Although some consider electronic publishing to be the wave of the future, publishers must first build an infrastructure of citations, copyrights, authentication, and preservation to make it work well. Consistency is a crucial consideration in making information and documents accessible, and significant resources must be dedicated to archiving…

Despite the 1998 Children's Online Privacy Act's supposed protections, most web sites still collect personal information and post no privacy statements. Internet-filtering software packages are described and suggestions given for creating a safe environment, dismantling "cookies," informing parents and teachers, and checking…

Reviews two books concerned with sexual harassment in higher education: (1) "Sexual Harassment on Campus: A Guide for Administrators, Faculty, and Students," edited by Bernice R. Sandler and Robert J. Shoop; and (2) "Sexual Harassment in Higher Education: Reflections and New Perspectives, by Billie Wright Dziech and Michael W. Hawkins. Calls the…

Considers the inappropriate question in the particular context of the Modern Language Association (MLA) interview--interviews for academic positions which take place at the MLA convention. Mentions questions that are illegal as well as inappropriate. Encourages "planning" for inappropriate questions. (PA)

Reviews legal issues surrounding the constitutionality of the Violence Against Women Act, which is currently being tested in federal courts. Provides background information for judicial officers, policymakers, health educators, women's advocates, and student affairs professionals who work regularly with women students. (Author/MKA)

Seeks to answer whether the Bakke rulings and their rationale retain precedential clout that can uphold the constitutionality of current single-track affirmative action programs that use race as one of multiple factors in admissions. Speculates as to the constitutionality of the program in place at the University of Michigan and the current state…

Describes how, when the Enron Corporation collapsed, Harvard made money while the University of California lost $145 million. (EV)

Examines disputes over Internet addresses and World Wide Web domain names that include names of institutions of higher education. Notes that problems range from individuals who coincidentally use an institution's name to cybersquatters who reserve such domain names with the intention of later sales to the particular institutions. Reports that most…

Describes how the growing field of risk management is helping colleges deal with a rising tide of costly litigation. (EV)

The introduction to this special issue on legal issues and special education notes the inclusion of a sampling of disability issues related to litigation and briefly summarizes the following six articles. (Contains two references.) (DB)

It easily could be argued that no single step in a sport management career path is as important and valuable as an internship. This article identifies some of the situations in an internship that raise legal issues for the university, academic program, student, and sponsoring organization. In addition, the article includes several procedural and…

Objective: To identify the informed-consent issues when conducting adolescent health behavior research. Methods: A literature review was conducted across diverse academic fields about the informed-consent issues that were relevant to adolescent health behavior research. Results: Issues included defining consent, assent and permission, minimal…

An academic leader needs to have a basic understanding of the relevant constitutional and statutory provisions, evolving laws, and legal issues affecting higher education and the relationship between legal considerations and academic administration. At the same time, an academic leader must focus on accomplishing the goals, objectives, and…

The author of this article, an education attorney, begins by describing a case where, a school superintendent of personnel for a rural school district in Michigan had just received a performance evaluation with high marks and a new three-year contract. Two months later the school board called him into a closed session and presented him with…

With the maturation of the internet more and more colleges and universities are offering online courses. As these courses enter the mainstream, public policy issues are beginning to emerge. Many of these involve the tension between the "work for hire" doctrine and academic freedom that occurs when educational institutions offer these…