When Brad R. Simpson visited the University of Connecticut for a job interview in February, he was struck by a vibe that he finds increasingly rare on college campuses. People, he says, were optimistic. At a time when he encounters many demoralized professors, as campuses across the nation slash budgets and freeze hiring, the University of…

Two years ago, the only historically black medical school west of the Mississippi faced a grim prognosis after county officials pulled the plug on its relationship with a troubled hospital. Today the medical school that has reportedly trained about a third of Los Angeles County's black and Hispanic physicians is back on its feet and planning an…

Five academics from around the world plan to open a new kind of online university early next year, built upon professor star power and students learning from one another through online social tools. The teachers will be volunteers, the courses will cost next to nothing, and no official credit will be given. The organizers call it P2P University…

This article reports that last month at the NASA-Ames Research Center, a group of top scientists and business leaders gathered to plan a new university devoted to the idea that computers will soon become smarter than people. The details of Singularity University, as the new institution will be called, are still being worked out--and so far the…

Describes the "slow and steady" approach to growth embraced by the owner of Stratford College, a Virginia-based, for-profit school that offers degrees in the culinary arts, information technology, and hotel and event management and business. (EV)

This article reports on the expansion of global-health programs in the U.S. as universities respond to rising donations and student interest. New York University, which started its program last year, is one of a growing number of universities that are responding to a surge in student demand for courses and programs in world health. NYU's students,…

This article reports on new programs that focus on training skilled scientists and mathematicians who will help solve Africa's myriad problems. The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, in Cape Town, South Africa, offers one of the first working examples of a growing effort to develop a cadre of highly trained, practically minded scientists…

Describes science master's programs that are being designed for students who want graduate training but don't aspire to academic careers. They aim to train scientifically-educated people for the increasingly high-tech workforce without turning every student into a researcher. (EV)

This article talks about serious financial problems faced by the African Virtual University, the continent's largest online institution, forcing it to accelerate a major restructuring. The university was established in 1997 by the World Bank as a link between foreign and African institutions, and has been impeded by insufficient funds. As a…

Describes a charter school for middle grade students developed and administered by the University of California, San Diego. Notes the increasing interest nationwide of various institutions of higher education in the development of charter schools. How UCSD has met objections such as the possibility of the charter school siphoning off university…

Describes the distance education efforts of the World Bank, which has spent $20 million since 1997 to get its distance education program started, and which plans to spend an additional $10 million in the next 2 years. The World Bank has the experience and resources to set up and deliver distance education in countries without a telecommunications…

At a meeting of academic and public humanists, scholars agreed and expressed a need for scholars, the public, and the sponsors of public humanities programs to come together to encourage the humanities in society at large, and to find specific ways to bring humanities to the public's attention. (MSE)

Describes how Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering in Massachusetts is using a $500 million pledge, a nontenured faculty, and a group of top students to help develop a new kind of institution, the first independent, four-year engineering college created in 40 years. (EV)

Colleges and universities are finding that improvements in the guaranteed student loan process are making it more attractive than direct lending. In its third year, the direct lending program's total loan volume remains at 33%, well below the 50% goal set in originating legislation. Even some of its strongest supporters fear the program will have…

Virtually all reform measures proposed at the National Collegiate Athletic Association annual meeting pass by wide margins. Changes include reduced coaching staffs and scholarships, phasing out of athletic dormitories and training tables, limiting practice and playing time, reduced recruitment expenditures. However, substantive change is not seen…