The emergence of interest in the quantitative, structural, and administrative aspects of higher education as a field of study is chronicled, and comparisons are made in the ways the institutional research field developed in the United States and Western Europe. (MSE)

A survey of Canadian universities identified six offering graduate students credit courses on university teaching/learning. Limited resources restrict the numbers who take the courses. Half are sponsored by graduate schools. Benefits of the courses are noted and factors to consider in initiating similar courses are suggested. (Author/MSE)

Dichotomizes academic research and educational policymaking as distinct and often conflicting cultures. Examines legislative support of higher education as an illustration of the research-policy disconnection. Summarizes recent criticisms of higher education research. Discusses differing "mind frames" of researchers and policymakers,…

The president of the University of Vermont discusses the relationship between higher education research and practice from an administrative viewpoint. She suggests that good campus decision making begins with a base of scholarly knowledge that is generated by higher education researchers and is ideally modeled by higher education leaders who…

While the scholarship of teaching has risen in prominence in the past few decades, little is presently known about the structure of knowledge creation and dissemination in that area of scholarship. Such basic facts as the characteristics of programs that perform and publish the research (e.g., B.A., M.A., or Ph.D.), or the identities of specific…

An overview of the nature and content of doctoral study in higher education is presented, focusing on an analysis of the literature indicating potential outcomes of these programs. The type of training for academic administrators and the significance of this training for degree recipients and for colleges and universities are examined. The study…

The Nova University Programs for Higher Education Summer Institute was evaluated using data collected from two instruments: the Overall Evaluation, a modification of the 1985 Summer Institute Evaluation Form, and the Evaluation of Concurrent Sessions, an instrument utilized for the first time in 1986 to evaluate each concurrent session. These…

Patterns that emerged from reviewing eight syllabi for core courses on institutional research and planning (IRP) in higher education are discussed, and a sample syllabus is presented. Course titles used in the IRP core graduate-level courses are identified, along with the course purpose and objectives, when specified. It is noted that most of the…

The academic training needs of two-year college mathematics faculty are discussed in this paper and appropriate courses of study are proposed. After introductory comments on the diversity of two-year college students' needs for mathematics education, an undergraduate course of study appropriate for two-year college math faculty is proposed. This…

The view that organizational theory should be a required component of graduate preparation in student affairs is addressed. After defining organizational behavior, conventional models and nonorthodox perspectives on organizing are contrasted. Implications of nonorthodox perspectives for leadership are also considered. Suggestions are offered of…

The Japanese university system has been evolving gradually from more traditional patterns to more modern ones in terms of increased efficiency and participation, as well as from an elite to a mass enrollment system. However, the basic patterns of control and decisionmaking have changed little. The universities have been able to resist intrusions…

We need conceptual assistance in thinking about access to higher education, systematic categories that will help us analyze and compare the national academic structures that condition problems of access and solutions thereto. An approach that centers on basic structure directs attention to the heavy historical momentum of massive systems of higher…

A teacher's experiences in teaching higher education in the United States during the 1981 fall semester at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are discussed. The course is an introductory course for graduate students in the higher and adult education doctoral program, but it also attracts students from throughout the university and…

In an informal address, this David Jacks Professor of Higher Education offers a historical review of decision-making in American higher education. This discussion centers around these milestones: the founding of Harvard in 1636; the first alumni gift in 1648; faculty organization in 1725; annual subventions for state universities in 1805; the…

In 2001, 11 Texas universities offering doctoral programs in education completed surveys about the focus of their programs on preparing teacher educators. Overall, three stated that their degrees in educational leadership were designed primarily to prepare school leaders, but might prepare teacher educators. The rest cited as teacher education…