The University of Phoenix, once belittled as providing "McEducation" and branded a diploma mill, has garnered respect among higher education professionals. The school is attracting increasing numbers of adult students for its practical approach and 64 locations in 10 states and Puerto Rico, and is a financial success. The heavy use of…

Research on variables that may bias student ratings of faculty have found them generally insignificant, but students do rate differently by academic field. The real problem arises from not knowing why this occurs. Institutions and individuals should decide how they will take these differences into consideration when interpreting student ratings.…

Examines the sources of legal policy challenged by critics of the Committee on the General Aptitude Test Battery report. Indicates solid legal precedent for "burden shifting" to the employer when employment practice adversely affects a protected class. Finds that critics attack what is simply a description of established social policy.…

Provides different perspectives on comparable worth issues. Covers the following topics: (1) competing explanations for the wage gap; (2) indirect approaches to wage equity; (3) the need for a direct approach to wage equity; (4) job evaluation; (5) application of comparable worth principles to compensation systems; and (6) strategies for adopting…

Reviews economists' views about how the economy works, from which conclusions opposing comparable worth are drawn. Discusses factors that have been omitted from economists' views--social and psychological factors that affect behavior in the workplace, permit and encourage discrimination, and have an effect on the distribution of jobs and wages.…

Discusses how gender differences in the value of pay, based on relative deprivation theory, explain women's paradoxical contentment with lower wages. Presents a model of pay satisfaction to integrate value-based and comparative-referent explanations of the relationship between gender and pay satisfaction. Discusses economic approaches to the…

Reviews some theories of employer liability: (1) negligent hiring; (2) negligent entrustment; and (3) respondent superior. Applicable cases focusing on the investigation of prospective employees and the emerging constitutional implications are discussed. (MLF)

Examines the following trends affecting the professional status of teachers: (1) practice boards; (2) teacher centers; (3) mediated entry; (4) staff development; (5) researcher-teacher collaboration; (6) merit pay; (7) master teachers; and (8) new alliances. (FMW)

Reviews labor legislation enacted by each state during 1988. Covers such labor issues as (1) wages, (2) parental leave, (3) child labor, (4) discrimination, (5) employee testing for drug or alcohol abuse or for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, (6) private employment agencies, and (7) safety and health. (CH)

Examines the role of student employees in academic libraries using data from Southern Statistics and Association of Research Libraries (ARL). Compares students' contributions to the full-time equivalents (FTEs), the cost-effectiveness of student employment, and Canadian libraries versus American libraries. Discusses the staffing mix, student…

Barriers to tenure for women faculty are examined, including different role perceptions for men and women, lack of mentors or professional support, lack of access to prestigious journals for publishing, and male expectations that all faculty will have similar formative experiences and training. (MSE)

Explores the significance of minority faculty as role models for minority college students, suggesting that they aid student retention and serve as reminders of institutional dedication to diversification. Argues that institutions should actively seek out minority candidates and attempt to cultivate their own students for open positions. (MAB)

The greatest challenge for American industry will be to have management at all levels that is representative of the diversified workforce that is anticipated. Business must ensure fair compensation, healthy working conditions, growth and personal development opportunities, progress in the company, and pride in the value of work itself. (AF)

Australia's efforts to restructure college personnel remuneration represent more than changes in salaries. They are an attempt to reform an outdated hierarchy of jobs, lack of recognition of job skills, limited access to promotion, and minimal professional development and to offer better opportunities and a fairer and more consistent…

Representation of Chicanos and Latinos in the United States' professoriate is lowest of all racial and ethnic groups when their proportion in the general population is considered. Restriction to limited roles and devaluation of their academic and community contributions maintains this pattern, compounded by institutions' unwillingness to examine…