The five-volume Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States, the most authoritative academic quality ranking ever done, is discussed. The Assessment covers 2,699 programs in 32 disciplines and assesses a faculty's reputation for scholarly quality. Improvements in programs' reputations are also discussed. (MLW)

Discusses how the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) has considered international programs an essential element of its mandate and created projects that led to partnerships that advance core international initiatives in higher education. (EV)

Current college faculty have little internal motivation to learn how to teach, their interests and rewards lying in the other domains for which their personalities, education, and training have prepared them. Students who have the potential to be good teachers do not see teaching as a feasible career, while good researchers do. (MLW)

The need to restructure college administration, rather than simply cut costs selectively, is discussed. The experience of the five-campus Antioch University in reengineering its central administration's work to take advantage of advancing technology is chronicled, including both difficulties and successes. (MSE)

Although both the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) accredit teacher education, the public's confidence in higher education has suffered from reports of supposedly good schools graduating poorly qualified teachers, prompting this reevaluation of how these agencies…

Accrediting agencies step up requirements for evidence of institutions' efforts to improve student learning. Congressional leaders call for increased accountability and transparency in higher education. Business leaders worry about the growing gaps between their workforce needs and the numbers of Americans actually prepared for the available jobs.…

The standard prescriptions for reforming undergraduate education include better students, more time on basic academic subjects, more clinical experience, and more rigorous and standardized evaluation of students at all points in the program. Further scrutiny of these recommendations is presented. (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)

The United States' precarious place in the world's leadership due to problems in education is discussed and current national policy on education is criticized. Specific program and grant initiatives are proposed as part of a comprehensive national effort to reinstate U.S. world leadership in technological capability. (MSE)

In a reaction to an article by Chester E. Finn, Jr., it is contended that federal dollars have provided the essential margin that makes for quality and gives institutions more independence. Loss of federal dollars would not be taken up by the states or the private sector. (MLW)

The establishment of a new National Commission on Higher Education Issues, which will look at the overall context of higher education and make specific recommendations on specific problems to specific groups capable of doing something about them, is discussed. Two concerns include quality and reforming basic structures in higher education. (MLW)

Ronald Reagan's effect on higher education as governor of California and what effect he might have on U.S. colleges and universities if elected president are described. Three points are discussed: deep conservatism of Reagan, his passivity, and Reagan's relative disinterest in higher education. (MLW)

Voluntary self-regulation through regional accrediting associations is under criticism from both federal and state centers. The charge is that the colleges in defensive times become easier on each other. It is claimed that with so much money coming from government, peer-evaluation of colleges cannot be trusted. (MLW)

Describes how, from its beginning, the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) has supported providing education to citizens everywhere, first by sponsoring face-to-face instruction in remote locations and now by encouraging institutions to use online technologies to reshape education by providing it anytime and anywhere. (EV)

Although the Total Quality Management approach has not met with universal acceptance in higher education, it is important to look beyond first impressions and direct translation to find insights in the methodology for college administration. It is also essential to apply the methods holistically, not in a fragmentary way. (MSE)