Academic inbreeding--selecting former students of an institution to its faculty--was found to be prevalent in graduate schools of social work, but not related to an institution's ranking on measures of prestige, scholarly or professional productivity, and teaching quality. It was concluded that inbreeding is not predictive of institutional or…

The perception that a college has an excellent academic program is seen as a judgment about the whole college, not just about a few departments. To maintain this judgment, the administrator of a small college must exercise balance in allocation of resources to departments and academic support areas. (Author/MLW)

Argues that, although the high salaries of faculty "superstars" may disadvantage other faculty and staff, particularly in a period of downsizing, the more serious problem is the tradition of large discipline-based differences in faculty salaries which undermine the principles of merit-based compensation. Resentment of "superstar" salaries may have…

Studied peer acceptance, social status, and social reputation in children attending mixed-age programs. Found that younger children were less well-accepted and more likely to be nominated by peers as shy, while gender (but not age) affected aggressiveness. Also found that at the primary level, girls were more likely to be nominated as shy. (EV)

CASE's 1989 National Professor of the Year was J. Dennis Huston, a professor of English at Rice University, who directs a new Humanities Foundation Course for science and engineering students. The one-year core course grounds science and engineering freshmen in history, literature, and culture. (MLW)

A study investigated how 362 Ohio high school seniors perceived the quality of selected state universities in Ohio and how those perceptions affected their choice of colleges to which to apply. It is concluded that students do use perceived quality as a basis for application. Implications for practice and further research are outlined. (MSE)

Development and application of the Educational Institution Image Instrument, designed to assess alumni perceptions of a higher education institution, is chronicled. Results showed it is a highly reliable scale containing five significant and interpretable subdimensions when applied to a random alumni sample. Implications for image measurement and…

A study of 291 freshmen from "invisible" colleges and 239 from 6 prestigious colleges and universities and their parents investigated how the 2 sets of families with obvious different college preferences had made their choice. Geography, parental influence and approval, the "second choice" concept, and institutional…

Reacting to the competitive market for students, pressure from the corporate world, and national reports critical of outdated graduate programs, some graduate business schools are moving quickly to revise curricula, improve reputations, and find an educational niche. Some observers feel the changes are superficial and hurt basic business skills…

The requirement for legal behavior recognizes that the university is immersed in society and is subject to its rules; those rules are enforced by persons external to the academy. The need for ethical behavior, however, may require that the university stand apart from, or above, its supporting society. (MLW)

A national study found that since 1979, winning a national championship in football or men's basketball results in increases in applications for undergraduate admission in years following the championship. This was found both in absolute numbers and in comparison with schools not winning championships. Institutional data are charted. (Author/MSE)

A review of "U.S. News and World Report" law-school ratings over a period of ten years offers observations about the methodology used to assess reputation, and discusses the consistency of the outcomes. Also considers whether the ratings themselves have affected reputation over time. (MSE)

Explored whether teacher feedback modified first and second graders' preferences and perceptions concerning a target child with behavior problems. Found that feedback had at least minimal effects at each level (liked, average, disliked) of the target's reputation. When combined with a liked reputation, positive and neutral-salient feedback…

A study investigated the characteristics that 125 high school counselors considered most important in judging a college's academic reputation and whether those counselors, in assessing selected institutions, accurately applied the criteria they identified as most important in advising students about prospective colleges. Degree of counselor…

Presents six different investigations of character enhancement that attempts to answer three questions: (1) who are you; (2) what is your destination; and (3) who is your captain? Intends to build relationships among ideas such as perspective taking, seeing and making connections with the other, and understanding more about ethical development.…