Retention research shows that the highest amount of attrition occurs around the freshman year. Freshman-year programs designed to support students in their academic and social development and to involve them more deeply with the education process are described. (MLW)

This brief historical overview of developments in the field of educational technology describes the role of Michigan State University in bringing about significant change in higher education, and the formation and functioning of the University Consortium for Instructional Development and Technology, its Development Institutes program, Behavioral…

These five newsletter issues provide reports from institutions and individuals involved in the Montessori Public School Consortium (MPSC). Each issue contains feature articles, editorials, and field reports on Montessori programs in public schools. Featured topics include: (1) the Montessori Induction Program for new Montessori teachers; (2)…

The World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education (WIPCE) has been held every 3 years since 1987. The conference brings together indigenous peoples from around the world to share their similar struggles to improve indigenous education. The first five conferences were held in British Columbia, New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, and New Mexico. In…

This report presents the results of a study that was conducted to determine the extent and types of international education programs offered in the Florida Community College System (FCCS). The study provides an overview of the structure and content of international education travel programs offered by each college. Institutional and business…

Academic libraries in South Africa are increasingly under pressure to provide Internet-based information services. Due to the historical background (i.e., apartheid policies), however, some postsecondary institutions were better endowed than others in terms of financial resources, library personnel, material resources, and with respect to Internet…

College and university libraries, it is suggested, must cooperate as budgets dwindle and the need for more new periodicals escalates. A national periodical center modeled after the British National Lending Library is suggested, along with library automation at central storage libraries. (Author/MLW)

A group of community hospitals has been linked to the University of Southern California School of Medicine in a continuing medical education network. An educational development team based at the school helps community hospital physicians identify educational needs and develop responses using local and medical school experts as faculty. (Author/JMD)

Through collaboration, private colleges can communicate with a larger audience of high school students from which to draw a freshman class. (Author)

Rising periodical prices and lagging library budgets have many academics hoping that scholarly print journals will migrate to online versions. Examines economic factors shaping the electronic journal market, emerging new electronic journals, access versus ownership, consortial purchasing, self-maintained infrastructures, elimination of tenure and…

The Boston (Massachusetts) Institute for Health Improvement formed an Interdisciplinary Professional Education Cooperative linking four local interdisciplinary teams (in Cleveland; Washington, DC; Pennsylvania; and South Carolina) and a coordinating committee. The organization offers health professions students opportunities to work on…

The area health education centers (AHEC) program was established in West Virginia in 1972 as a centralized consortium linking undergraduate and graduate medical and health professions training in Charleston. In 1987 the reorganized AHEC began developing rural community-based consortia that integrate rural primary care residencies with state-funded…

Discussion of the importance of cultural considerations in instructional design focuses on audio messages in multimedia materials. Describes the development of a Web-based audio instructional series by a consortium of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, including planning, context selection, implementation, cost effectiveness, formative…

Disenchantment with and heavy spending on health care has made policymakers more interested in health care research. The federal Agency for Health Care and Policy Research, university consortia for health-services research, and establishment of a national database are elements in a new focus on quality of care. (MSE)

Discussion of the instructional applications of computing focuses on integrating computers into the higher education curriculum. Topics discussed include the history of computers in education; computer literacy; and ways to improve instructional uses of computers, including appropriate recognition for faculty involvement and improving access,…