The US colleges are struggling with soaring tuition costs as state support is unable to keep up with enrollment growth, and college officials are becoming more creative in finding ways to reduce expenses. Higher education institutions are increasingly outsourcing non-academic activities, collaborating with other institutions to share goods and…

With computers rivaling books and journals as information sources, academic libraries must learn to use computers and other technology as information tools. Some colleges have already developed consortia and other intercollegiate arrangements, but costs and the information explosion slow this process for many. (MSE)

Increasingly, colleges and universities are cooperating to save money. Tactics include sharing of administrators; multicampus employee insurance policies; joint faculty appointments, departments, and programs; and electronically linking library collections. Obstacles include institutions' fear of losing identity and difficulty in reaching…

Disenchantment with and heavy spending on health care has made policymakers more interested in health care research. The federal Agency for Health Care and Policy Research, university consortia for health-services research, and establishment of a national database are elements in a new focus on quality of care. (MSE)