Describes the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), which annually assesses the extent to which students at four-year colleges and universities are participating in educational practices strongly associated with high levels of learning and personal development. Rather than focusing on the institution's resources, the basis of most school…

Summarizes findings from the National Study of Student Learning (NSSL), including findings that challenge conventional wisdom and findings that, in part, support it. Considers the findings' implications for faculty and administrators. Includes sidebars describing the design and conduct of the NSSL and listing other publications addressing NSSL…

The "U.S. News and World Report" 1993 rankings of doctoral programs in biology (n=229), chemistry (n=178), and physics (n=151) and graduate programs in nursing (n=201) are presented, with some narrative analysis. Best-regarded institutions for doctoral education in six science disciplines are also listed. (MSE)

Students are eager to attend a college with the reputation or programs they believe will lead to high-paying jobs and top professional schools. Student attitudes as they affect choice of college, patterns of study, and attention to learning are discussed. (MLW)

The Study Abroad Evaluation Project is designed to examine international study and student exchange programs within Europe and between Europe and the United States to identify the most effective program characteristics. Focus is on institutional impact, student attitudes, academic performance, and employment goals and opportunities. (MSE)

Student voluntarism on many campuses is prompting politicians to offer new incentives on the local, state, and national levels. Campus Compact and Campus Outreach Opportunity League (COOL), two community service organizations, are described. Federal legislation to create a national domestic Peace Corps is discussed. (MLW)

A Harvard School of Public Health survey of 17,592 college students concerning alcohol consumption found 84% reported drinking during the school year, with 19% frequent binge drinkers. Half of these were binge drinkers in high school. Also investigated were other drug use, dangerous behavior, secondhand binge effects, and gender effects. A 12-step…

A Rollins College (Florida) professor's survey of alumni concerning their memories of the institution elicited vivid and specific character narratives about faculty, pointing up the important role of faculty in students' college experience. The narratives reflected students' discovery of the pleasure of ideas, realization of teachers' concern for…

The relationship between faculty morale/satisfaction and various dimensions of the organizational culture of liberal arts colleges was examined, with focus on ten colleges. The power of organizational culture is made evident and reinforced through symbolic events and structures. (MLW)

Analyzes the situation of employer-paid continuing education and the role of higher education institutions in it, drawing on results of the National Employer Survey conducted by the National Center on the Educational Quality of the Workforce, administered in 1994 and 1996. Makes specific recommendations for colleges and universities to develop…

Results of a national survey by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching on the role and status of women faculty on college campuses are reported. Data, presented in graphic form with narrative analysis, concern women's salary, rank, job security, and teaching loads relative to those of men faculty, and their contributions to the…