First of a 2-part series concerned with: different types of inferential errors, single- vs. multi-institutional studies (MIS), longitudinal vs. cross-sectional data, statistical designs, measurement error effects, and measuring student-environment interaction effects. The best data is obtained from longitudinal MIS on student inputs and outputs,…

The elimination of traditional courses in favor of student-originated, self-graded projects in the Department of Geology and Geography at St. Lawrence University in Canton (New York) proved too radical for the entire faculty. The program eventually became two-tracked, offering students both traditional and student-generated learning situations.…

The catalog has become a "Catch 22" for colleges and universities; it is necessary to publish it, but the institution becomes liable for the printed information. Courts have determined a contractual relationship established by the catalog, and precautionary steps should be taken to avoid liability litigation. (MSE)

The Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College in Portland (Oregon) has a microcomputer installation that now carries student data from the application process through to a student's admission to the school. Phase two will carry student data through graduation, and phase three will track the graduate's career and alumni activities.…

Law schools and prison training programs are found analogous in that both prisoners and law students must plan their own training programs and be self-motivated. Suggestions for improvement are discussed. (MSE)

The university supervisor performs three basic activities: (1) phasing the student teacher into the classroom's on-going activities; (2) defining and communicating the purposes and expectations to be fulfilled; and (3) observing and evaluating the performance of the student teacher. (JN)

Describes a University of Pittsburgh placement office program to increase placement of graduates with local businesses. To challenge the employment agencies' monopoly on this market, an advertising and direct communications program was launched with continuing good results. (JAC)

The University of Missouri-St. Louis has discovered the value of continuous quality improvement methods in upgrading its core student-related administrative processes. As a result, it is increasing efficiency and personalizing a traditionally bureaucratic system of student service. Concurrent goals are to increase retention and decrease time to…

Asserts that the diversity that law schools strive for today must envision much more than a student body that adequately reflects the larger community: the next step must involve the embrace of structural, curricular, and pedagogical innovation. Attention should be focused on the quality of interactions once minority groups are inside the…

Provides an institutional case study of St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, a church-related college, regarding how post-World War II social trends reconfigured Canadian universities and substantially altered the undergraduate experience. Found that rising enrollments, physical plant expansion, faculty laicization, the campaign for…

Discusses how British students and faculty members from ethnic minority groups are calling on universities to do a better job of including them. (EV)

American Indian Studies programs at over 100 institutions perform the traditional teaching, research, and service functions expected of all departments but also assume atypical roles, such as multicultural education for the whole institution, recruitment and retention of Indian students, linking academic and Indian communities, and advancement of…