Recent issues in higher education suggest that universities are on the defensive, and that the educational community will be better served by trying to set a new agenda with the public. Two topics for this agenda are offered: the loss of a common perspective and the relationship of people to institutions. (LBH)

Vassar's new president believes the college can change the face of American coeducation, but there will first have to be changes made within Vassar itself. Her social outlook and administrative abilities are discussed. (Editor/LBH)

A basic assumption is that, all things being equal, people who go to school are different than they otherwise would have been. That difference is what schools produce. When we find out how that difference can be measured and evaluated, we can begin to solve the mystery of productivity. (Author/LBH)

A resurgence in American higher education is coming, and that realization should shape the nation's decisions regarding the problems faced by colleges and universities. Academe must use its resources to support reindustrialization, technological enhancement, and the preservation and maintenance of the national economic structure. (MLW)

Courts are setting dangerous precedents when, in the interest of civil rights, they rule that academic standards are unconstitutional. The intellectual community must make the consequences of such decisions clear. (Editor/LBH)

The federal role in education is likely to shift in the years ahead, says the Commission of Education, and so may the social functions of many institutions of higher learning. Discussed are federal goals, access to education, core curricula, federal aid and intervention, and governmental decision-making. (LBH)

The status of foreign language instruction in colleges and universities is examined in terms of both decreasing interest due to reliance on English as an international language, and of increasing needs due to developing national pride and expanding international trade. (LBH)

The concept of academic malpractice is discussed in terms of student gains in consumerism regarding institutional accountability, and in terms of faculty rights to academic freedom and relationships with administrators. (LBH)

The growth of community colleges is described and their objectives analyzed. Although community colleges can contribute to society by educating a variety of minority groups, they should not overlook their more important responsibility of educating their majorities of average students. (LBH)