The issue of alcohol use, with occasional reference to other drug use, by college students is reviewed in this report: which (1) summarizes what is known about the influence of collegiate environments on college student use of alcohol; and (2) suggests how campus policies and practices can be modified to create environmental conditions that have a…

The federal Guaranteed Student Loan programs provide low-interest, long-term loans to students with demonstrated financial need to help them pay for their postsecondary education. The number of loan defaults and the associated federal costs are increasing; this handbook is an effort to protect students, increase accountability, and reduce default…

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine associations among background characteristics, commitment levels, institutional involvements, and persistence for male and female university students. Data were collected from college records and surveys completed by 316 university freshmen at the beginning of and 10 weeks into the 1984 fall…

A hands-on study for executives, researchers, and students who want to better understand how organizational culture can support or impede decision making strategies in a complex changing collegiate environment is provided. Leadership strategies and institutional problems are described. Seven different collegiate cultures are explored via case…

This report, an early component of a forthcoming set of publications intended to assist colleges and universities in building more effective programs for minority undergraduate and graduate students, provides short descriptions of 18 exemplary efforts to enhance the participation and success of minority students in higher education (including the…

Through an understanding of the historical forces that raised the community college to prominence during the past decades and that are now threatening this position, the community college trustee can contribute to the process of securing a base for future progress. The period from 1961 to 1980 saw a tripling of the number of two-year colleges and…

These conference papers favor the pluralistic approach to cultural education. The approach emphasizes development of a sense of one's own and others' cultural heritage while uniting society by reducing cultural antagonism. The document presents five major speeches followed by respondents' comments in order to include a wide range of viewpoints on…

A guide, designed especially for non-American educators, presents information to promote understanding of the U.S. policy-making process in higher education. Levels for policy analysis concern individuals, institutions, groups of institutions, state and local levels, national level, transnational level, and comparison of countries. Representative…

This introductory guide to sex role attitude measures used in the United States was designed to aid researchers in finding items for surveying sex role attitudes. Measures devised or published after July, 1974, or those used only in foreign surveys are not included. The compendium focuses on measures of peoples' attitudes rather than their…

The benefits of regional cooperation among small rural school districts are stressed in this brief description of the Educational Cooperative Service Unit (ECSU) currently serving 63,800 students in 104 member districts. A section on historical background traces the ECSU's forerunners, e.g., an educational media center established in 1965, the…

School systems in the United States reflect its social system and changes. Societal trends that have affected educational institutions include declining enrollment, informed and politically active minority groups, accelerating inflation rates, the back to basics movement, and a general public mistrust. To survive, public education must define the…

Traditional Marxist approaches to the state relegate superstructural institutions like the school to a minor role in the process of social change. More recent theories like those of Gramsci, Althusser, and Poulantzas raise the state and the class struggle in the state apparatuses to a much more prominent position: superstructure, including the…

This publication offers guidelines for establishing and operating advisory committees for career education, elementary grades through community college. Each of the four chapters included in this guide contains key concepts and step-by-step checklists. Focusing on the functions of the advisory committee, chapter 1 discusses the following topics:…

This evaluation report is designed to provide a description and interpretation of the effects of local school programs supported by early childhood education (ECE) funds, funds provided under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA Title I), and educationally disadvantaged youth (EDY) funds. Although these programs…

Data compiled from previously published reports are used to assess values in postsecondary education. Five criteria are discussed: (1) postsecondary education should improve the graduates' work opportunities; (2) postsecondary education should have effective holding power; (3) postsecondary education should be relevant to students' needs; (4)…