Since the 2016 presidential campaign, for better or worse, the general public and media have placed rural America in the national spotlight. While the election placed an important spotlight on the lives, challenges, and strengths of people living in rural communities, the spotlight came with the perpetuation of myths of rural America (e.g., people…

At least two dozen political action committees in six states (Alabama, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Texas, Washington) accept donations and contribute to legislators on behalf of diverse colleges and universities. Defenders say the political committees help keep the institutions' allies in office and protect access to them. Critics feel public…

Under full scrutiny, the Strategic Defense Initiative program is revealed as a form of escapism from global realities, with dangerous and destabilizing themes for both the university and society. Universities must face this issue squarely, and limit their focus to activities best suited to an intellectually constructive and humane purpose. (MSE)

States that community colleges are in a good position to be centers of lifelong education and that adult educators must engage in politics in order to promote learning opportunities for adults. Suggests legislative, administrative, judicial, and electoral strategies for adult educators to use in influencing policymakers to support lifelong…

In technologically advanced American society, the black struggle for education is rooted in the historical struggle to overturn racial oppression, economic exploitation, and cultural/ideological domination. In this society, where the state functions to perpetuate existing structures of political, economic, and ideological dominance, education has…

Substantial and rapid changes in administrative structure and governance have been effected in Portuguese universities in recent years, characterized by democratization and increased institutional autonomy. (MSE)

Fundamental tensions between the traditional notion of educational quality, the ideal of cultural pluralism, and public policy are examined in the context of higher education. The responsibility of the university and the academic profession to take a part in resolving those tensions through constructive change is discussed. (MSE)

Proceedings are presented of a conference that examined the purposes and setting of tertiary education in Australia in the changing social order of the 1980s, the future roles for tertiary education in Australia, and the pattern and form of accountability appropriate to Australian tertiary education in the late twentieth century. Papers and…

Obstacles to the reform of British higher education include central government ineffectiveness, internal institutional policies, the tradition of institutional autonomy, diffusion of power, strong conservative political ties within the faculty, and economic recession. Reform of higher education is impossible without reform of the entire…

Federal involvement in higher education during 1950-1983 is reviewed. Policies and programs that have governed federal support of academic science and higher education are considered, particularly support for basic scientific research. The Soviet's success with Sputnik promoted change from modest funding for defense-related research at selected…

A review of the evolution of Brazilian policy for higher education concludes that the conflicts, shifts in decision arenas, and decisional paralysis reflect (1) basic lack of consensus in the nature, goals, and possibilities of higher education in a society, and (2) disagreement about the resources available to a government. (Author/MSE)

Management aids required in strategic planning are divided into three categories: (1) assessing the environment, (2) providing a process for reaching decisions, and (3) presenting criteria to evaluate strategic decisions. A model for scanning the environment has four dimensions that concern economic, social, knowledge-technology, and public policy…

Two periods in British higher education are compared for the approaches taken to widening educational access. It is concluded that government policy in the postwar period emphasized expansion for the purposes of labor force development, whereas more recent expansion policy reflects a government commitment to greater accountability and social…

The progress of postapartheid curriculum in South Africa's universities is examined, beginning with examination of the apartheid legacy in higher education and proceeding to the politics of changes in national educational policy. It is concluded that, despite efforts to change policy at the national level, universities have done little to…

Since establishment of national university systems in Mexico and Venezuela, three principal demands have dominated policy formation: government ideological demand; economic demand for expertise; and political and social demand for upward mobility through education. Tensions between these demands have stemmed from economic inability to sustain…