One way of supporting college instructors who wish to improve student assessment practices is to offer a framework for change that raises the public profile of assessment policy, acknowledges that there is room for improvement, and provides methodological and collegial support to help instructors formulate and address practical problems. A…

Argues that objectives-based planning, the most common and most institutionalized approach to college and university planning in the United Kingdom, is inappropriate for complex or large-scale planning. Presents 10 specific criticisms of this approach, and offers problem-based planning--formulating problems and seeking to find the impediments to…

This article examines the interplay between universities and governments, within the context of recent changes in the Australian higher education system. The Australian government is urged to fund institutions adequately and encourage diversity. Australian universities are urged to defend their autonomy and distinctive educational missions. (DB)

Trends in participation of socioeconomic groups in Australian higher education since 1852 are chronicled, with attention given to the policies promoting expansion and democratization, social attitudes associated with part- and full-time participation, the role of world events and related social change, religion and gender differences, and…

The model for analyzing the funding system used by the United Kingdom's Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council (PCFC) is described, focusing on the mechanisms through which tuition policy is developed. It is concluded that a linear programing approach is useful in analyzing the impact of funding policy on institutions. (MSE)

It is argued that part-time study has been a tradition in British higher education since the early nineteenth century but that expansion of access to higher education and changes in financing have shifted attention away from this phenomenon. Factors influencing the balance of part- and full-time enrollment are chronicled. (MSE)

A survey of 33 Australian higher education institutions investigated the use of and attitudes toward awards given to faculty for teaching excellence. Patterns of award giving, benefits and problems associated with their use, and ideas for improving the design and value of award schemes are reported. (MSE)

A survey of 235 current and prospective British university students investigated the role of housing options (dormitory type, room type, density, facilities and features, services, costs) in student choice of university. Specific factors were ranked by preference. Results indicate significant differences between perceived ideals and choices made…

A survey of 82 deans in universities in the United Kingdom investigated the responsibility of senior administrators and faculty in goal-setting and resource allocation, responsibility for various administrative functions, expectations about these roles in the future, perceived decision-making style of senior administration, and areas perceived as…

A tongue-in-cheek look at methods used for curriculum development by many colleges and universities compares the process to two others: destruction of trees and trial by ordeal. Forests are destroyed to produce large quantities of paper for printing of curricula in many versions, followed by Kafkaesque committee scrutiny. (MSE)

With the proposed dissolution of the binary system of higher education in the United Kingdom, the central issue facing faculty unions with diverse memberships and interests is how their future relationships will be structured. Greater cooperation is seen as necessary for protection of the higher education teaching profession. (MSE)

A discussion of Britain's regulation that master's and doctoral degree candidates must have two or three program supervisors identifies four potential problems: fragmentation of supervisory responsibilities; conflicting advice; unproductive games; and absence of overall perspective on the thesis. Experience with an improved, team approach is…

A study compared college student income and cost of living (housing, food, and some additional expenses) in relation to income at Leeds Polytechnic and five other geographically diverse British institutions. The study was undertaken to assess the need for and impact of a new national student loan program. (MSE)

From the merger of the University of Melbourne and Melbourne College of Advanced Education (Australia) teacher education programs come arguments founded in conflicting conceptions of the elite teacher as social change agent. Factors in the debate, including contraction of teacher education, public perceptions of teacher education, and educational…

Critics of student writing in British lecture courses as "mere rehash of lecture notes" are reminded that (1) by its nature, the lecture course focuses on and is limited to information conveyed in lectures, and (2) professors refuse to use materials such as U.S. textbooks that could supplement the information conveyed in class. (MSE)