About 150 colleges and universities have created benefit programs for employees' domestic partners, but few eligible employees have enrolled, either because the partners have benefits elsewhere or prefer not to use the program. However, the impacts on enrollees' lives can be substantial. Most institutions require domestic partners to complete…

Many colleges are announcing tuition rises of 7 percent to 10 percent, with costs continuing to rise. While the public has accepted tuition increases so far, there is concern that private institutions will price themselves out of the market. Several universities are beginning a new pricing policy favoring returning students. (MSE)

The University of California at San Diego medical center has restricted the number of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome patients it treats, to avoid (1) limiting educational and treatment opportunities for medical students and (2) assuming a disproportionate amount of treatment costs. The policy is intended to provoke discussion of these issues.…

A federal appeals court has ruled that the University of Virginia, as a public institution, correctly denied a request that it help finance a Christian newspaper. The case centered on school policy concerning student organizations and is expected to go to the Supreme Court. (MSE)

Exchange of obscene materials on college computer networks is raising free-speech issues and concern about public response. Standards of conduct for computer use by faculty, administrators, and students are under consideration on a number of campuses. Legality of the materials and appropriate use of institutional resources are also issues. (MSE)

The Ivy League colleges, formally charged with violating federal antitrust laws, agreed to stop setting joint financial-aid policies and sharing information about aid packages. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology denies violating any laws. A group of 23 prestigious institutions, the Overlap Group, have collaborated annually on financial aid.…

A federal appeals court ruled that judges may not dismiss handicapped-discrimination lawsuits against universities solely on the basis of official university statements that allegedly discriminatory practices are appropriate for the academic programs involved. The decision keeps alive a case in which a dyslexic student could not take a…

In this article, the author shares his experiences as a professor of English at Monroe Community College in New York. He compares teaching at a community college as something similar to transporting lost souls across the River Styx. He relates that the open door admissions policy practiced at his school has given him opportunities to reach out to…

A report sent to colleges called on presidents to adopt an official policy condemning sexual assault, revise student conduct codes to prohibit it specifically, modify living arrangements of victims and the accused, establish programs for victims, and heighten campus security. (MSE)

A University of Maryland panel on drug abuse hopes its report on drug policies, enforcement, and education will become a prototype for other colleges and universities. It uses four approaches to combat substance abuse: education and counseling, discipline, drug testing, and law enforcement. (MSE)

The persistence of dangerous initiation rituals in student organizations despite administrative and legislative efforts to end them is examined. (MSE)

Removal of tenured college faculty can be a lengthy, expensive, and divisive process sometimes resulting in lawsuits. Institutions are examining what constitutes improper or unethical faculty behavior, appropriate cause for dismissal under tenure, and fair procedures for considering termination. Cases at Rutgers University (New Jersey) and the…

A male student in a California State University-Sacramento psychology lecture on female masturbation has filed a sexual harassment complaint, claiming the lecture violated institutional policy by creating an intimidating, hostile, and offensive learning environment. He felt the lecture was inappropriately graphic and political in intent. (MSE)

With legal threats against them mounting, trustees of public and private colleges alike are hearing mixed and vague messages about how much they personally have at stake in lawsuits aimed at their institutions' affirmative-action policies. Few cases in either federal or states courts provide guidance on trustees' potential individual liability.…

In light of recent debate over the censorship of articles, college alumni publications editors are seeking to establish professional guidelines for publication content and clearer lines of authority within institutional administration. They feel alumni magazines should be interesting and reflect current issues on campus, even when controversial.…