Young immigrants--about 1.4 million of them nationally--are often in the wrong place at the wrong time. Across the country, a patchwork of state laws and policies governs their access to higher education. The inconsistency stems, in part, from disagreement over whether undocumented immigrants are entitled to go to college. While states must…

Faculty unions outside Michigan have reason to be concerned with its passage of legislation barring unions from collecting fees from workers who do not join them. But the experiences of faculty unions in states that adopted such laws years ago suggest that while the measures can be a major hindrance to their work, they are not a death blow.…

New regulations may expand the thicket of student-privacy law, but the U.S. Department of Education hopes that an in-depth guide will help colleges and universities find their way. Last week the department released new rules on the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (Ferpa), which governs the disclosure of student records. The regulations…

Educators, mental-health officials, and law-enforcement officers often do not share information about troubled students because they are confused by what they can disclose under complex and overlapping privacy laws, according to a report on the Virginia Tech shootings. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and two other Bush cabinet secretaries…

Legislatures are set to convene in January in 43 states. This article presents the key issues that are expected to be debated by legislatures in states this year. These issues include: (1) Annulment of a controversial law in Texas that guarantees students who graduate in the top 10 percent of their high-school classes admission to any public…

Describes how, in the arena of women's sports and colleges, the 1972 law has created a legacy of increased opportunities and controversy. Offers statistics on the law's effects on women's participation. (EV)

Describes how the burden on colleges of complying with the Patriot Act could be eased by three bills introduced in Congress. (EV)

Describes how Drexel University has adopted provisions of a tough new financial reporting law aimed at corporations, with skeptics wondering if such steps are too excessive for colleges. (EV)

A new Louisiana law requires that sports agents register with the state, and it lists strict prohibitions on what they are allowed to do. The NCAA has been studying ways to tackle the problem but has not yet proposed any new solutions so states are taking matters into their own hands. (MLW)

Describes how campus administrators are scrambling to follow federal rules that force colleges to comply with a law, the Financial Services Modernization Act, requiring that personal data be protected from computer mishaps. (EV)

Describes why a new law requiring California colleges to warn people of security breaches involving their computerized personal data has administrators worried about both cost and liability. (EV)

An Immigration and Naturalization Services' interpretation of the 1986 immigration law says immigrants' use of federal aid for purposes other than for books, tuition, and fees, might put their ability to become citizens in jeopardy. (MLW)

Characteristics of "sunshine" laws in the 50 states are identified and compared, based on data from the Association of Governing Boards of Colleges and Universities in a study of administration selection. (MLW)

Many college administrators feel that they need to start planning for the possibility that some faculty members may decide to work longer when the retirement age is lifted. They are concerned that a study by the National Academy of Sciences has stalled. (MLW)

New state laws governing charitable solicitations may soon place restrictions on college phonathons and other fund-raising activities. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in March on a 1985 North Carolina solicitations law and the decision could affect many fund-raising activities of colleges and nonprofit organizations. (MLW)