduct research that is rooted in practice. The think tanks are day-long seminars for chief student affairs officers, chief academic officers, associate academic…

This reprinted 1970 article examines the need for and the education of college and university research administrators. The article stresses the need for research administrators to have knowledge of basic business theory and practice; a feeling for research theory and practice; an ability to work with funding agencies; and understanding of how…

This paper examines the use of professional reading groups as a strategy to help college and university administrators stay informed and meet administrative challenges. It reports on a study of 26 institutions by the American Council on Education, which examined the process of large-scale institutional change. This study's findings support reading…

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has developed a collaborative library/information services program of distributed information services. In response to differing conceptions of "prototypes" among the professionals involved, a facility has been made available where developers and researchers can refine new technologies before…

This collection of 15 essays provides a state of the art report on research activities in higher education since the early 1980s. It includes: (1) "Research on Higher Education: Global Perspectives" (Philip G. Altbach); (2) "Research on Higher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa" (Corbin Michel Guedegbe); (3) "Research on…

Research trends in the field of educational administration over the last decade are reviewed, and their relevance to the teaching and practice of college and university administration is discussed. It is concluded that there is value in the research, but better communication between the worlds of research and practice is needed. (MSE)

The president of the University of Vermont discusses the relationship between higher education research and practice from an administrative viewpoint. She suggests that good campus decision making begins with a base of scholarly knowledge that is generated by higher education researchers and is ideally modeled by higher education leaders who…

The mission of the university is to increase human capital in all its dimensions, or value added to human capital through production of valid knowledge. Education and research are by-products, representing learning and discovery. Teaching is a distribution process within education. Distribution of research occurs through products such as public…

One university's approach to institutional research to improve student retention is described. The urban, public institution has a large population of nontraditional students. A task force identified barriers to student success, using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Techniques for involvement of all constituencies and turning research…

This volume contains nine papers on higher education theory and research. They include: (1) "Technology Transfer from Universities" (Irwin Feller); (2) "State Policy and Private Higher Education: Past, Present and Future" (William Zumeta); (3) "Appraising Tinto's Theory of College Student Departure" (John M. Braxton…