The text of a report by the National Commission on the Role and Future of State Colleges and Universities concerning the need for substantial improvement in the leadership of the sector is presented. (MSE)

The University of Texas' political response to a recent state legislative threat to reduce higher education appropriations by 26 percent and the roles of individuals in the effort are chronicled. (MSE)

A proposed plan to form a public corporation of Oregon's public colleges and universities, designed to increase institutional autonomy and loosen state regulatory ties by establishment of an autonomous governing board, has been defeated, due to characterizations of the plan as a threat to state government and the legislature's power to guard…

The University of California's governing board has agreed to accept the top 4% of graduates from each high school in the state, the most significant expansion of the system's entrance criteria in two decades. The new policy will yield about 3,600 additional eligible students and improve racial/ethnic diversity, which is welcome after a ban on…

Public university officials in Louisiana and Mississippi are treading a narrow line between conflicting directives on affirmative action. In U.S. vs. Louisiana, court orders permit use of affirmative action in admissions for desegregation purposes, but in Hopwood vs. Texas, Louisiana campuses are barred from using affirmative action in admissions…

In at least 10 states, conservative groups are pushing for ballot initiatives to limit gay-rights laws or remove public funding from gay organizations. Legal experts feel colleges and universities would be affected, particularly in constraints placed on curriculum content, college policies and services, and use of institutional facilities for…

The Kentucky governor's plan to remove the state's 14 community colleges from the control of the University of Kentucky and create a new system to administer technical and community colleges has created rancor in the university's community. Many business leaders and presidents of the seven other state universities have endorsed the governor's…

The departure of the University of North Carolina's able and powerful president, William P. Friday, has prompted much debate about the structure and governance of the university system and its relationship to the state legislature. (MSE)

California state commission recommendations cover a wide range of issues, including freshmen and sophomore enrollment at universities, minority student and faculty recruitment, and the tenure review process. The plans would update the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education. (LB)

Data from a national survey of state spending on higher education in 1998 to 1999, organized by state, include dollar appropriations per state institution and for specific program types (community colleges, student aid, vocational/technical education, private colleges, and state commissions, when appropriate), and percentage changes since the…