Trends on U.S. campuses as of 1986 are reported, with attention to campus actions on assessment and early campus responses to national reports calling for educational reform. Also considered are faculty hiring practices, perceptions about institutional status, changes in enrollment and finances, and international components of academic programs. A total of 365 two-year and four-year colleges and universities responded to the study questionnaire, and the data were statistically adjusted to represent national trends. Findings on the general status of colleges highlight a variety of problems: enrollments are steady or down for the majority of institutions; financial pressures are evident and are creating other problems, including inadequate student aid and uncomfortable levels of faculty compensation. Most schools have been reevaluating their curricular offerings during the past few years, and many have made changes in programs. College administrators do not currently have a definite sense of what is the best focus for assessment, and many feel existing evaluation instruments are not suitable to the broad educational purposes they consider to be appropriate outcomes of undergraduate study. Detailed statistical tables, the questionnaire, and technical notes are included. (SW)