Describes how Modesto A. Maidique, president of Florida International University, uses his business savvy and his connections in an effort to push it higher among the ranks of research institutions. (EV)

Women in college athletics are finding that homophobia is widespread and that identification as a lesbian can damage their careers. It is common practice to label a coach a lesbian either to minimize complaints about sex discrimination in program funding or to draw prospective athletes away from her program. (MSE)

Asserts that state colleges, squeezed between research universities and community colleges, are falling even further behind due to pressure from legislators and growing competition from distance education and for-profit institutions. Discusses various issues in their decline and attempted makeovers, including faculty, "mission creep," declining…

The University of Miami has established 19 new rules aimed at orienting student-athletes to the campus, preparing them for the pressures of college athletics, and ending incidents of embarrassing athlete behavior. (MSE)

Some teacher education programs are opting to discontinue national certification for reasons of cost, duplication of effort, or standards considered too prescriptive or inappropriate. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education feels that tougher standards and regular review of programs is essential to educational reform and…

Explores how many professors who moonlight for unaccredited Kennedy-Western University are proud to do so, but not all. (EV)

Increasingly, colleges and universities are using field offices and representatives to recruit applicants at a distance from the institutions. Representatives often spend significant amounts of time with a single student. The practice is particularly popular among colleges wishing to build name recognition and to elevate a narrow market segment in…

Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin have invested funds and energy into their local Milwaukee communities through community development and local partnerships. Despite criticism and costs, the projects have raised institutional profiles and improved reputations. (MSE)

As the ultimate symbol of excellence, the Nobel Prize has had a tremendous effect on scholars, institutions, and national pride. Topics discussed include: recruitment and fund raising, salaries and other perks, "raids" from other institutions, students seeking out winners, publication declines, etc. (MLW)

In response to the controversial college rankings published in national magazines, Stanford University (California) has posted some of the statistics used in the "U.S. News and World Report" on its World Wide Web site. It encourages other institutions to do the same to make the information readily available without the perceived…

Several colleges and universities have been accredited by the relatively new American Academy for Liberal Education, but at Rhodes College (Tennessee), faculty are concerned that a connection to the group might introduce unwanted conservative political ideology into the campus culture. The Academy has 16 traditional liberal arts standards,…

The American Academy for Liberal Education, established in 1992, has gained a reputation for conservatism that is unpopular among the liberal arts professoriate, which is historically liberal, but the Academy insists its only cause is undergraduate education. The Academy recently won approval from the federal government to accredit entire…

Leaders of urban public universities and many state legislators are challenging the high status of states'"flagship" institutions, saying local institutions can serve local needs best, and are unwilling to defer to premier research universities in requests for general support and new programs. (MSE)

In each of the past three years, a dozen or so public and private colleges have elevated themselves to universities, less because of substantial institutional changes than to highlight institutional vision and communicate prestige, in turn improving fund raising. Many have gradually added master's degree programs. Private colleges can change…

The 28 institutions currently sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association for violation of association regulations are listed. For each institution, the specific violations and penalties are noted. Violations are largely in recruitment, financial aid, benefits to athletes, and program administration and penalties are in competition,…