This is the 11th paper in AGB's series summarizing federal and state public policy issues affecting higher education. We hope that governing boards, institutional and university-system leaders, and senior staffs will find it useful for board discussions and retreats and in formulating institutional responses to these issues. For the next two…

Outlines the federal legislative and regulatory processes concerning student financial aid, with the objective of encouraging participation in modification of the rules by which schools, lenders, servicers, and guaranty agencies must administer Title IV (Higher Education Act) financial aid. Topics discussed include authorization/reauthorization,…

A discussion of federal policy on research integrity and scientific misconduct chronicles the history of federal involvement in accountability in the scientific community, forms of intervention, determination of the boundaries of misconduct, and the rights of whistle blowers. Official definitions and standards are presented. (MSE)

Implications of two trends in Australian higher education are considered. These trends are shift to a fee-for-services system in which the government pays less of the cost of higher education; and move toward deregulation, with elimination of centralized planning and emphasis placed on institutional response to student demand. (MSE)

A discussion of the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) policies concerning computation of indirect costs on federally funded research projects at universities focuses on recent policy changes. Significant revisions are examined, future points of scrutiny are noted, and ongoing initiatives are described. Three options for indirect cost…

Questions and answers by the Association of American Universities address some issues in the complex matter of indirect costs for research projects, including the different kinds of costs, federal treatment of them, the federal indirect cost system, cost allocation, the memorandum of understanding, variation among institutions' costs, and cost…

Lawmakers say that the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 will reduce regulatory burden, bring costs down, and broaden access to higher education. Features of the law are explained, including student aid programs and delivery provisions, student-loan program changes, and college reporting requirements. Miscellaneous other provisions are…

The evolution of the definition of scientific misconduct in two federal agencies, the Public Health Service/National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, is examined, and the resulting regulatory definitions are contrasted. Further change is anticipated as the definitions are criticized and challenged. (MSE)

The practical application of federal employment discrimination policy as fashioned and implemented by regulations under the Labor Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is assessed in this report designed as a practitioner's guide. To comply with the regulations, each facility must perform various statistical analyses…

Implications of academic collective bargaining and unionization in Australian higher education are examined in the context of different models of bargaining advocated by the national government and federal opposition. Problems foreseen include diminution of employment conditions, morale, staff quality, and instructional quality as well as…

A discussion of scientific fraud and research misconduct looks at the federal mandate for more effective control by institutions and sponsoring agencies, the response of higher education associations, and issues awaiting consensus development, including anonymous reports, protection of the "whistle-blower," legal representation, and the…

The process of reauthorization of college student financial aid legislation may be instrumental in reducing the burden and complexity of the financial aid application and need analysis process through simplification. Exempting some students, permitting more to use simplified need analysis, and streamlining reapplication are steps in the right…

Analysis of the evolution of the regulatory process in federal student aid looks at the ability of stakeholders to influence results and concerns about overregulation. Alternative regulatory approaches, considered less burdensome, are examined, and the appropriateness of using student financial aid policy to achieve social and political objectives…

Intercollegiate athletics is receiving more attention from the federal government because an institution's academic information is seen as consumer information for prospective student-athletes. The Student Athlete Right-to-Know Act, enacted as part of the Campus Security Act of 1990, requires federally funded institutions to report detailed…

Nationwide interest in restoring excellence to education continued into 1984, but made no dent in the Reagan administration's determination to eliminate federal library programs. Congress is again resisting this third year of zero budgets, despite efforts to contain soaring federal deficits. Few issues pending in this second session of the 98th…