State higher education officers agree that reforms of higher education have budgetary effects their supporters fail to consider, and they are in the position of having to explain the real costs of new programs and policies. (MSE)

Recent political action by the Higher Education Assistance Foundation, the largest student-loan guarantee agency, has highlighted the increase in contributions by administrators, faculty, owners of proprietary schools, and lobbyists to legislators' campaigns, and the growing sophistication of the process. Supporters call it prudent; opponents…

Asian-Americans, who have traditionally shied away from political activity or have focused efforts more narrowly, are emerging in California as a workable political force in a statewide lobbying organization. (MSE)

Researchers and college administrators say fraud by researchers is rare and that continuing Congressional hearings and widespread publicity have seriously damaged the political influence of academic research. They fear increased regulation of federally supported work, loss of support for federal financing, and Congressional attempts to validate…

Aggressive campaigns by small groups of citizens have made it nearly impossible to close or merge public colleges, with the result that parochial interests often triumph over the needs of the state as a whole and higher education planning is becoming more political and less logical. (Author/MSE)

Leaders of urban public universities and many state legislators are challenging the high status of states'"flagship" institutions, saying local institutions can serve local needs best, and are unwilling to defer to premier research universities in requests for general support and new programs. (MSE)

A combination of political and economic conditions create a grim outlook for state colleges in most parts of the country, in contrast to the optimism of a few years ago about the use of higher education programs to promote state economies. (MSE)

Appropriations requests made by state coordinating boards or individual systems for 1988-89 and the political outlook for higher-education-related legislation are outlined for each of the 50 states. (MSE)

Bad economic times and the election of a staunchly conservative governor have forced Wisconsin university officials and government leaders into controversy over the future of the University of Wisconsin System. (MSE)

A Bowdoin College (Maine) policy banning military recruitment on campus, because the armed forces will not recruit openly gay people, has been dropped because of the introduction of federal legislation cutting off federal research funding to colleges barring military recruitment. (MSE)

In briefs filed with the Supreme Court, the Clinton administration, higher-education and civil-rights groups, colleges, and law schools are urging the court to uphold the legality of race-exclusive scholarships in a University of Maryland case. The briefs emphasize the scholarships' value in promoting diverse student bodies. (MSE)

Interest in quantifying the results of state economic development programs, most involving financial support to colleges and universities, in creating jobs may raise new questions about the appropriate relationship of campus researchers and business leaders. (MSE)

Problems and controversies involving public black colleges are reported in the context of the recent Supreme Court decision suggesting states should merge historically black colleges with geographically close, predominantly white institutions. In some cases white political leaders are blamed for potential closures of vulnerable institutions.…