Instead of mailing photocopies of proposed scholarly journal articles to reviewers, some editors are using electronic mail or the Internet to disseminate articles to other scholars to be critiqued. They are then returned electronically to the editors. However, most journals have not yet begun this process due to lack of reliable software or…

The University of California's governing board has agreed to accept the top 4% of graduates from each high school in the state, the most significant expansion of the system's entrance criteria in two decades. The new policy will yield about 3,600 additional eligible students and improve racial/ethnic diversity, which is welcome after a ban on…

Arnold Beckman is a chemist, businessman, and inventor who was the first to apply electronics to chemical measurement. For 17 years, the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation has given over $300 million to science, focusing on biology and chemistry. The National Academy of Sciences will honor Beckman with its most prestigious award for his…

Lack of funds and competition for scarce resources have made it impossible for many African universities to gain access to technology. Internet use is extremely limited, and the infrastructure is inadequate to support rapid expansion. Information technology, when available, is seen as a way for African academics to overcome isolation by once again…

Increasing use of non-tenure-track, full-time college professors, which some thought a temporary solution to institutional budgeting, has become common policy, according to a study of existing data for 88 four-year institutions. While administrators find flexibility and savings in the practice, faculty accuse institutions of exploiting Ph.D.s and…

Colleges competing to offer distance education are using aggressive marketing tactics to gain visibility. Some observers wonder whether educational interests or marketing agencies are driving the trend. The agencies offer varied services, including course creation, course conversion to electronic format, faculty training for online teaching,…

Over the last decade, almost all of the country's 1,100 community colleges have begun fund raising, some with great success. They are beginning to compete with larger institutions for foundation money. The money supplements operating budgets, and many colleges are building endowments that enable them to offer scholarships and keep student costs…

Parents are covering less of their children's college costs than ever before, according to a recent study. On average, parents contributed 55% in 1997-98, down from 69% in 1986-87; during the same period, college costs increased 38%. Reasons include decreased family savings, higher consumer debt, incomes not keeping up with inflation, and…

The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation has begun a grant program to expand career options for Ph.D.s in the humanities, both within and outside academe. Awards will help academic departments encourage students to interact with the world as part of graduate training; use training in nonacademic settings; and match top students with…

A group of entrepreneurs is promoting an ambitious commercial venture to sell electronic books to university libraries. The library can buy an electronic copy of the book for the print version's price; provide users access through special formatting and software, allowing users to highlight and annotate but not print; and restrict access to one…

Louisiana's program of state merit scholarships, inspired by Georgia's HOPE Scholarship program, is over budget in its first year because lawmakers pushed to expand eligibility and data for estimating costs was inadequate. Critics find such programs often provide aid to families with little financial need. The program pays full tuition at state…

According to an American Association of University Professors survey, at 19 universities this year the average salary of full professors exceeded $100,000; 10 institutions pay full professors an average of under $33,300. Faculty at doctoral institutions received the largest raises. Changes over the previous year are tabulated by institution type,…

Presents data on average full-time faculty salaries, by rank, at over 1,800 higher education institutions. For purposes of comparison, national averages for institution type and rank are also summarized. (MSE)

A growing number of small colleges and large public universities are following the lead of private universities in seeking donations from foreign alumni. Electronic communications have facilitated the cultivation of such relationships, but face-to-face contact is still preferred. This trend comes as foreign enrollments in the United States are…

At a recent conference of academics, union organizers, and workers at Yale University (Connecticut) activity and rhetoric focused on reinforcing the ties that bind academe and labor, and particularly on the question, currently before the National Labor Relations Board, of whether Yale graduate students qualify as employees or students. Leaders of…