This article describes Fisk University's drive to improve its graduation and retention rates. Fisk's six-year graduation rate is more than 10 percentage points above the national average for four-year institutions. Seventy percent of Fisk alumni go on to graduate or to professional schools. No other institution produces as many black doctorates in…

These are especially difficult times for researchers who depend on government money. Their "anxiety is palpable," Elias A. Zerhouni, director of the National Institutes of Health, wrote last 2006. Moreover, Leo Furcht, president of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, warned Congress that "we are, quite simply, losing our…

This article talks about the plan of Bush's administration to end the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant program and focus on the broader goal with increased access to college for underrepresented groups and not spend their time protecting inefficient programs. During the annual meeting of the American Council on Education, the new under…

The median salary of college administrators increased by 4 percent in the 2006-7 academic year, according to an annual survey released this week by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources. The increase in pay for positions that include presidents, chief academic officers, deans, and various vice presidents and…

The United States is falling behind other developed nations in terms of the share of its population with a college degree, and the gap will widen substantially unless the nation makes postsecondary education much more accessible, according to a report released last week by Jobs for the Future, a Boston-based research organization. If current…

Over the past decade, an increasing number of public institutions have raised the pay and benefits of presidents with contributions from private sources, including foundations. This article presents the findings of a survey conducted by "The Chronicle" that reflected this trend. The median compensation for public-university presidents included in…

It is always a big problem and a loss of professional opportunities for an academic if he or she cannot attend an annual conference because he or she cannot find a place to leave his or her kids. One solution to this problem is for organizers to offer subsidized care care. In this article, the author describes how the Association for Jewish…

Urban universities present an inherent conflict for administrators who oversee campus planning and development. Some see the need to withdraw and create an academic refuge. Others believe a campus must integrate physically with the city in order to stay relevant. The two approaches cannot be more dramatically different, and they have profound…

All buildings convey meaning--whether or not that was intended by architect and client--and it has little to do with questions of budget, architectural style, or self-expression. The architecture of a university's campus is an open book that most people have forgotten how to read. A campus is an edited statement of the institution's self-image.…

Kenton B. Pauls, director of enrollment services at the University of North Dakota, knew that high-school students frequently send one another text messages, so in 2006 he decided to incorporate text-messaging lingo into the viewbook the university sends to prospective students. Its cover had read, "You belong at the University of North Dakota."…

The idea of greater density on college campuses almost always meets with opposition. The Latin word "campus" translates into English as "field," suggesting open green space and unencumbered vistas. The concept of collegiate learning amid nature--rolling lawns, beautiful fall foliage--is ingrained into the American psyche. But a closer look…

Greater numbers of high-school students are taking Advanced Placement (AP) examinations and are faring better on them than in the past, said a report released by the College Board. The board, a nonprofit association, administers 37 AP exams, which allow high-school students to earn college credit or exemption from introductory-level college…

Slavery's unequivocal evil lies at the heart of debates over apologizing for America's "peculiar institution" and awarding reparations. In The Problem of Evil: Slavery, Freedom, and the Ambiguities of American Reform, a provocative collection of original essays, the editors Steven Mintz and John Stauffer, along with 23 contributors, admonish…

The ever-simmering question of whether the tenure system should be reformed lit up the blogosphere, ignited by an online essay from the (tenured) professor Steven D. Levitt, co-author of the publishing phenomenon "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" and the popular blog Freakonomics. When Levitt posted "Let's…

Internationalization is nothing new in higher education, but its meaning has expanded over the years. Three generations ago, it referred simply to sending students overseas for a few months to expose them to other cultures. In the 1960s, international education took on a public-service and research dimension. Today it refers to a complex set of…