Nine recommendations are offered for making the Teachers' Insurance Annuity Association (TIAA) and College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF) more attractive and competitive retirement investment vehicles for college faculty. They include broadening of account choice, fund transfer and management options, and counseling services. (MSE)

Teacher retraining in a subject area different from the teacher's original training and certification may be the most viable way of retaining the best teachers and filling the most critical vacancies. The conditions for retraining should be built into the undergraduate curriculum, including liberal arts and interdisciplinary education. (MSE)

The debate over the nature and form of general education is discussed. The Project on General Education Models, which surveyed colleges and universities that had taken concrete steps to review or revise their general education programs, is described. Some new programs are outlined. (MLW)

Quality concerns are foremost in assessing the worthiness of interdisciplinary efforts, but issues of funding, organization, student interest, and job market need to concern those who propose or review such programs. Proposed is a series of questions that may assist reviewers of proposals for new interdisciplinary degree programs. (MLW)

A key to the movement toward open access to higher education has been the growth of public community colleges, which are reexamining their priorities, resources, and missions. The need for "people's colleges" to reconcile their concern for quality with their commitment to open access is discussed. (MLW)

Major changes are underway in the ways campuses deal with computing and computers. Computers are critical tools in academic research and instruction, and they can enhance personal productivity of faculty, staff, and students. Campuses must integrate computing into the curriculum in all three of these dimensions. (MLW)

Black Studies, it is suggested, should be an interdisciplinary field that will not incite fear or misgivings any more than other higher education interdisciplinary programs. A clear distinction is needed between Afro American Studies as an academic discipline and as a social answer to pressing problems. (MLW)

Outlines lessons learned by the University of Wisconsin-Stout in implementing two distance education programs, a technology program using interactive television and a hospitality program using Lotus Notes to deliver courses. Topics discussed include program concept vs. technology as stimulus for innovation, program planning/administration,…