The National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division II voted to adopt academic standards for freshman athletes that are identical to those in effect in Division I. Officials of Black colleges opposed the inclusion of standardized-test scores in the regulations. The roll-call vote is provided. (MLW)

A plan supported by American and Japanese legislators would provide free or inexpensive land and other financial incentives to entice American institutions to set up major academic programs in Japan. Four-year branch campuses enrolling students from the U.S., Japan, and other Pacific nations are envisioned.

A national telephone opinion poll has found increased popular support for federal aid to college students, especially in the form of continued federal spending on grants, low-interest loans, and aid to institutions enrolling many low-income students. Concern about the rise in college costs was also found. (MSE)

The Campus Compact project is a collaborative effort of college administrators to strengthen students' commitment to public service through the curriculum. The group's activities include fostering public service programs in colleges and universities, reinforcing student service work, and encouraging faculty to build service elements into the…

An appellate court found that a college faculty member's use of offensive language in class was unprofessional, interfered with instruction, and not protected by principles of free speech and academic freedom. (MSE)

Three innovative ideas for college instruction include a freshman assignment to write recruitment letters to high school students with similar interests, introductory art history classes taught solely in a museum adjacent to the campus, and use of the "Hunt of the Unicorn" tapestry to combine plant identification practice with art history. (MSE)

The new chancellors of the Maine, Massachusetts, and West Virginia state higher education systems use different styles to tackle highly political jobs that frustrated their predecessors. (MSE)

A recent United State Supreme Court ruling upheld a California law requiring employers to grant female employees up to four months of unpaid maternity leave and make reasonable efforts to reinstate them when they return to work. The decision and its implications are discussed. (MSE)

Union College's Victorian-style Nott Memorial has mysterious and intriguing architectural features, a checkered history, and serious problems of neglect and underutilization. The college must resolve its future soon. (MSE)

A national study indicates 86 percent of students attend college in their home states, with the highest proportions in Texas and North Carolina and the lowest in the District of Columbia. Most state residents attend state colleges and universities, and out-of-state students are evenly divided between public and private institutions. (MSE)

A Pennsylvania college arranges a series of receptions in several cities to encourage seniors to meet alumni with similar career interests and to help students develop the social skills to make further contacts. (MSE)

The National Collegiate Athletic Association's presidents' commission, viewed initially as a limited-authority advisory panel, has taken a dramatic leadership role in keeping the management of intercollegiate athletics within the institutions and facing the challenge of irresponsible outside interests. (MSE)

Both the mood and the actions at a recent meeting of the National Collegiate Athletic Association affirmed that reform, in terms of containing costs and restoring the balance between academics and athletics, is a firmly established trend in college sports. (MSE)

Issues addressed at the National Collegiate Athletic Association meeting include banning boosters and alumni from recruitment activities, closer scrutiny of coaches' income, distribution of complimentary game passes, a rule prohibiting a college coach from watching his son's high school football games, improvement of regulation enforcement, and…

Recent changes in National Collegiate Athletic Association rules concerning academics, recruiting, amateurism, membership and classification, championships, playing and practice seasons, general policies, and eligibility are summarized. (MSE)