This paper describes a study in progress that is designed to examine the pressures that low-income, first generation African-American college students experience to leave college and the factors that help them stay in college, especially as the elements are related to Vincent Tinto's concept of social integration. It is planned to examine the…

The My Monash Portal (Portal) at Monash University (Australia) provides a virtual gateway to support student-centered flexible learning by coordinating several of the university's key resources to meet the needs of students and staff. The Portal is intended to help deliver innovative learning programs, foster opportunities to undertake research,…

Many leaders of public research universities worry about falling behind private research universities at a time when private university finances have improved dramatically and state support for higher education has declined. In this paper, I provide grounds for a more optimistic view of the competitive position of public research universities. I…

ARL is the bimonthly report on research library issues and actions from ARL (Association of Research Libraries), CNI (Coalition of Networked Information), and SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition). ARL reports on current issues of interest to academic and research library administrators, staff, and users; higher education…

This document presents an inventory of current physical facilities, plus a review of trends over the past 10 years, at universities in Ontario (Canada) as of the 1995-96 academic year. In Section 1 the space formula and inventory classification system are defined. Section 2 provides an overview of space inventories and usage for the period 1983-84…

A rapidly changing environment, marked by decreased government financial support and increased competition within the university sector, means that institutions of higher education in Hong Kong must become more entrepreneurial and customer-focused. This paper proposes a model for managing contemporary universities that examines the relationships…

This study examined the use of faculty development activities to improve the effectiveness of colleges and universities in the United States. A total of 116 institutions in 45 states responded to a mailed survey questionnaire on faculty development activities. It was found that all responding institutions included a faculty development component…

This book takes a stand against the belief that "bigger is better" and warns that size and technological complexity are not risk-free. There is a price to be paid for our uncritical affirmation of bigness, universal solutions to problems, dehumanizing uniformity, and standardized mass production. The U.S. government, cities,…

Using 1994-1995 data from the University of Delaware's national database of instructional expenditures and productivity, researchers developed comparative average expenditures across academic disciplines. The data included numbers of undergraduate and graduate credit hours generated and direct instructional expenses for the 1994-1995 academic year…

Faced with declining resources, increased public scrutiny, and pressures to accommodate the needs of a changing student population, colleges and universities look to innovative uses of technology as supplements to and alternatives for mainstream instruction. Faculty are increasingly becoming involved in distance/distributed education. This study…

This study examined the experiences of faculty members in the first year of a new university. Twelve faculty at the new institution were interviewed and observed during the 1995-96 academic year. The analysis presented in this paper is based on one particular interview. Overall, six concrete universals were found during the analysis: (1) the…

This report by 27 college and university presidents stresses the primacy of efforts to provide full and equal access to institutions of higher education, especially land grant institutions, and to the full range of programs and services they provide. Three challenges are identified in increasing access. First, price, although public university…

This report presents results of an external review of programs at Florida State University institutions providing training in those allied health occupations which provide direct patient care. An executive summary finds that, overall, the allied health academic enterprise in the State University System is functioning well with strong student…

This paper outlines the changing assessment requirements of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA) in regard to undergraduate and graduate education. It notes that although the NCA initiative on assessment has been in place since 1989, institutions are at various stages in their development and implementation of assessment…

This qualitative study explored the evaluative criteria used by administrators at a southern, metropolitan university to define institutional effectiveness and to determine the congruency between those criteria and the institution's metropolitan mission. Four focus groups were conducted with 22 administrators (vice chancellors, associate and…