Examines considerations of tax reform and their impact on the ability of colleges and universities to attract private giving, frequently making the difference between institutional death and survival. (Author/PG)

The federal cost-of-education program would provide millions of dollars a year in direct institutional aid to public and private colleges. Funds would be granted largely on the number of students receiving federal student aid funds at each college. The history of this program is traced. (Author/PG)

Federal student assistance has become a tangled thicket of programs and policies. It is complicated, fails to focus benefits on the neediest students, and is increasingly expensive. Complexity and cost, grants or loans, who should benefit from student assistance and who should pay, and reshaping student aid are discussed. (MLW)

The conflict between institutional mission and finance is stressed in this article based on a Brookings Institution study. This tension promises to grow as academe adjusts to a drop in the traditional college-age population, and as the promise of expanding adult markets is either realized or falls short of expectations. (MLW)