Reporters' perceived concern for their editors' news priorities and their own role self-concepts were examined for their effects on how reporters covering the Indiana State Assembly used diverse sources of information. Subjects, 34 reporters and 39 state senators, were surveyed concerning their contacts with each other during the 1982 legislative…

The document presents hearings before the Subcommittee on Public Health, Education, Welfare, and Safety of the 92nd Congress concerning the proposed District of Columbia Youth Act of 1971. The bill proposed to establish a Youth Commission, an Office of Youth Commissioner, and a Youth Commissioner's Advisory Board to plan, coordinate, and monitor…

Many campus administrators in Alabama also serve in the state legislature, participating in debates and votes affecting their institutions. The potential for conflicts of interest has damaged state policy on higher education. Some recent incidents are described. (MLW)

Means by which state legislatures practice evaluation are examined by analyzing oversight strategies for monitoring recent educational reforms in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania. Focus is on the inextricable link between politics and oversight; the oversight strategy and methods for policy evaluation are largely…

Minority politicians who believe that colleges have ignored them in the past are winning political posts that are crucial for higher education and are using their new power. The ethnic composition of the faculty at the University of New Mexico has been the target of legislators in the last year. (MLW)

Includes "A Capital Connection: In Washington State Educators and Legislators Find Common Ground" (Lozada); "Changing Voters' Minds in Cincinnati" (Ciancio); and "In California, Businesses and Schools Recognize Their Interdependence." (SK)

A study examining factors influencing decisions state legislators make about school finance focuses on votes in Michigan, Missouri, and Washington. Each of these states passed major school finance reform legislation during the 1970's and used open legislative procedures in which individual legislators were free to vote their consciences.…

In an investigation of the communication similarities and differences between male and female legislators, the nine female representatives in the Michigan House of Representatives were matched with nine male representatives on four variables: political party, length of legislative service, district represented, and race. The representatives were…

Five papers are presented from a legislative seminar on budgeting for higher education and the legislative oversight process. In "Budgeting: A University Perspective," Jack K. Williams addresses the preparation of an institutional budget, what legislators should know about budgets, plans for no-growth or retrenchment, and the importance…

Consideration is given to determining strategies that are most effective, deciding which people from the university are most effective in influencing which government officials using what methods, and presenting a united front to state governments. (Author/LBH)

A model program in New England enhances state government relations by informing legislators about higher education's impact on state economies. The regional undertaking overcame apathy, competing interests, and time pressures to build a close working relationship with legislators. (Author/MSE)

In the wake of increasing concern regarding school safety, state lawmakers will be faced with difficult decisions regarding statewide policies and the funding of local programs. To assist lawmakers with this process, this report provides an overview of the most prominent issues legislators may face, as well as a framework within which to address…

During the 1997 session, many Texas lawmakers, especially Black and Hispanic Democrats, have introduced legislation to avert a crisis in the state's higher education system arising from the Hopwood v. Texas supreme court decision leading to discontinuance of affirmative action. Two controversial bills that were approved concerned softening of…

Perspectives on the legislative process in Virginia and the relationship between the higher education community and the legislature are presented by a state senator. Virginia's legislature operates on a 60-day calendar basis, has an executive budget, and the governor has item veto power. The budget process requires that constituencies needing…

A case study illustrating the political influences on higher education in a hypothetical state is presented. Higher education became a target for reform by the state's governor, who expressed interest in the sharing of resources between institutions in close geographic proximity; supported the more extensive use of management tools as a means of…