HEW research efforts and programs that concern higher education are reviewed. The structure of HEW research activities is examined and the following priorities for postsecondary education research are discussed: student finance, college choice, faculty, quality and viability, and benefits. (SF)

It is suggested that the lack of funds made available to higher education researchers has contributed to the dearth of postsecondary education research. Improved communication between researchers, changes in the administration of federal support, and increased attention to fundamental research questions are urged. (SF)

The rate of return on investments in higher education, defined as a measure of productivity that relates the costs of resources expended in instruction to the value of benefits produced, is discussed and computed for several student populations. The concepts of "overeducation" and "underemployment" are also discussed. (SF)

(NOTE: The Fall 1977, Winter 1978, and Spring 1978 issues of this journal were published under the title "Higher Education Review"; thereafter, the name was changed to "Review of Higher Education.") To meet changing demands of society for academic services in academe, restructuring of the institutions is proposed. Departmentalization, cluster…

The effectiveness and efficiency of financial aid programs for providing equality of choice between public and private institutions are examined. (SF)

Examines the models through which different academic disciplines approach inquiry. Faculty working in different models view their work differently, apply different evaluative standards, and accept different types of values. Although the discipline is more conspicuous than the model, the latter is equally important in understanding epistemological…

Examines four postmodern forms of thought that are posing fundamental challenges to modern assumptions about knowledge; all reject absolute foundations of knowledge, which are rooted in the notion that legitimate intellectual activity is the discipline-based pursuit of knowledge of entities that exist before and independent of inquiry. Offers a…

Reviews political science literature on changing state politics. A statistical analysis focuses on the relationship between changing legislative structures and higher education for all 50 states. Presents a case study of Pennsylvania that suggests a possible causal relationship between changing political structure and limitation of public…

A study investigated the measurement of organizational decline in 82 universities where objective and perceptual measures of decline appeared to contradict each other. Results suggest institutions with objectively-measured decline without perception of decline are characterized by processes of "decline as crisis," while institutions with…

Comparison of five proposals to change state higher education tuition and aid policies suggests that tuition and aid must be explicitly linked for efficient and equitable results. However, it is extremely difficult to adopt explicitly linked policies. The findings support critics who warn that attempts to adopt high-tuition/high-aid policies will…

A study (n=1,060 students) found that white college students' sex and major were significantly related to precollege attitudes toward diversity on campus, and gender and major separately predicted participation in a racial or cultural awareness workshop. Father's education, family income, and degree aspiration were also considered as variables.…

A survey of 86 colleges and universities and 60 companies investigated whether industry representatives and academics, both involved and not involved in university-industry relationships, identified three categories of potential conflicts in collaboration (conflicts of interest, commitment, and internal equity). This paper discusses the…

Discussion of doctoral education looks at current trends in demand and supply; previous patterns in the nationality of doctoral degree recipients (1985-94); expansion and contraction in master's and doctoral degrees awarded, by discipline group (1976-93); and structural features of doctoral education (competition, departmental control, student…

Asserts that this annual ranking of the nation's academic institutions exacerbates their competitiveness and influences them to alter their behavior in ways that misserve individual students and higher education as a whole. Suggests how the rankings could instead encourage helpful institutional collaborations. (EV)

Explores how, by looking at the developing of the position of dean of men (contrasted with dean of women) and tracing the patterns of institutional response to change in and outside of the academy to this position, it is possible to anticipate how current trends in higher education may play out in the future. (EV)