The relationship between the history of the student and contemporary student life is explored, and enduring patterns are identified in three areas: the social origins of students; student culture and activism; and the perceived academic quality of students. It is concluded that students should be heard and taken more seriously. (MSE)

A study of the relationship of high school academic and vocational education courses to success in college for 224 freshmen found that courses taken in high school are not significantly related to college grade point average or college graduation. (JOW)

Argues against the increasing vocationalization of university education as exemplified by workplace approaches to learning. Suggests that this trend threatens the existence of the liberal university that was traditionally isolated from the economy and fostered knowledge acquisition for virtue rather than utility. Evidence of this trend is seen in…

Suggests that the perspectives developed by humanities as part of education in science, technology, and medicine can offer enrichment in ways that lead to both use and delight. Sketches some activities at the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine (ICSTM) in London concerned with liberal education and describes some of the…

A U.S. Department of Education study concluded that the most significant predictor of college completion is not SAT scores or socioeconomic status, but a school curriculum's academic intensity: advanced math, 4 years of English, 2 years of lab science and foreign language, and advanced-placement courses. (MLH)

This document contains three papers on aviation education. "Academic Integrity in Higher Education: Is Collegiate Aviation Education at Risk?" (Jeffrey A. Johnson) discusses academic integrity and legal issues in higher education and argues that academic integrity needs to be an integral part of collegiate aviation education if students expect to…

Montclair (New Jersey) State College sought to develop a structure that would facilitate the strengthening of humanistic perspectives in its students and would enable students to see the connections between their academic studies and the complex aspects of the meaning of being human in a world that is increasingly fragmented. Six pairs of faculty…

A brief analysis of the reform movement in teacher education is presented, focusing upon the reports of the Carnegie Forum and the Holmes Group. Comparisons are made between the recommendations of the two reports, and it is pointed out that they are similar in terms of goals and directions, differing more in form than substance. Specific…

This paper delineates several of the major problems confronting teacher educators, public school instructors, and school corporations today: changes in public school populations; difficulties in recruiting quality teacher education candidates; and problems in initiating significant changes in teacher education programs. It makes a plea for the…

In order to restore public confidence in intercollegiate athletics (following well-publicized problems) it is necessary to address a set of serious systematic problems, suggests the president of the American Council on Education. Diagnosis and treatment of the underlying pathology is important to avoid dealing with the symptoms alone. The…

The professional lives of "vital" professors in the areas of arts and humanities, mathematics and natural sciences, and the social sciences are examined, and common and subject-area specific factors (such as attributes, activities, and sources of support) closely associated with faculty vitality are identified. Subjects were chosen from…

The conventional view of academic specialization is discussed, and the disciplines of biology and political science are used as illustrations. The analysis is based on literature studies concerning the two fields, interviews with five prominent persons in each field, and interviews with 32 biology and 32 political science faculty from 16 schools.…

The ingredients of an academic program development plan, with special attention to the processes and criteria supporting decisions on program priorities, are delineated. External and internal inputs to decision-making are discussed and three case examples are given. Major considerations involved in integrating budgetary decisions are identified.…

A questionnaire was developed to obtain student perceptions of the quality of departmental academic programs to aid in an overall departmental program evaluation. Student majors in 48 academic departments were surveyed. Descriptions of questionnaire development, reporting procedures, statistical properties, and data on questionnaire utility are…

This article describes an operating college advising services model which uses paraprofessionals. The article recounts the ways in which the model has been implemented in one college, describes the model's salient characteristics, indicates that the model is research-based and, most importantly, includes replication guidelines for practitioners in…