While Reagan Administration officials and most presidents of historically black colleges argue black colleges are faring better since White House efforts to aid the institutions, critics decry the limited federal aid available and other institutions worry about black college presidents' reluctance to speak out against policies hurting all higher…

Data on high school graduates per 1,000 population, public college students per 1,000 population, higher education as a percentage of tax revenue, state and local tax dollars per college student, and the percentage of higher education revenue generated by tuition are reported for each state and the District of Columbia. (MSE)

A 1986 national assessment of 7,812 high school juniors found them deeply ignorant of literature and history, with a lack of basic information as severe as their weakness in mathematics and science. The report by Diane Ravitch and Chester E. Finn finds that students score poorly because educators emphasize basic skills over content. (MSE)

More students with vision and hearing impairments and with hidden handicaps such as learning and emotional disabilities are seeking college degrees, and colleges are responding with technology and other support services to promote these students' independence and success. (MSE)

A Department of Education study concluding that a bachelor's degree can cost more at a private college than at a public one was well designed and reported, and has been unfairly criticized by the private sector. (MSE)

New York's highest court is being urged to overturn a ruling that could make colleges legally responsible for the conduct of everyone they admit. The case arose from the rape and murder of a female student at the State University of New York College at Buffalo in 1976. (MLW)

According to a national survey by the College and University Personnel Association, there was a wider gap this year between the salary increases at private institutions, 6.8%, and those at public institutions, 4.5%. Private institutions might be catching up after years of high inflation. (MLW)

Executive-search consultants are being hired to help fill posts in higher education from college presidents to development positions and deanships. Consultants perform a variety of services, from identifying and screening candidates to arranging flight schedules for campus visits. (MLW)

E. D. Hirsch in his book "Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know" sees gaps in common cultural information as the leading cause of illiteracy. Hirsch compiles nearly 5,000 facts and figures that represent what literate Americans need to know. (MLW)

Challenged by the rise of the New Right and the Reagan Administration, liberal theorists are reformulating liberalism. Individualism, at the heart of liberal theory, has been attacked for destroying the sense of civic obligation and community spirit. Some critics of liberalism called communitarians are described. (MLW)

A table showing the median salaries of college administrators in public and private institutions is presented, based on a national sample of 3,190 colleges and universities. (MLW)

A table showing average faculty salaries by rank at colleges, universities, and multi-campus college systems in 1986-87 is presented. Average faculty salaries for institutions without academic ranks, most are two-year colleges, appear in a separate table. (MLW)

An Education Department plan to restructure ERIC, the government's network of education-research clearinghouses, has members of Congress concerned and they have asked that the plan not be put into effect until they can study it further. The department's plan follows a year-long review of ERIC. (MLW)

A study of student newspapers on 18 campuses found censorship was "alive and well" on every campus visited in the study. The Student Press Law Center, which provides legal counsel and advice to high-school and college student newspapers, has seen a sharp rise in the number of censorship incidents. (MLW)

Black fraternities decline to participate in interfraternity councils because other members don't understand the traditions of the black organizations, say the officers of eight black national organizations at a conference at Michigan State University. The purpose of the conference was to improve communications between university administrators…