Reviews the history of the ten year involvement of the Economic Development Council (composed of approximately three hundred corporations) with the New York City educational system. Discusses the involvement in two phases: the partnership phase which included a feasibility study and the renewal phase which employed organizational development.…

College language department heads are encouraged to become proactive in responding to change in higher education by: undertaking departmental planning; ensuring good teaching; emphasizing collegiality; thinking creatively; becoming part of any college restructuring process; identifying allies on campus; staying informed about institutional…

Discusses organizational development and its importance to the competitive community college. Suggests new tactics to renew colleges by changing competencies, redesigning structures and systems, and developing new alliances. Closes with a basic design that emphasizes narrowing the gap between a college's current core values and future…

The variety of approaches taken by urban universities in partnerships with local communities is examined, and a number of related issues are addressed, including implementation of partnerships, the proper role for the university in applied work, adaptation of institutional structures and processes, determination of who should benefit from…

Advocates standards-based teacher assessment linked with school reform as a system for building the capacity of elementary teachers. Suggests that linking teaching standards with student standards focuses and coordinates state reforms to address knowledge, skills, and abilities needed by teachers to enhance student learning. Examines a program in…

This article examines the case of a male with Down syndrome who has been referred to a clinical psychology service due to challenging behaviors. It provides a case history and rationale for the assessment of autism, and describes the positive effects of an intervention for increasing staff awareness of autism. (Contains references.) (CR)

Evolution of the relationship between academic and administrative functions in Swedish universities is traced over 30 years. Attention is given to a shift toward administrative power during a period of university democratization, and partial restoration of academic leadership in the 1990s. Two distinct patterns of administrative structure are…

Harrison Wilson will retire as president of Norfolk State University (Virginia) after 22 years. The university has multiplied its annual budget by six, increased enrollment and faculty, added 14 buildings and 51 acres, and increased bachelor's programs. Despite a low graduation rate, the school has maintained open admissions to give low-achieving…

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching will move from the East Coast to the West and have a new president, Lee S. Shulman, whose professional focus has been teaching and teacher education. Some observers feel the foundation has not been active enough in public policy formation recently. However, the new focus will be more on…

A number of issues involving the concept of quality of life as applied to persons with intellectual disabilities are summarized and a number of agreed-upon principles regarding its conceptualization, measurement, and application are presented. Public policy and disability reform are addressed as they relate to the quality of life concept.…

Describes how the Free University of Berlin (West Germany) has become more open to the public. The Free University has strengthened its cooperation with private companies in research and funding, promoted internal research, and increased its accelerated and continuing education programs in order to improve its image. (LS)

Describes the effects of electronic technologies on instruction, scholarly communication, and the storage and preservation of knowledge in higher education. The discussion covers the need to restructure universities, resolve the conflict between institutional autonomy and standardization, and explore new patterns of funding and staffing. (50 notes…

Indiana University and the University of Delaware have begun to expand the notion of financial information management by the innovative use of computer and Internet applications. Widespread access to institutional information has advantages and disadvantages. At both institutions, information managers addressed administrative resistance but…

An administration plan to discontinue the physics major at James Madison University (Virginia) has raised concerns about the president's leadership and management style, and the role of faculty in institutional decision making. Faculty were notified of the plan only after student leaders were told. (MSE)

Because of a fundamental shift in the way decisions are being made in colleges and universities, institutional researchers in the twenty-first century will no longer merely collect, analyze, and disseminate information to support decision making. They must also become information architects, change agents, and consultants of choice within their…