The University of Minnesota experience in reforming the faculty tenure policy is examined, noting financial and legal issues, the strong faculty response to initial proposals, and substantial improvement in policy that resulted from the process. Suggestions are made for other institutions approaching such decisions: don't begin without solid…

The Estonian Minister of Education discusses recent higher education trends and developments in Central and Eastern European countries, including the growth of institutional autonomy, expansion of educational opportunity, financial issues and privatization, balancing of academic and vocational education needs, part-time and continuing education,…

Describes beginnings, objectives, services and future developments of OhioLINK, the network for over 50 Ohio colleges and universities. Discusses the funding crisis and proposed solution; OhioLINK features (Central Catalog, inter-institutional patron online borrowing, core databases, document delivery, Internet connection, electronic journals, and…

The University of Delaware has offered several week-long faculty development institutes planned collaboratively by four areas of the university with significant experience in faculty instruction and service: (1) Information Technology/User Services; (2) Center for Teaching Effectiveness; (3) Library; and (4) Instructional Technology Center.…

A survey of 686 United States and 338 Australian business students compared student expectations of service provision on campus. Results indicated that Australian students had higher expectations on three dimensions of service quality: professors' willingness to help students develop academic skills; professor sympathy and reassurance; and…

A study of 185 undergraduate students withdrawing from a publicly-funded Canadian university compared student characteristics and experiences (demography, academic performance, employment, financial support, social integration, personal circumstances, and perception of university learning experience) for three discipline areas (arts, education,…

As more colleges and universities consider privatization of college housing, without many existing models to observe, institutions are encouraged to consider these issues before making a decision: in loco parentis responsibility; legal liability; shared obligations; financial arrangements and performance criteria; vendor responsibility for capital…

The Nordic Centre at Fudan University (China) links it with Norwegian universities, and has resulted in: a new Norwegian School of Management program; a Chinese-Norwegian dictionary; short credit courses on Scandinavian affairs for Chinese students; language courses and examinations for Norwegian students of Chinese; establishment of a library on…

Praises self-directed English field research projects for being intellectually challenging, highly motivating, and demonstrating a wide range of skills. Recently, however, these projects have resulted in a number of problems including allocation of resources and safety liability. Suggests possible solutions and examines a model field research…

A reporter returned to his undergraduate institution, the University of Pennsylvania, to learn why tuition has risen so much in recent decades, and how the university spends the income. The complexity of administering the university enterprise is highlighted, and some perceived inequities are identified. Topics discussed include endowment funds,…

Includes six reports from national associations and organizations. Highlights include annual meetings; government affairs; copyright; administration; diversity; new technologies; international programs; scholarly communication; information policy; access to information; preservation; statistics and measurement; digital libraries; economics of…

Surveys of Australian college faculty, conducted in 1977 and 1993, provide data for tracing trends in workload. While time devoted to teaching and research have remained stable, changes at the margins of academic workload are considerable. These tasks are largely generated by demands of institutional competition, accountability, and quality…

Time spent by pharmacy faculty teaching specific competencies was analyzed using a database program. Results indicate half the time was used to teach competencies for initiating, evaluating, and monitoring drug therapy, one-third for drug distribution competencies, and the remainder on competencies in administration, communications, law, drug…

Colleges can communicate important positive messages to minority group students in the information disseminated about institutional mission and goals, admission and financial aid, administration, student support services, curriculum, the campus community, campus activities, location, and educational benefits and in photographic images of college…

The variety of ways in which agencies of the state influence the British university curriculum, and in some cases extra-curricular activity, is examined. These sources of influence include expansion, structural changes resulting from retrenchment, promotion of market values, intervention in professional education, quality control, and research…