Colleges are appointing senior-level people to handle public relations. Concerns about the public's skepticism include: setbacks in Congress, attacks on moneymaking operations, academic quality, dissatisfaction of employers, cynicism about college sports, anxieties about cost, competition for resources, scandals, etc. (MLW)

A LISREL analysis demonstrates the value of regressing reputational ratings on three latent variables: size, faculty research productivity, and the quality of program graduates. The model was tested using National Research Council data for each of six disciplines: English, French, philosophy, geography, political science, and sociology.…

Alarmed by growing criticism, the author presents a defense of American public education, citing evidence that today we educate more students, that students are achieving more, and that the schools are the least expensive and most effective of our social institutions. He urges other educators to join his defense. (SJL)

A study involving interviews with 50 academic leaders revealed that college fund raising is a team effort; the institution's president is typically the central player; presidents should focus fund-raising attention on major gifts and administrative leadership; academic quality and institutional prestige are critical factors; and fund raising is…

The current challenge for higher education is not to change its traditional beliefs but to become more conscious of them and the role they play in academic life. Such inquiry will show that preoccupation with acquiring resources, enhancing reputations, and being smart has had an effect contrary to academics' own best interests and to the…

The Chronicle of Higher Education recently reported on a conference of scholars and senior administrators at Harvard discussing "The Future of Religious Colleges" (McMurtrie, 2000). The irony of the meeting's venue is readily apparent. Having been founded by Puritan Christians in 1636 and soon given the motto, Christo et Ecclesiae, the beginning…

This paper explains the current reforms in basic and higher education in the Philippines. Specifically, internal and external enablers in the educational environment were reviewed as justifications of the reforms both at the national level as well at the individual teacher. The reforms were treated in the light of four perspectives in the…

The annual "U.S. News and World Report" "America's Best Colleges" issue has become the nation's de facto higher education accountability system, evaluating colleges and universities on a common scale and creating strong incentives for institutions to do things that raise their ratings. But, says the author, the "U.S. News" ranking system is deeply…

Elements of educational quality and ways in which quality is estimated are identified, with specific attention to conditions that are prerequisite to achieving high levels of quality in universities. The quality of a university may be estimated by examining prestigous institutions based on reputational studies, by quantitative descriptions of…

Three kinds of research concerning quality in higher education (reputational, objective indicators, and quantitative correlate) are described and illustrated, the merits and disadvantages of each are discussed, and the present state of research on educational quality is examined. (MSE)

When a college or university's identity is closely linked to its education mission, the quality of student life and the effectiveness of the educational program assumes much greater importance. The talent development view of excellence that emphasizes the educational impact of the institution on its students is discussed. (MLW)

"U.S. News & World Report" has published a ranking of the top 50 MBA programs since 1990. Today, there are more than a half dozen different rankings of MBA programs and they are so popular and powerful, that prospective students, alumni, legislators, college presidents, deans, and admissions officers wait with bated breath to see where their…

The purpose of this study was to replicate the Notaro, O'Rourke, and Eddy study to rank doctoral programs in health education, incorporating comments from professionals in health education to enhance the ranking study methods. This study used a multiple set of variables weighted by scholars and leaders in the field of health education. These…

University administrators at George Mason University have aggressively solicited local corporations for donations to help finance faculty salaries in competitive fields such as engineering. They attribute their success to a "symbiotic relationship" with the Northern Virginia business community. (MLW)

Although numerous quality ratings exist in today's media-centric environment (Money Magazine, and U.S. News and World Report, etc.), it is quite difficult to provide any reasonably meaningful estimates of institutional quality, either qualitative or quantitative. Global ratings of university "quality" abound, despite the fact that there…