Discusses how public colleges are increasingly clashing with the news media over compliance with state sunshine laws, particularly regarding searches for new presidents. Experts attribute the trend to increased competitiveness among institutions and a shift in public attitudes away from suspicion of government and toward privacy concerns. (EV)

Describes how some universities are opting for a single, large payment for patent royalties, rather than the potential of a long-term revenue stream. Provides examples of such deals and the reasons for their adoption. (EV)

Describes how, for online Master's of Business Administration programs, enrollments are low and business deals are falling through. Despite initial hype, expectations are now lower in the face of economic uncertainty; programs partnering with businesses and school-run programs both face challenges. (EV)

Discusses how the Independent Women's Forum (IWF) is sponsoring campus groups to challenge feminist ideas. Describes IWF-related publications and student groups at several colleges; the initiatives reach out to women looking for an alternative to "alarmist and overly-negative" feminism. (EV)

Discusses how many Middle Eastern students, pressured by their parents and in the face of growing hostility on American campuses, are abandoning their studies to return to their home countries. (EV)

Describes how John Jay College of Criminal Justice, which serves many New York City police officers, is helping students and alumni at Ground Zero, location of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. (EV)

A "Chronicle" survey of the pay and benefits offered to research and teaching assistants revealed a widening gap between public and private institutions. (Includes a table of stipends for graduate assistants at top research universities, and profiles of several graduate students' financial situations.) (EV)

Describes how California's Bethany College survived four years of tough love from the accrediting Western Association of Schools and Colleges and emerged with a clean bill of health and a future. (EV)

Describes how at the University of Delaware and elsewhere, technology administrators are facing heftier computer downloads and a popular new "menace" to bandwidth availability: video. (EV)

Explores how the simple tenets of "learning centered" theory are changing how community colleges teach students about setting goals and making plans. For example, Valencia Community College's "LifeMap," an all-purpose handbook and philosophy, helps students plan not only their semester but their broader goals. (EV)

Describes how, despite a series of fatal fires on campuses a few years ago, state and federal proposals to require sprinklers or other safety features on campuses have gone nowhere. (EV)

Describes how Modesto A. Maidique, president of Florida International University, uses his business savvy and his connections in an effort to push it higher among the ranks of research institutions. (EV)

Describes how the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab, a business-friendly idea factory, has big plans for expansion and for helping developing nations. (EV)

Describes how at Rice University's radio station, students talk about artistic vision while administrators talk about responsibility. Discusses the heated events following Rice's demand that a university-paid general manager be placed at the station, raising the issue of whether the station is a university asset or something held in trust for…

Explores how social, legal, and demographic forces threaten to dethrone the most widely used college entrance exam. New criticism focuses on the use of what is essentially an IQ test to measure students' ability to learn. (EV)