The new director of the National Institute of Education, Thomas K. Glennan, Jr., describes the institute and its functions. (PG)

The President's proposal to establish a Federally financed foundation to stimulate academic reform has produced interesting ideological and political alignments. (Editor)

Discusses whether the President can impound or withold funds appropriated by Congress for higher education. (PG)

Four opinions are presented concerning the controversy over state/federal government responsibility for higher education. (Editor/PG)

A congressional staff member explains why Congress has difficulty controlling the federal role in higher education and suggests ways the higher education community can help make the federal government a more effective and responsive partner, e.g. assessment of the impact of federal programs by a coalition of nongovernment organizations. (JT)

Criticising human capital analysis as it has been applied to public policy (e.g. seeing educational institutions as means to greater personal and national income and substituting capital for labor, which causes competition for students' borrowed money), the author argues for a negative income tax and an endowment funding for institutions of higher…

Student loan programs have been racked by defaults, bankruptcies, and administrative trivia, causing Congress to search for another system. Under consideration is a loan that would be repaid to the Internal Revenue Service through a withholding tax. However, better collection efforts with the present system are producing encouraging results. (JMD)

The National Endowment for the Humanities is criticized for not providing greater leadership both within the government and among potential sources of private financial support for the humanities. (MSE)