The provision, known as Section 89 of the Internal Revenue Code, that requires employers to make sure that their health and insurance benefits do not discriminate against low-paid employees, is discussed. The process of comparing employee benefits and a lack of federal guidance has complicated matters. (MLW)

The tuition and fees charged undergraduates at more than 2,700 colleges and universities in the 1987-88 and 1988-89 academic years, including the additional tuition that many institutions charge out-of-state students are listed. The figures were collected by the College Board in its Annual Survey of Colleges. (MLW)

A report sent to colleges called on presidents to adopt an official policy condemning sexual assault, revise student conduct codes to prohibit it specifically, modify living arrangements of victims and the accused, establish programs for victims, and heighten campus security. (MSE)

Discussion in the American Psychological Association highlights the role of behavioral scientists in improving the condition of the Black male population, but also stresses the need for those scientists to revise their approach. (MSE)

Republican Party planks support parental responsibility, community support, and local control for education, a resurgence in the arts and humanities as part of a return to basic skills, creative partnership between government and the private sector in the sciences, and an ambitious space program. (MSE)

The Real Estate Investment Trust, a companion organization to the Common Trust, allows colleges to commit as little as $50,000 for investments in commercial properties at minimum risk, which could protect endowments while providing returns comparable to those of the stock market. (MSE)

Proposed taxes and bans on college business activities grow out of criticism from the owners of small businesses that colleges and other non-profit organizations abuse their tax-exempt status to compete with tax-paying companies by selling certain items. (MLW)

American studies have largely explored the intersection between literature and history. An influx of scholars trained in the 1960s has infused American studies with a strong interest in issues of race and class, as well as popular culture. Some feel that this will dilute its basic mission. (MLW)

The movement to improve the quality of general education (the common courses taken by students outside their majors) continues. Change is difficult because it is resisted by a significant number of faculty. Experiences at the University of Wyoming and the University of Washington are described. (MLW)

The California Legislature approved a bill to reform the state's community-college system by transferring most of the Legislature's power over the colleges to the state board that coordinates their governance. The bill also makes major changes in the colleges financing, the courses they offer, and the tenure process. (MLW)

The small-business community, which has long complained that colleges have an unfair advantage in the marketplace because of their tax-exempt status, has become increasingly vocal in its demands for new taxes and restrictions on the services and products that colleges and other non-profit organizations can offer. (MLW)

Institutions are adding "cultural-diversity workshops" to their orientation sessions in hopes of promoting greater harmony on their campuses. The orientation session at the University of Michigan is described in which a panel of four students talk about their experiences at the university and then students break into small groups for frank…

A lack of cooperation between engineering and liberal arts faculty members, along with inadequate student advising, has thwarted efforts to broaden the education of engineering undergraduates. A report by the Association of American Colleges, "Unfinished Design: The Humanities and Social Sciences in Undergraduate Engineering Education," is…

The Harvard "Program in Ethics and the Professions" focuses less on abstract moral reasoning than on practical problems, the concrete decisions and dilemmas of the real world. Another key question that has been discussed is whether or not it is possible to teach moral reasoning without teaching moral values. (MLW)

Colleges should consider adopting specific policies for handling incidents of racial harassment. Campus policies for dealing with racial harassment "should be written, posted, and specific, and make a commitment that there will be no retaliation against a complainant." (MLW)