This paper argues that debate about the need for renewal in undergraduate education should take a back seat to implementation of requisite changes. Evaluation of the renewal process should include obstacles to reform, especially ideological disagreements, time budgets, and reward structures. Five initiatives are proposed to advance the goal of…

A project to help small independent liberal arts colleges integrate technology and the liberal arts in the undergraduate curriculum is considered in this newsletter issue. The first two stages of this project on Technology and the Liberal Arts, which is sponsored by the Council of Independent Colleges, are described, along with the progress of…

The fourteenth annual report on student characteristics as described by age group and sex at the State University of New York (SUNY) is presented. The five sections of the report are divided as follows: (1) summary tables with data for the entire system as well as each institution and institutional type; (2) system summaries of institutions by age…

Great Britain's Nuffield report and the United States' Millis report suggesting strategies for reform in pharmaceutical education and pharmacy practice are compared. (MSE)

Four reasons for attention being focused on the quality of the undergraduate experience are identified: spotlight shifts from school reform movement, teacher education under fire, the shifting of the country's economic development, and the complexity of world problems and increasing citizen cynicism. (MLW)

In a tight job market, IT professionals with database experience are likely to be in great demand. Companies need database personnel who can help improve access to and security of data. The events of September 11 have increased business' awareness of the need for database security, backup, and recovery procedures. It is our responsibility to…

Teachers are finding a new kind of excitement in teaching undergraduates, especially in programs in general and liberal education. Discusses some of these programs and faculty attitudes toward these programs. (Author/RC)

Higher education faces some difficult problems, caused by limited resources and declining enrollments, including planning for retrenchment, the competition between the private and public sectors, the protection of higher education's autonomy, and academia's role in school reform. But the end of growth can also mean a new opportunity for academic…

A large-scale reorganization of higher education based on institutional cooperation and specialization is proposed. The first two years of general B.A. equivalent work would be handled by community colleges and then students would transfer to liberal arts colleges with specialized programs. (Author/MLW)

Recounts a university's attempt to create a more rigorous and rewarding sociology program. Utilizing recommendations from the American Sociological Association the university introduced four levels of sequencing consisting of introductory courses, skills courses, advanced substantive courses, and capstone courses. Concludes that this was a…

Examines aspects of the introductory psychology textbook market through a publishing house survey. Aspects covered are the current and future number of introductory texts, fewer textbook publishers, custom publishing, changing content, and computer technologies. Discusses the results of the publishers' responses and provides statistical tables of…

Reviews three areas of history education reform: (1) teachers must be grounded in the content of their discipline; (2) more collaboration between teacher education and arts and sciences faculty; and (3) systems of evaluation and assessment for students and teachers. Describes the University of Northern Colorado program that provides teacher…

Questions activities of the Holmes Group, noting that, if the activities do not result in the exemplification of excellence in teaching and teacher education, the group's claim to leadership is questionable. The criticism claims that the group discourages more fundamental and promising changes in teacher education than it advocates. (SM)

The generalist-specialist continuum is not as useful an organizing concept for social work education as its supporters believe. Bachelor's and master's programs should be conceived as independent entities, with the bachelor's curriculum focusing on training case managers in public service agencies and the Master's program preparing graduates for…

Asserts that, among trends in higher education, none is more debated than the place of general education and the use of the core curriculum as an antidote to specialized education. Argues that psychology can be effectively presented to undergraduates in an interdisciplinary core curriculum. (CFR)