While the National Collegiate Athletic Association made no policy changes in its recent meeting, many presidents, athletics directors, and other sports officials attending may have made substantial progress toward reform through extensive exchange of ideas on the notion of federation within divisions, the legislative process, and financial aid…

Critics feel education scholarship lacks rigor and a practical focus on achievement, wasting substantial resources. Research on effectiveness of educational reforms is often weak, inconclusive, or simply inadequate, and good scholarship may have little influence on classroom practice. Popular policies often persist despite strong research evidence…

Scholars on poverty are actively objecting to proposed legislation to reform the current welfare system, arguing that certain approaches are inconsistent with research on poverty and that widespread misconceptions are influencing public policy. Of particular concern is the potential effect of the proposed legislation on poor women and children.…

A far-reaching plan to create a European system of higher education, complementing development of a single economic market, is near approval. Eventually, curricula, standards, policies, and financing would converge in member countries. The political mood is currently supportive, and the plan would extend existing successful cooperative…

The institutions making efforts to study and change faculty salary disparities for men and women are finding that determining what constitutes a fair salary review and adjustment is difficult. Other institutions are resisting making changes. (MSE)

California state commission recommendations cover a wide range of issues, including freshmen and sophomore enrollment at universities, minority student and faculty recruitment, and the tenure review process. The plans would update the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education. (LB)

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching will move from the East Coast to the West and have a new president, Lee S. Shulman, whose professional focus has been teaching and teacher education. Some observers feel the foundation has not been active enough in public policy formation recently. However, the new focus will be more on…

Although the president of the University of Chicago (Illinois) has resigned, the controversy over his planned changes for the institution has not abated. Proposed changes include reducing the number of core curriculum courses and expanding the size of the undergraduate population. Faculty, students, and prominent scholars are calling for improved…