A plan for all of the state of Maryland's 13 public colleges and universities to be included in the University of Maryland System is discussed. The system would be governed by a board of regents, and each college would have a board of trustees to monitor campus issues. (MLW)

A study of the attitudes of institutional and state level postsecondary education leaders in Oregon toward competition among institutions and state regulation of competition is reported, and a framework for examining postsecondary education regulation in general is provided. (MSE)

England's 1984-85 national planning and policy initiative in response to declining resources for public higher education institutions is outlined, and the results of a study of institutional responses to those changes are presented. (MSE)

The growing restiveness and political force of the Mexican-American population is strengthening state institutions in South Texas, whose enrollments are predominantly Mexican-American and who are fighting discrimination in the state legislature. (MSE)

Michigan's legislature has approved the only statewide plan to allow parents to prepay their child's tuition to any of the state colleges, state universities, or community colleges. Prepayment may begin any time from the child's birth until his or her 18th birthday, and the money will be invested in a trust. (MSE)

A committee studying Texas higher education has withdrawn a controversial proposal to merge institutions, instead adopting a broad set of principles for higher education and specific recommendations for state colleges and universities. The objective is to improve education during state economic decline due to falling oil prices. (MSE)

The president of the Education Commission of the States urged state policy-makers to proceed cautiously in developing plans to allow parents to pre-pay college tuitions years in advance at discounted prices. Reciprocal agreements between the states and exploration of other options are suggested. (MLW)

The knowledge base of state politics involved in formation of educational policies has become richer and more complex, with individual research findings beginning to hang together. Continued study of political cultures and policy makers' orientations is needed to create a knowledge base that can support theory development. (CB)

Key policy actors in six states (Arizona, California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wisconsin) indicate a strong national consensus about seven basic policy mechanisms. While school finance dominated policy making, personnel, testing, and program definition policies had importance, followed by school governance, curriculum materials,…

Approaches to policymaking and implementation during Great Britain's reforms of the colleges of education in the 1970s are discussed, along with their implications for higher education in the future, based on a recent study, are discussed. (MSE)

Switzerland's overall plan for planning and coordinating university functions, the administrative and funding trends noted since the plan was first implemented, and the experience of Fribourg University in implementing the national plan are outlined and discussed. (MSE)

Briefly reviews some of the findings of the 1984 survey of public attitudes toward the provincial education system conducted by Prince Edward Island's School System Review Commission and discusses some of the commission's resulting 94 recommendations for improvement. (PGD)

Effective inservice programs are necessary to ensure that current reforms in education are properly implemented. Inservice programs must meet the needs of both the educational system and educators. Six basic policy assumptions dealing with what is needed in inservice education are discussed. (DF)

Reports the results of a national survey that assessed the extent of minimum competency testing in reading in 1984 and the nature and extent of remedial programs based upon minimum competency testing in reading. (HOD)

Description of the development of a computer-based resource-sharing program in Massachusetts highlights past planning efforts, development of philosophical basis of network, network activities (development and linking of bibliographic databases, document request and delivery procedures, computer literacy/training for librarians), and issues…