It is argued that colleges and universities are not, as is sometimes assumed, dominated by pressure for "political correctness." Examples of patterns in admissions and hiring practices, faculty pay, tenure, and promotion and the climate for minorities and especially women are offered as illustration of the barriers to equality in…

Since establishment of national university systems in Mexico and Venezuela, three principal demands have dominated policy formation: government ideological demand; economic demand for expertise; and political and social demand for upward mobility through education. Tensions between these demands have stemmed from economic inability to sustain…

Considerations regarding stabilizing the greenhouse effect (global warming) emphasize the difficulties in launching a comprehensive plan to deal with aspects of global change. Experience gained in dealing with atmospheric issues will help in developing a process that links management and research in solving global problems. (SLD)

The formation of regimes (collective international schemes) for managing global problems depends on culture, history, and perceptions. The ways in which these elements affect bargaining among nations over issues of the global commons are discussed. Implications are reviewed for a regime to deal with atmospheric conditions and global warming. (SLD)

This report synthesizes experiences in a number of countries (United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Australia, Japan) on the market economy in higher education. Considered are market forces, various financial structures (institutional budgets, student funding, research infrastructure, other income, staffing), and implications for the future. (MSE)

Reports on a study of the classroom environment and student attitudes in 38 secondary Chinese classrooms. Finds that, despite considerable cultural and political differences, the classroom environment in social studies is remarkably similar to that in the United States. Concludes that diverse activities and active student involvement are related…

Requiring students in one introductory college course on weather/climate to keep logs with articles from popular media was found to produce three types of log topics with three kinds of relationship to course content. The technique helped students think more actively and provided the teacher with new course material. (MSE)

A study of 28 graduate teaching assistants' socialization experiences identified 171 salient experiences signaling and intensifying identification with the departments and their roles as fledgling academicians. Experiences are categorized as (1) changes in intellectual self-evaluation; (2) encounters with students, peers, and superiors; and (3)…

Describes the Keene State College (New Hampshire) mode for delivery of information technology, which features collaboration of major college divisions, sustainability within realistic revenue/cost projections, and customer-based service delivery. Pre-implementation conditions, origins of the collaborative arrangement, how organization of campus…

The San Francisco State University (California) experience with a federally funded community-outreach program suggests universities are well-suited for certain partnership roles (convener, planner, capacity-builder) but not for others. True university-community partnerships must be built on mutual respect, equal status, and give-and-take;…

Issues concerning the increasing use of part-time and adjunct faculty in higher education that must be addressed include the need for research on faculty work, jobs, and careers, and on the institutional setting for part-time employment; faculty career patterns, incentives and disincentives; role of this group in the academic community; and…

Faculty incentives are skewed away from the collegiate ideal, particularly at research universities. It is not inevitable that research-oriented faculty divorce themselves from students and campus life, but active participation requires changes in faculty culture, evaluation/reward structures, and types of conversation in which faculty engage on…

Two major universities illustrate very different experiences with curriculum reform. At Duke University (North Carolina), a new core curriculum was adopted smoothly. At Rice University (Texas), a new undergraduate curriculum that took long to develop was defeated easily by disgruntled faculty. Some feel public relations and institutional politics…

Reluctance of college faculty to teach critical thinking may be due to many factors. Proactive strategies for reducing resistance include creating a positive context for change, communicating expertness and credibility, creating a sense of safety and trust, countering sources of student resistance, and creating high hopes and expectations for…

This article proposes that college students will contribute most effectively to institutional assessment efforts if they understand how meaningful their input is. This can be accomplished if the assessment system is compassionate, considerate, convenient, communicated clearly, cohesive, understandable, concise, committed, attributes improvements…