With help from National Association of Scholars, 11 colleges have begun programs using the Great Books curriculum, designed to expose students to the best of Western civilization. The programs vary in the degree to which they adhere to Western works; some faculty are including non-Western civilization. Securing campus approval for the programs has…

Capitalizing on the ban on affirmative action in college admissions in Texas, a number of out-of-state colleges are aggressively recruiting in that state and offering generous financial aid packages. Oklahoma was one of the first states to do so. For many students, financial aid makes the difference in college attendance. (MSE)

The Recording Industry Association of America is aggressively pursuing copyright violations on campuses concerning MP3 music recordings being exchanged on computer networks. Carnegie Mellon University (Pennsylvania), to avoid litigation, has been searching public folders of students' computers to find illegally copied MP3s. Controversy over…

InterAmerican College in San Diego (California) is an 18-month-old institution that specializes in helping college-educated immigrants acquire U.S. degrees so they can find jobs that make use of their prior education and skills. Despite obstacles, including lack of accreditation, the state-licensed institution may fill a niche. (MSE)

Private Islamic universities are increasing in East Africa, where higher education is increasingly privatized and diversified. The progressive scholars behind the trend are seeking opportunities for dynamic encounters between Islam and modern secular disciplines. The model is the 11-year-old Islamic University in Uganda, which is now attempting to…

Two factors are fueling college faculty interest in at-home sabbaticals: the rise of the two-career family, and technological advances that allow faculty to communicate with colleagues from home. Critics feel that to take full advantage of sabbatical leave, faculty should leave the home area. One institution has created a seven-week sabbatical for…

The success of Great Britain's Open University has become a model for distance education in the United States. The Open University is nonselective in admissions and designs its courses for part-time students and working adults. It plans to begin enrolling American students in a new sister institution, the United States Open University. (MSE)

For the 1999 fiscal year, Congress earmarked specific spending measures that included at least $797 million for projects involving colleges and universities, a 51% increase over 1998. Earmarks are seen by some as inequitable because they are not subject to competitive, merit-based reviews typically used by federal agencies to distribute money for…

Robert B. Sloan, Jr., president of Baylor University (Texas), has encountered controversy over issues of faith, governance, and his style of leadership. Mr. Sloan wants to heighten both the university's Christian identity and its academic stature. (MSE)

Universitas 21, an international network of research universities in seven countries, has filed an application in Britain to become an incorporated business. It aims to attract corporate clients interested in exploiting the combined academic assets and intellectual property of its member institutions, particularly in the areas of technology…

Prompted in part by student demand, schools of international affairs are offering new courses, hiring new faculty, and creating research centers focused on business and finance. Schools feel this move is necessary in a world where business dominates international relations and the public and private sectors have become intertwined. Critics feel…

Canadian universities now have the fastest research network backbone in the world, CA*Net 3, claiming it can transmit the contents of the Library of Congress in one second. In the United States, network officials feel that their competing Internet2 project supports more research into new network applications than the Canadian project. CA*Net 3…

Many small liberal arts colleges nationwide are facing unprecedented challenges in finances and demographics. Unless they have name recognition, a sizeable endowment, or especially strong academic offerings, most struggle to attract students from outside their regions. To survive, colleges have been urged to expand adult education and distance…

Frustrated by the ways in which large managed-care companies are controlling physicians' lives and professional practice, the American Medical Association has voted to form a union to represent physicians and medical residents. Academic physicians have shown less interest than others. (MSE)

Critics feel education scholarship lacks rigor and a practical focus on achievement, wasting substantial resources. Research on effectiveness of educational reforms is often weak, inconclusive, or simply inadequate, and good scholarship may have little influence on classroom practice. Popular policies often persist despite strong research evidence…