The National Collegiate Athletic Association's plan for randomly testing athletes at championships for performance-enhancing and illegal drugs will cost about $950,000, more than anticipated, and will be accompanied by a drug education program and loans to laboratories to speed the testing. (MSE)

A legislative proposal by the Association of American Universities calls for creation of a federal agency similar to the National Science Foundation to develop and promote a national policy of support for foreign language, area, and international studies research and instruction at colleges, universities, and other institutions. (MSE)

Proposed reforms at the National Autonomous University of Mexico include raising admission standards, reducing the number of equivalency exams taken in lieu of coursework or to compensate for failing a course, enforced compliance with contractual obligations for academic staff, and increased graduate tuition. (MSE)

Observers say the Vatican's revocation of a prominent scholar's license to teach theology at the Catholic University of America poses no immediate threat to academic freedom at other Roman Catholic colleges and universities but could make theologians at those institutions hesitate to express opinions. (MSE)

The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that Boston University faculty are managerial employees with authority to veto curriculum and personnel decisions and are not entitled by law to collective bargaining, reinforcing the Supreme Court's similar 1980 ruling on Yeshiva University faculty rights. (MSE)

Implications of the Higher Education Amendments are summarized regarding student aid, facilities, child care, libraries, community development, continuing and cooperative education, developing institutions, disadvantaged students, education research and development, Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, graduate education,…

A competition for design of a master plan to alleviate disorder, clutter, and a lack of landmarks on the University of Miami's campus is described, and a sampling of the competition's winning entries ranging from pragmatic to fantastical are presented. (MSE)

The Foundation Center is a non-profit, independent organization formed and funded by grant-makers to keep track of how foundations use their money and to make the information available to the public. It will soon expand to publishing books to increase public understanding of philanthropy, develop electronic communication and computer-based…

Major reference collections about foundations and grants operated by the Foundation Center and cooperating collections operated by U.S. public or university libraries and in several overseas locations are listed, with addresses and telephone numbers. (MSE)

In an era when students are supposed to be turning their backs on traditional liberal arts education in favor of a more career-oriented approach, debate is holding its own. Debate, perhaps more than any other extracurricular activity, successfully bridges the gap between academics and careers. (MLW)

The situation in Florida's higher education community following the influx of Cuban refugees is discussed, including cultural and behavioral differences, financial needs, lack of English language skills, academic standards, and special refugee needs. (MSE)

Data on the holdings of university and other research libraries include library ranking, volumes held and added, current serials holdings, and spending for materials and salaries. (MSE)

Trends in innovative investment of college funds are discussed, and the nontraditional, entrepreneurial investments of Bowdoin, Bryn Mawr, Duke, and the Universities of Missouri at Kansas City, Utah, and Virginia are described. (MSE)

Johns Hopkins University has abandoned use of the Medical College Admission Test as a medical college admissions requirement in an effort to reestablish the validity of humanities in medical students' educational background and is encouraging other medical schools to make the test optional and underscore their support of general education. (MSE)

A "sea semester" space program offered by the Sea Education Association offers liberal arts students a 12-week intensive course in marine science and seamanship aboard a schooner on the North Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea that provides adventure, oceanography, and hard work. (MSE)