Any form of professional or occupational practice that requires independent agency has to rely heavily on the judgement of its practitioners. Yet the nature of professional judgement, like the nature of judgement more generally, is poorly understood. Almost as little understood is the nature of agential responsibility. The two are closely…

The article combines a theoretical approach to structuring knowledge that is based on the integrated use of fuzzy semantic network theory predicates, Boolean functions, theory of complexity of network structures and some practical aspects to be considered in the distance learning at the university. The paper proposes a methodological approach that…

This article analyzes fundraising as an emerging professional activity in career development services and suggests possible remedies to problems in this area. A basic premise is that program directors need to broaden their efforts to increase budgets by taking a proactive approach to potential private sector funding sources and constituencies. (CT)

Five ethical dilemmas in college and university advancement are outlined, and responses of professionals to each are cited. Dilemmas include renaming a building, originally named for a generous donor, in honor of another donor funding renovation; paying for copying of sensitive documents; use of designated donations; handling of a donation made in…

At McGill University (Canada), rather than implement a costly, high-tech contingency and disaster recovery plan for information services, planners focused on risk assessment and avoidance for central and departmental information systems. Actions included better backups, less dependence on key individuals, and an institutional awareness campaign.…

Three categories of options for colleges dealing with reduced resources are defensive reactions, constructive structuring and flexibility, and long-term new directions. Areas toward which resources need to be redirected, however, include broadening educational options for minority youth and encouraging client-centered and goal-oriented learning.…

The director of a University of Virginia Arabic language program in Jordan discusses issues, sometimes unfamiliar, with which the administrator must deal. In addition to logistical and administrative tasks, in this context these include the role of women in the Arab university and students' questions about the universality of social values. (MSE)

This evaluative report by the General Accounting Office (GAO) summarizes Department of Education actions made through April 1996 in response to 205 recommendations to improve the management of federal student financial aid programs. The report concludes that the Department had completed actions or had actions in progress or planned for 186 of the…

Concerns have been raised about the Department of Education's (Education) role in overseeing the lenders and schools that participate in the largest of the federal government's student loan programs, the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). GAO was asked to analyze Education's use of its oversight, guidance, and enforcement authorities…