The network of independent American colleges and universities located in countries throughout the world is described. Some colleges were inspired by missionaries; others began as options for American undergraduates to study abroad. The overseas American colleges are an established fact and seen as valuable contributions to world education. (MLW)

Explores the four major reasons private institutions of higher learning are fundamentally not the same as public institutions: governance, legal distinctions, size, and revenue base (EV)

Discussion centers on how major universities, e.g., University of California (Stanford) and the University of Michigan, are cutting costs to operate more efficiently. Questions concerning public vs private incentives to cut costs and cost containment strategies as a function of institutional size are addressed. (DB)

Used 20 years' of data from colleges of arts and sciences at a set of selective private research universities to examine whether the proportion of faculty positions and salaries going to science increased. Contrary to expectations, found that it did not. (EV)

The future of private Black colleges depends on public and private financial support to enable them to carry out their missions and establish programs of quality. The question should not be whether private Black colleges are needed, but whether the college is of such quality that it deserves support. (MLW)

A study by the Association of Governing Boards that categorized current selection methods and analyzed criteria for trustee selection in public and private institutions is discussed. Three methods of trustee selection are identified: appointment, election, and service by virtue of position. (MLW)

It is argued, based on the experiences of 16 small, diverse independent colleges, that small institutions can reverse decline. The analysis looks at signs of problems, patterns of institutional blindness to the problems that lead to additional decline, and behavior characteristics of the institutions that survive. (MSE)

Trends emerging from a new enrollment report by the National Institute of Independent Colleges and Universities (NIICU) indicate hard times ahead for colleges in the private sector. General economic recession and cuts in federal student financial aid have had an effect on enrollment. (MLW)

Stanford and the University of California at Berkeley operate in a spirit of cooperation that is unique for a public and a private university. Cuts in either research or student aid could seriously harm both institutions. (MLW)

Need-blind admissions and need-based financial aid policies at selective private colleges are too expensive for most institutions to maintain. Private colleges that value diversity must aggressively pursue additional resources to support it, not relying on federal aid to pay the difference between their tuition and the selective public…

There has been a recent tendency to see faculty collective bargaining as a disappearing phenomenon, but the real trend has been toward more collective bargaining agreements, with potential for further growth. However, union expansion will continue to be difficult in private colleges. (MSE)

The Atlanta University Center, Inc., a consortium of six institutions (Clark, Morehouse, Morris Brown, Spelman, Atlanta University, and Interdenominational Theological Center) represents the world's largest nucleus of Black private higher education. Its background and the problems faced in dealing with each institution's desire for autonomy are…

An English teacher at Amherst College and Greenfield Community College (Massachusetts) compares characteristics and attitudes of students at the two institutions. It is concluded that, although the students differ in may ways, all are equally deserving of a safe and supportive learning environment and a sound education. (MSE)

Founded in 1898 by the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians), in the past 18 years DePaul University has transformed itself from a commuter institution, "the little school under the El," to the largest Catholic university in the United States and the seventh largest private university. It has increased its enrollment by 11,000…

Ways that two history departments, one at a private university and the other at a state college, have coped with declining enrollment and the increased competition for students, funds, and faculty are described. (MLW)