When professors in positions that offer no chance of earning tenure begin to stack the faculty, campus dynamics start to change. Growing numbers of adjuncts make themselves more visible. They push for roles in governance, better pay and working conditions, and recognition for work well done. And they do so at institutions where tenured faculty,…

Peter Blake reports on new legislations and reforms in Virginia that provide colleges and universities more operational and administrative autonomy in return for their commitment to public goals for higher education. He traces the history and context of privatization in Virgina from 1988. During this time, the legislatively mandated Virginia…

Presents an interview with the former president of Northern Virginia Community College, Belle S. Wheelan, about her history-making role as Virginia's new secretary of education. (EV)

In January 1986, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) issued several recommendations with far-reaching implications for Virginia's colleges and universities, namely, "that all state-supported institutions of higher education establish procedures and programs to measure student achievement." By all accounts the…

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…

This paper reports on efforts of several states in the southern United States (Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia) to respond to the mandate for training early childhood special education professionals. The paper describes how teacher certification standards are being met in these states and examines the role of the state…

Emphasized is the need for statewide direction in secondary science education coordinated by personnel from local school districts, local universities, and state departments of education. A state communication network is described and its impact on earth science, preservice and inservice college offerings, research, and other areas discussed. (DC)

In 1990 when African American governor of Virginia L. Douglas Wilder appointed an African American secretary of education, it signaled to many a concern for ensuring educational access for all Virginians. However, during the difficult economic period that followed, college tuition rose. Some remember his administration more for austerity and…

A survey of 10 department heads or coordinators of special education programs in Virginia higher education institutions found most special education faculty are not involved in formal services but many are participating informally in various institutional service functions benefiting students with disabilities. Faculty interpretation of…

This essay examines the ways in which nonprofit universities increasingly emulate businesses, focusing on two of the most direct forms of emulation: the creation of internal university markets at the University of Southern California through adoption of variants of resource center management (RCM) and the privatization of public higher education…