As campuses grow, they have become more confusing, unwieldy, and expensive. Colleges may have to forfeit a physical face and space for every function of the institution. A unique planning challenge is the interface between physical and virtual realms. As institutions go increasingly online, physical space can be freed for collegial encounters and…

Five members of the Commission on the Academic Presidency (Michael Schwartz, Garrey Caruthers, Mary Maples Dunn, Paul D. Schauer, Donald G. Phelps) reflect on how the commission's recommendations to public and higher education leaders can encourage meaningful, lasting change in college governance. Each speaks from a different policy perspective…

It is argued that well-conceived college and university mission statements can be useful in setting objectives for planning and for public information dissemination and marketing. The experience of the University of Calgary (Alberta) illustrates a successful process of drafting and reaching agreement on such a document. (MSE)

Presents survey results on the movement to abolish corporal punishment in public education. Reports that fundamentalist Protestants are more supportive of corporal punishment than others. Predicts that religion is likely to be the route for public mobilization on this issue. Suggests that the greater punitiveness of Protestant fundamentalists…

A discussion of the ways that college faculty roles and rewards are changing looks at documents from four institutions that delineate institutional change from different perspectives. A change process initiated by a 7-campus group is also outlined, and initiatives under way at 10 additional colleges are described briefly. (MSE)

Current approaches used by private colleges and universities to manage trustee conflicts of interest are analyzed, and recommendations are made for developing appropriate trustee conflict-of-interest policies. Many of these institutions have not expressly adopted adequate policies that procedurally and substantively address the problem, despite…

In serving students, financial aid officers must address issues outside the scope of the financial aid program, including admissions, academic policy, institutional bureaucracy, student consumer education, and pricing. These require policy decisions and resource allocations the financial aid administrator cannot make alone. Cooperation and support…

A Ball State University (Indiana) program to strengthen student retention involves a Freshman-Year Experience Committee of 40 professionals representing key units in academic and student affairs who collaborate to respond to the needs of first-year students. The committee has designed policies for freshman dismissal and midterm evaluation that are…

Examines the challenges to colleges and universities associated with maintaining privacy as use of technology increases and technology advances. Lapses in security, types of information needing protection, liability under federal laws, other relevant laws and pending legislation, ethics, and policy implementation in the electronic age are…

Sociologists define norms as configurations of belief about behavior expected in various situations or circumstances. Members of social groups share these expectations for behavior. Accordingly, norms embraced by student peer groups influence the behavior of their members, which, in turn, affects the learning experiences of college students. In…

In accordance with provincial educational regulations, Quebec's community colleges have adopted "politiques institutionnelles d'evaluation des apprentissages" (PIEA), or institutional policies of the evaluation of learning. This report provides a synthesis of evaluations of the PIEA conducted by the province's Commission on the…

This document for school-council members in Kentucky provides guidelines for school-based decision making (SBDM). In 1990, the Kentucky State legislature passed the Education Reform Act (KERA), which mandated SBDM in Kentucky schools and recommended the formation of school councils composed of the principal, three teachers, and two parents. The…

This paper focuses on four functions common to colleges and universities that can be a source of liability when plaintiffs seek to impose on the school duties of care relating to alcohol or drug abuse: the college's limited role (1) as supervisor of student conduct; (2) as property owner; (3) as seller of alcohol; and (4) as "social…

The purpose of this compendium is to provide tools for college and university counsel and administrators to consider their institution's approach concerning the balance of First Amendment values with the harm caused by racial harassment. Section I examines the development of the University of Michigan's initial policy broadly regulating…

Elementary and secondary school teachers in 38 schools were asked to indicate how much influence the teachers at their schools had in decisions about school policy issues. For each policy issue, teachers checked one of three responses: a lot of influence, some influence, or no influence. Overall, teachers rated themselves as having the most…