The media has recently exposed that grade inflation is a concern for higher education in North America. Grade inflation may be due to consumerism by universities that now compete for students. Keeping students happy (and paying) may have been emphasized more than learning. We review the literature on faculty evaluation and present a model that…

This journal issue explores alternative ways to increase student involvement in the social studies classroom. Subject content remains a major stumbling block because of the knowledge explosion and the realization that half the students in school today will earn a living in an occupation not yet invented. The relationship between content and…

A brief overview of faculty housing assistance programs in California and the United States is given. Any campus embarking on a faculty housing program must look at a number of factors and should counsel faculty so they may be informed consumers. College housing programs must be responsive to market changes. (MSE)

Discusses educational needs in vocational home economics and suggests changes in curriculum and instruction to provide essential competencies needed by homemakers: changing program emphasis, changing curriculum structure, changing focus in instruction, and rewriting not only the curriculum but also performance objectives. (MF)

Discusses projects used by some teachers, texts, and other instructional materials for teaching the responsibility and participatory aspects of citizenship. Suggests that texts currently in use neglect teaching the protection of rights. Argues that corporations do more educating than schools through their commercials. Questions how some teachers…

The goal of this mini-unit is to teach elementary students economic concepts related to consumerism and to develop problem-solving skills. Students test a product such as sugarless bubble gum and study how it is advertised. The students then make their own advertisement for the product. (RM)

Presents a scenario of telecommunications use in the future for a minority, single parent family in poverty in 2002. Categories of use are health information, education and training, shopping and finance, and entertainment. Infrastructure needed in the home and what this can mean for the individual are discussed. (SLD)

Consumer acceptance or rejection of biotechnology is often shaped by information prepared by communicators with varying levels of scientific knowledge, awareness, and acceptance. This study compared the prior, post-workshop, and sustained (1 year) biotechnology awareness, acceptance, and attitudes of professionals who communicate biotechnology to…

The author discusses the necessity for energy conservation and source development, the provisions of the National Energy Act of 1978, and the area of energy-related vocational and technical training and employment. A list of educational programs and services from the United States Department of Energy is appended. (MF)

Provides fully-developed library media activities designed to be used in connection with specific curriculum units in mathematics (consumer education); reading and language arts ("Foolish People in Folk Tales"); science (dinosaurs); and social studies (Roman cities and Third World countries). (Author/EM)

Describes a partnership between faculty at seven land-grant universities, the U. S. Department of Agriculture Extension Seminar program leader, and a corporate partner designed to educate consumers about credit. Looks at the shared leadership model used, results of the project, and lessons learned about the potential of such partnerships for the…

According to the authors, the comments offered by Robert Manning and Ray Kirshak in this issue of the "Journal of Student Financial Aid" (pp. 39-48) are designed to leave the reader with the impression that their paper "Usage of Credit Cards Received through College Student-Marketing Programs" ("Journal of Student Financial Aid," 2004) was nothing…

Describes software programs available to social studies teachers. Focuses on FutureFone, a simulation of a telephone system of the year 2000 featuring online services likely to be widely available then, including geography, news, and history of the 1990s. Emphasizes that the program is designed to develop inductive analysis. (DK)

Six high school students with multiple disabilities, including mental retardation, were taught community living skills through the establishment of a shopping service for people who were elderly or who had disabilities. Students increased their competence in community survival skills and also experienced a new role as helper. (JDD)

Many colleges address complex problems with a single "silver bullet" strategy. Because value shifts according to the consumer's situation or goal, private colleges should become more aware of their "situational value" and exploit it. This requires an understanding of how students choose colleges. In contrast, popular silver bullets target…