Specific areas in higher education where congressional and administrative emphases are changing and where improved academic communications could clarify the Federal role. (Editor/IR)

Describes the newly proposed federal agency called the National Institute for the Environment (NIE). Discusses the history of the NIE concept; NIE goals; proposed NIE activities involving environmental research, assessment, information, and education and training; and ways in which environmental educators can assist the NIE effort. (MDH)

Almost unknown a decade ago, student loans are becoming one of the fastest-growing and most controversial issues in American higher education. Various opinions are given on how to solve the problem of helping students to finance their education through loans while not over-burdening them financially after they graduate. (Author/RK)

This report examines issues relevant to establishing an Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) ombudsman office within the Department of Education. The OSFA ombudsman office came out of the need to improve student lending program services and to mitigate the impact of loan default on students. It was determined that students involved in…

Analysis of the evolution of the regulatory process in federal student aid looks at the ability of stakeholders to influence results and concerns about overregulation. Alternative regulatory approaches, considered less burdensome, are examined, and the appropriateness of using student financial aid policy to achieve social and political objectives…

Southern Illinois University developed an instructional approach for supporting collaborative, problem-based learning (PBL) in medical education. A succession of software tools were developed and refined to implement this approach, and a technology-enriched facility, the "Collaborative Learning Lab" (CLL) was designed. The paper…

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…

In light of the National Education Goals of 1990, several arguments against any federally funded large-scale census approach to the assessment of college student learning in the United States are presented to clarify challenges to an objective of Goal 5, which specifies that "the proportion of college graduates who demonstrate advanced…

Hearings on the reasons for the Pell Grant Program shortfall and possible solutions are presented. The U.S. Department of Education's estimate was for a Pell grant shortfall of $307 million for 1983-1984, which was borrowed from the fiscal year 1984 appropriations. Current funding for Pell Grants is below what is necessary because initial funding…

The National Dissemination Leadership Project (NDLP) is a special project of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) funded by the National Institute of Education (NIE). The project provides a secretariate to facilitate communication among state education agencies (SEAs), NIE, and other agencies and individuals concerned with improving…