The Memphis Maps program, a collaborative effort of Memphis (Tennessee) educational institutions, public agencies, a bank, and community programs, trains local students in Geographic Information Systems technology and provides the community with valuable demographic and assessment information. The program is described, and factors contributing to…

The freshman seminar at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis is taught by a team that includes faculty, an academic advisor, librarians, and student mentors and is often linked to a disciplinary course. Faculty serve as instructors in the linked course, and student mentors lead supplemental instruction groups. Challenges…

A thorough review and revision of curriculum at San Jose State University (California) illustrates that the modern university can achieve major internal academic reforms when two important conditions are met: legitimacy and energy. These two concepts are defined and practical illustrations are drawn from the institution's recent experience in…

Urban universities have a definite role to play within the context of strategic economic development. Coordination between state and local government, the private sector, and the academic community can lead to effective partnerships to formulate and implement economic development plans. Declining university enrollments and fewer dollars available…

Proceedings of the 1985 annual meeting of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) are presented. Contents include: three addresses and a lecture, remarks about/from distinguished alumni who received awards, brief summaries of additional addresses, reports from AASCU officers and projects, and an agenda of the annual…

The first 3 years of a long-term program to build more effective collaboration between urban public universities and school districts are reviewed. The sponsor, the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, focused on building more effective communication and working relationships between the university chief executive…

Substantial changes made in the college of education of the University of Tulsa, an urban private university, in the wake of declining enrollment and general questioning of institutional mission are chronicled, including the elimination of all but three programs and development of certification components in two areas. (MSE)

Georgia State's minority retention program provides academic and social support for black freshmen by referral to appropriate campus personnel or resources for assistance with academic, financial, personal, social, and career planning problems. It uses peer counseling, faculty mentors, nonacademic staff participation, and social events to…

The urban university must provide limited public service related to teaching and research with a special emphasis on the urban environment of which it is a part. It need not become a social service agency but must prove its seriousness to itself and the larger community in which it resides. (MLW)

Recognizing the needs of women as entrepreneurs, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga created an outreach program, the Institute for Women as Entrepreneurs. Using talents of business students, faculty, and volunteer consultants, the institute has assisted 150 women. Strategic considerations of the outreach approach and possible applications…

Faculty, staff, and students at San Francisco State University (California), most of whose lives are touched by Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), have responded by rallying to help AIDS sufferers in need, by including AIDS information in courses, offering confidential testing, and becoming sensitized to gay and related issues. (MSE)

Describes distance learning at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). The system uses a hybrid model involving face-to-face, mediated, synchronous, and asynchronous communication at on- and off-campus sites to create flexible and adaptable patterns. Asserts that the hybrid model offers advantages over a single mode, since…

A highly individualized admissions process allows Essex Community College (Maryland) to identify talented and motivated students whose prior academic work might make them ineligible for honors at other institutions. The curriculum is designed around innovative honors sections of regular courses that challenge students intellectually and help…

The relationship between scores on the American College Test (ACT) and grade point averages of first-time college freshmen after the first year of study was investigated by correlating ACT composite scores and grade point averages (GPAs). ACT scores and GPAs were obtained for 100 first-time freshmen at an urban state university in Illinois. There…

This paper describes a multi-faceted approach to improving student retention at an urban public university. It is noted that the students at this institution are older, working people; few live on campus and participate in what would be considered traditional student experiences. The paper examines the physical setting and external environment;…