Educators, mental-health officials, and law-enforcement officers often do not share information about troubled students because they are confused by what they can disclose under complex and overlapping privacy laws, according to a report on the Virginia Tech shootings. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and two other Bush cabinet secretaries…

Skepticism among lawmakers in Congress that colleges are adequately trying to control costs may hinder legislation that would extend tax breaks for higher education, according to the chairman of the influential Senate Finance Committee. Senator Max S. Baucus said skepticism on Capitol Hill has been fueled by anger over multimillion-dollar coaches'…

Expatriates from India now living in the U.S. seek to establish a business school in their homeland that will hold its own in the global marketplace. (JM)

Scientists doing research on primates are increasingly being subjected to threats and acts of violence from animal rights groups. The intimidation has resulted in many laboratories taking extensive security measures. Some scientists claim, however, that there is no surrogate for animal research in understanding human diseases. There are fears that…

A national board to certify teachers is expected to be chartered by late this summer and begin issuing certificates within five years. The objective is to establish high standards for teacher competence with voluntary certification, not replacement of state licensing. The plan has received widespread support. (MSE)

Intense competition for federal research funds in some areas of science is generating more narrow research training, conflict between research and teaching responsibilities, and alienation and frustration among young scientists, who must scramble for tenuous research positions that lead nowhere. (MSE)

Art historians are saying that while art outside the mainstream challenges many usual assumptions about art history, more attention should be given to nontraditional art genres such as graffiti, folk art, children's art, prehistoric cave paintings, and the art of the insane. (MSE)

Harvard University has found that insuring its retiring faculty for long-term health care was too expensive, blocking implementation of its planned benefits program and potentially affecting the planning of many colleges. (MSE)

Faculty unions are enticing new members and hoping to retain older ones with such extras as low-cost credit cards and insurance programs in addition to traditional collective bargaining functions. (MSE)

Aggressive community colleges are fostering linkages with government programs, large and small businesses, and educational institutions for special training to upgrade worker skills, prepare workers to cope with plant closings, and meet the skill requirements of advancing technology. (MSE)

Arguments between factions advocating more or less teacher education could slow down the reform process enough to allow gains in the trend toward licensing teachers lacking teacher training. (MSE)

Concern about problems that inflexible educational loan payments cause for some people has reopened the idea of income-contingent repayment schedules, but financial aid experts see insurmountable problems in stretching out loans indefinitely, increasing indebtedness by slowing down payments, overall inequities favoring high-income borrowers, and…

Following a trend in a number of states, Indiana has begun a project to improve college preparation and encourage high school students to pursue higher education. The effort includes a toll-free hotline, a statewide database for monitoring student characteristics, and standardized testing of basic skills. (MSE)

While some states are adopting uniform, statewide testing of college students to assess learning, most are relying on a wide variety of testing programs designed and administered by individual institutions. (MSE)

Secretary of Education William Bennett proposes that gimmicky federal programs are not the key to boosting American economic competitiveness, but rather that developing in American schoolchildren the qualities of honesty, responsibility, and regard for others' rights will help Americans compete in world markets. (MSE)