Maintains that the founding of the School of Music at the University of Illinois in 1892 was the result of a decade of effort by teachers, students, and administrators. Describes the history of music education at the University from the 1870s until the founding of the music school. Discusses the curriculum and music activities during the founding…

Literature about the roles of college deans and department heads is reviewed, issues confronting these administrators are discussed, and their information needs are examined. A guide to the categories, types, and sources of useful information is provided. (MSE)

Information about students needed by college deans and department heads is identified, including data on cultural diversity, gender and age distributions, work and community experiences, educational experience, the extent to which programs serve students who are not majors, employment and continued education patterns, employer evaluation of…

Maintains that early sociological studies of U.S. higher education noted that despite a widespread ideology of egalitarianism, both individuals and departments were highly stratified. Reports on a study of changes in the structure of the stratification system in sociology over the past 30 years. (CFR)

This study looked at future demand for faculty at institutions of higher education by developing a larger and more sophisticated model of faculty demand than previously used and by examining faculty separation and hiring patterns among independent colleges and universities. All members of the Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium (125…

This paper discusses the emergence and the establishment of new educational programs in universities by describing a theoretical approach and reporting an empirical study of the development of one interdisciplinary department (the Institute for Media and Communication) at the University of Oslo (Norway). It is argued that the emergence of new…

Research generally influences state policy only indirectly. On the other hand, research is not utterly without influence. For example, research findings about schools and colleges which have influenced policy include: the appendices that accompanied "On Further Examination," the College Board report on the SAT score decline; the Southern…

Based on similar studies conducted in 1978 and 1983, this paper provides information on changes in state department of education (SEA) evaluation units over a 5-year period and an update on current conditions. In brief, there appears to have been substantial reductions in the size of SEA evaluation unit staffs. While the majority of studies…

This newsletter presents the results of a National Governors' Association (NGA) survey, conducted November 1986 through January 1987, on state responses to the recommendations of the NGA Task Force on Technology regarding new ways to acquire and use educational technology. The following topics covered by the survey are discussed: (1) hardware…

Papers presented at a symposium commemorating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Department of Rural Sociology of the University of Wisconsin-Madison are collected in this volume. The first four papers--by Olaf Larson, Edward Moe, Daryl Hobbs, and Robert Gard--discuss the department's history, emphasizing the contributions of outstanding…

A discussion of college faculty cultures and climates explains both conceptual notions and how institutional researchers, deans, and department heads can assess and understand them. It is proposed that this information can be useful to administrators committed to understanding, supporting, and leading the faculty of their units. (Author/MSE)

Statistics on the state-level financial status of public schools are provided for fiscal years (FYs) 1983, 1984, and 1985, along with documentation for the use of an associated database file. The data provide current information about aggregate public school revenues and expenditures collected and reported at the state level. Data for FY 1985…

A study used a multivariate approach to assessing college departmental excellence. Factor analysis identified three potentially useful factor clusters ("faculty research,""input," and "student") and seven indicators based on those clusters. Indicators combining faculty research and input and combining all three clusters were found to be the best…

A study was done of higher education curricula with substantial enrollment by women (such as fashion merchandising and home economics) to examine the context and substance of the curricula, to identify infrastructures that have supported these programs, and to probe issues that face administrators, faculty and students engaged in such programs.…

This study identifies and evaluates changes in secondary schools not meeting the minimum standards required by New Jersey as tested on the Minimum Basic Skills Test. The study identified the deficiencies in three urban high schools and evaluated the progress toward meeting the standards. All but 2 of the 76 recommendations made were implemented.…