In this article we examine a flexible curricular approach known as the "Option." The Option enables students to supplement traditional majors with a coherent set of courses and other educational experiences in a related, often interdisciplinary field. Options can act as curricular bridges between mainstream academic fields and problems of…

The faculties of the postsecondary institutions in Florida, using the authority of the State Board of Education, have implemented a testing program that increases the assurance that all students who complete their sophomore year in college have achieved the communication and computation skills expected of them. (Author/MLW)

Certain systems analysis techniques can be applied to examinations of program failure in continuing education to locate weaknesses in planning and implementing stages. Questions to guide an analysis and various procedures are recommended. Twelve issues that contribute to failures or discontinuations are identified. (Author/MLW)

The characteristics of programs in business administration at Ph.D. and D.B.A. granting institutions were investigated, including: number of students, programs per year, university staff directly involved; cost of program to the client; length of program; and how and how much the faculty was compensated. (MLW)

The Eastern Washington University Department of Education adopted an assurance program that guarantees that its graduates will perform to classroom expectations. If they do not, the university will provide remedial assistance free of charge to the hiring school district. Credibility, student marketability, accountability, and program feedback are…

Nontraditional learning environments challenge instructors to develop educational formats responsive to specific objectives and milieu. Competencies related to long-term goal achievement instead of short-term information retention are highlighted. An innovative instructional format presented during an international education semester aboard the…

The challenge to coordinate physical education, art, and drama into a one week elderhostel project is described. The result was a creative performance by the participants their last day in the program. (Author/MLW)

The Juvenile Court Judges' Commission Master's Degree Program at Shippensburg University is described. A study is reported that was designed to determine the effect of the scheduling format on achievement, the magnitude of the effect, and whether observed effects are associated with any relevant sociodemographic variables. (MLW)

The Ph.D. program of the Rand Corporation Graduate School is described. Environmental press as the engine of change and creativity as the wellspring of innovative programming is illustrated in the beginnings of the Rand Corporation and its establishment of the Graduate School in policy analysis. (Author/MLW)

An experimental adult studies curriculum for adult students at Empire State is analyzed in terms of trends in adult participation in higher education and of four theoretical perspectives: life cycle theory, ego development, moral development, and adult learning style. (MSE)

A collaboration between an urban antipoverty agency, Action for Boston Community Development, and a private higher education institution, Lesley College, is described. A bachelor's degree program for adults associated with human service agencies is provided. (Author/MLW)

As colleges and universities seek to raise attention to teaching, peer review offers distinct advantages, especially for faculty eager to reduce classroom isolation and collaborate in improvement. It also presents political and methodological challenges and presumes significantly different roles for faculty in improving quality of student…

One University of Georgia business administration department has experimented with having faculty interview a fellow faculty member's students for insights into enhancing the learning environment inside and outside the peer faculty's classroom. A description of the program looks at how the interviews were conducted, the value of the interactions…

An important component that models for peer review of faculty often exclude is course content. An approach incorporating course content evaluation by colleagues outside the institution, used at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis, is described, and the structure and materials used are noted. The model, excerpted from the final…

The liberal arts program at Claremont McKenna College (California) departs from the traditional design by involving students and faculty in real-world projects, with outside clients, as class activities. Student teams complete projects in a context more like graduate education. Major successes and difficulties in integrating this approach into a…