In an interview, Mernoy Harrison, the chairman of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) board of directors, discusses the issues he will address, the association's role in professional development, association image, the need to achieve more efficiency and productivity in college administration, and…

Reports on a study of the theory of cumulative advantage and disadvantage as it applies to the productivity and prestige of academic departments within sociology. Finds that past accomplishments do not bear importantly on current perceptions of departmental prestige. (CFR)

A 1989 survey of 1,800 first-year pharmacy students from 18 schools identified factors in pharmacy school selection and compared findings with 1985 data. Factors considered include institutional reputation, academic environment, finances, degrees offered, curricular options, advising, and student characteristics. Institutional reputation and…

A survey indicates that declining resources, merging of programs, and loss of faculty positions characterize the changes in programs in higher education as a field of study and suggest an uncertain future. However, most programs see themselves as strong and programs that were prominent in the last decade remain so. (Author/MSE)

It is argued that research testing the reliability and validity of college and university reputational studies should be conducted, a concern not raised by consumers and publishers. Two studies of "America's Best Colleges," published by "U.S. News and World Report," raise questions about the guide's validity and suggest that…

This article seeks to apply Adam Swift's (2003) critique of private and selective schooling to higher education in the UK. The higher education sector in this country is highly differentiated, with high status, research-led elite institutions at the top of the university hierarchy, and newer universities, with far lower levels of funding and…

This article reports the results of a quantitative and thematic content analysis of the organization of information literature in the "Library Quarterly" ("LQ") between its inception in 1931 and 2004. The majority of articles in this category were published in the first half of "LQ's" run. Prominent themes have included cataloging codes and the…

The contribution of high school guidance counselors during the information and inquiry stages of students' selection of a college was assessed. A statewide population survey of all high school counselors in New York yielded 660 usable responses (20 percent). Attention is focused on quality estimations of four criteria for 15 institutions. Quality…

Five articles on historical developments in higher education are presented. In "Oxford Dons and Professional Men in Victorian England," Arthur Engel discusses how 19th century Oxford dons sought to make university teaching into a profession, as well as the trend toward specialization in other developing professions. In "'Western' Colleges,…

The relationship between reputational ratings of graduate-level chemistry, history, and psychology departments and their faculties' scholarly productivity was examined using data from a national sample of departments in each field. Faculty reported the number of their professional articles in journals, chapters in books, scholarly book reviews,…

A questionnaire administered to 1979 incoming freshmen at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was used to assess the effects of educational maturity on college choice. Educational maturity is defined by the student's certainty about college major and career choice. Results show that strength of the major department is the most frequent…

Conference proceedings on evaluation of credentials and degree equivalences of foreign students are presented. The conference was designed to improve evaluations in Massachusetts and to encourage more cooperation and greater consistency. Contributions are as follows: a UNESCO approach by Sanford Jameson; the approach of the National Association of…

Studies concerning attributes of quality in higher education as defined in academic studies are reviewed. Separate reviews are presented for studies of quality at the graduate level, in professional programs, and at the undergraduate level. Academe's continuing attempts to quantify "quality" so as to measure it empirically rather than subjectively…

The publishing requirements, honorary degrees, and the assessment of literary merit are mocked in this brief piece of fiction concerning the professional advancement of college English teachers. (AF)

The role of college lay governing boards in the 1980s is addressed. Focus is on trustees' responsibilities with respect to litigation, government regulation, private gifts and tax reform, academic tenure, faculty unions, interinstitutional cooperation, deferred maintenance of college buildings, accreditation, and public image. (JMD)