Guidelines developed by the Association of American Medical Colleges limit racial preferences for admissions and scholarships to students from only four designated minority groups, depriving students from other ethnicities from affirmative action eligibility. Discusses the implications for student diversity of changes in this policy. (SLD)

Traces the history of the college football bowl system and describes the movement toward replacing the bowl game system with a national championship playoff system. Focuses on the roles of J. Delany, commission of the Big Ten Conference and R. Kramer, commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, in perpetuating the current college football bowl…

A report released by the Coalition on the Academic Workforce based on a survey of departments in 10 social science and humanities fields shows that part-time and adjunct professors receive far less pay and fewer benefits than their peers. In many institutions, nontenure-track instructors make up almost half of the teaching staff. (SLD)

Describes the campus security Web site of the U.S. Department of Education as flawed because many college officials found reporting instructions confusing or reporting requirements too time consuming. Data, designed to give information about the safety of institutions, are often misleading and difficult to use for comparisons. (SLD)

National Collegiate Athletic Association data show that graduation rates for athletes have largely held steady from those of last year, but that male athletes, especially football and basketball players, continue to perform poorly in the classroom. In Division I, 42% of male basketball players and 48% of football players earned degrees within 6…

Many academics, whether married couples or professional partners, are teaming up to share tenure-track positions, and, although the evidence is largely anecdotal, their numbers seem to be increasing especially in the smaller institutions. The biggest drawback may be earning only half a salary; the benefits include more time for research or family.…

Describes a study grading all 50 states on how well they deliver higher education. The study examined public and private colleges, and ranked states in five categories. Results were mixed, but no state received all As, and some had several poor grades. Every state received an incomplete in the area of student learning because researchers thought…

Describes articulation agreements, special recruiting efforts, special degrees, scholarships, and convenient locations as some of the ways for-profit institutions are actively pursuing community college students. For-profit institutions are increasingly "transfer friendly," as several examples illustrate. (SLD)

Describes the distance education efforts of the World Bank, which has spent $20 million since 1997 to get its distance education program started, and which plans to spend an additional $10 million in the next 2 years. The World Bank has the experience and resources to set up and deliver distance education in countries without a telecommunications…

Describes studies that suggest that, while women are still more likely to have been stalked, men constitute a surprising 42% of victims. Although college campuses offer stalkers many opportunities because of the ease of knowing someone's routine, stalking on campus rarely turns violent. (SLD)

Suggests that the money spent ($100 billion) to fix the Y2K bug in the United States resulted in improved campus computer systems. Reports from campuses around the country indicate that both mainframe and desktop systems experienced fewer problems than expected. (DB)

Study examining the earnings of students accepted by elite colleges but who chose to attend less-selective institutions finds that students do not enhance earnings by graduating from colleges with high average Scholastic Assessment Test scores, suggesting that admissions decisions fail to account for intangibles such as students' ambition,…

Reviews trends in union organization at private colleges following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision 20 years ago denying bargaining rights to faculty at Yeshiva University (New York). Focuses on a recent decision by a labor official granting bargaining rights to faculty at Manhattan College (New York) and efforts by faculty organizers at Seton…

Discusses implications of states' requiring use of high school graduation exams. Finds testing requirements already blocking thousands of students from getting diplomas required for college admission, and complicating colleges' efforts to recruit black and Hispanic students. At the same time college officials praise tests for helping ensure that…

Reports on the "Chairman's Challenge," a fund raiser at Lewis and Clark College (Oregon) in which students were challenged to surpass the multimillionaire donor's (Robert B. Pamlin Jr.) physical fitness records to earn donations to the school of up to $25,000 each. Pamlin uses his gifts to reward institutions and individual students that emulate…