A discussion of the devastating decline of Southern Methodist University's athletics program looks at what has happened in the past year, constructive responses to it, the university's prospects for the immediate future, and what can be learned by faculty concerned for academic integrity in todays' society. (MSE)

Three dimensions of the financial aid delivery system that disproportionately discourage minority students from seeking or achieving admission to colleges and universities are discussed: information inequities, negative consequences of system complexity, and institutional aid practices. (MLW)

The current trend toward academic gamesmanship, characterized by interinstitutional competition for faculty, gives the general public a superficial notion of academic excellence, deceives higher education supporters, deprives undergraduates of teaching that they are paying higher prices to receive, and gauges success by ephemeral standards.…

The role of merit pay is examined in the contexts of two different faculty salary systems, and the interaction of the salary system and assessment of individual merit to produce particular patterns of faculty mobility is discussed. (MSE)

Two kinds of affirmative action in the recruitment and selection of college faculty are distinguished and discussed: procedural (ensuring judgment of applicants without consideration of race, religion, or national origin) and preferential (characterized by attention to the same criteria that procedural affirmative action eschews). Argues that…

Affirmative action in college faculty recruitment and selection is discussed, distinguishing between procedural and preferential affirmative action. Negative effects of preferential affirmative action on students, faculty, and the institution are examined. Other issues explored include democratic values, bias in the search process, and the…

Problems associated with the use of technology in the college classroom are outlined, including instructional issues such as poorly functioning equipment, lack of quality in courses delivered by technology, and problems with generic presentations, as well as administrative concerns such as over-promotion of technology-based learning to students,…

A celebrated economist discusses the employment of college faculty in the modern university focusing on two primary issues: (1) tenure and promotion; and (2) recruitment, payment, and retention. Additional issues addressed include the role of faculty, academic authority, democracy in the classroom, and allocation of society's resources for higher…