Smaller, private, independent institutions of higher education across the United States are facing challenging times. This white paper by Edwin H. Welch, president of the University of Charleston, shares lessons gleaned from the institution's innovative efforts over almost 30 years. Welch's hope is that the experiences at the University of…

The Great Lakes Colleges Association, composed of twelve small liberal arts colleges in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan, has been a leader in the integration of women's studies into the curriculum of its member schools. The consortial approach and the women's studies program are described. (MLW)

If colleges and universities wish to internationalize the curriculum, they must provide faculty with foreign study opportunities and assist them with the design of interdisciplinary collaborations. Two institutions and one consortium that have created promising and unique approaches to this kind of faculty development are profiled. (MSE)

The Pacific Northwest International/Intercultural Education Consortium was formed as a means for colleges, universities, and community organizations to assist one another in bringing global perspectives to their curricula, in expanding their overseas programs, in improving their services to foreign students, and in nurturing international…

Initial efforts to internationalize the curricula in two-year colleges in the Pacific Northwest were met with a number of barriers, including an unwillingness by four-year institutions to recognize the two-year college programs and implement revisions of their own programs, funding problems, and state-level skepticism of the need for international…

Faced with increased economic pressures and simulatneous demands for high-quality diverse educational options, Kansas Wesleyan, Kansas Technical Institute, and Marymount College have sought to promote innovation, cooperation, and efficiency through a unified program of instructional development. To that end, inservice workshops have been conducted…

A selection of essays deals with current issues in American higher education, offering a variety of views. Essays include an overview of contemporary higher education, and discussions of: changes in typical college curricula; changes in the college calendar and their effects on curriculum; the present status of nontraditional studies; the growth…

Designed to provide direction for new and existing programs offered by community colleges in public service occupational education, phase one of the master plan focused on defining the following areas: public service occupational education, present status of programs, problems in articulation, and a conceptual framework for a public service master…

Backers of Western Governors University hope it will revolutionize the ways colleges compete for students, professors teach, and education is measured, and believe the virtual university can help contain the costs of educating growing numbers of students in the 16 participating states. However, the administration faces challenges in areas of…

The role of institutional research in postsecondary education in view of the trend toward consortia, regionalism, and other manifestations of "communiversity" or interinstitutional action is evaluated. Attention is also directed to new modes for policy planning and decision-making. Four activities were conducted in order to better…

In an effort to increase the effectiveness of international studies and to improve resource sharing among institutions, Kalamazoo Valley Community College (KVCC), in Michigan, has created a consortium for international studies and foreign languages among 15 Michigan community colleges and Michigan State University (MSU). The consortium was funded…

A study examined how five colleges and universities with stated commitments to public service incorporate volunteerism and service-learning into organizational structures. Results suggest that institutions that make centralized decisions and share governance are more apt to institutionalize service-learning than are more loosely coupled systems.…

This issue on liberal education contains two short articles on National Project IV and descriptions of liberal education offerings at colleges and universities in the United States. The articles by Richard Hendrix and Zelda F. Gamson discuss objectives of the project and its history. National Project IV, sponsored by the Fund for the Improvement…