The Internal Revenue Service is finding that a number of colleges have failed to withhold proper amounts of tax from employees, evaded required payments of unrelated-business income tax, allowed students to avoid paying certain Social Security taxes, and allowed foreign students to avoid tax withholding on most income. (MSE)

The Department of Education's announcement of new policy concerning the evaluation of college desegregation efforts could affect the monitoring of compliance in several states in which court-ordered desegregation plans have expired. The higher standards are based on the 1992 Supreme Court ruling, United States v. Fordice. (MSE)

The Department of Education has ruled that a federal privacy-protection law gives college students the right to see their admissions files, based on a Harvard University graduate's request. The ruling could help shed light on how institutions select students and on the validity of racial discrimination charges in other institutions. (MSE)

The Internal Revenue Service has acknowledged that audits of graduate students receiving stipends were based on inconsistent interpretations of tax law but deny any policy to increase monitoring of graduate students' tax returns. (MSE)

The Justice Department's antitrust investigation of private-college collaboration on student financial aid (the Overlap Group) has closed, with charges against the Massachusetts Institute of Technology dropped and announcement of a new system by which institutions may share information. Institutions are skeptical about the practicality of the new…

Many universities oppose federal regulations that bar government-supported health clinics from providing information about abortion to their clients. They say the rules place unreasonable constraints on medical facilities, including campus health clinics and teaching hospitals. Federal courts are divided on the issue. (MLW)

New federal Department of Education guidelines put responsibility for monitoring campus racial climate on individual colleges. The policy statement contains some elements pleasing to minority students and others attractive to civil libertarians. However, its broad definition of harassment is criticized by some. (MSE)

Small-business leaders have persuaded many lawmakers that nonprofit organizations--particularly colleges and universities--have used their tax-exempt status and government support to gain an unfair advantage over privately owned businesses. Computer-store owners, private chemical-laboratory owners, and travel agents say colleges should not receive…

A federal judge has ordered Alabama's two public, historically black universities to enroll more whites as part of a statewide effort to reduce racial segregation in public colleges. Critics are offended by the judge's comments that the colleges' black heritage discourages white enrollment. The ruling also contained some more welcome results,…

The Education Department's expected announcement of its assessment of court-ordered desegregation plans in 10 states is reported. Most state leaders characterize their efforts as successful. Federal involvement, Black colleges, Education Department's Office for Civil Rights role, etc., are discussed. (MLW)

The Department of Education, criticized by colleges for its guidelines on investigating racial harassment and hate-speech charges, will issue a new policy on First Amendment implications of such inquiries. A major issue is school responsibility for racial harassment by diverse populations over whom colleges may have little control. (MSE)