The broad mandate of the University of the South Pacific, the only regional university of the Pacific Islands, is complicated by great distances and geographic diversity and fragmentation. Finance, academic development, administrative structure, staffing, aid dependency, autonomy, and regional cooperation are discussed. (MSE)

Faculty development in Mexico may have raised teacher productivity, but it has not enabled universities to make the radical changes necessary to improve society. The active involvement of professors is required in the analysis and solution of problems in their communities prior to their participation in modifications of the university. (Author/MLW)

Legal arguments are summarized concerning the case of Professor James A. Dinnan, whose refusal to reveal his vote on a tenure review committee led to his jailing. The author argues that the case illustrates the need to reassess tenuring patterns that foster institutional discrimination, rather than an assault on academic freedom. (PP)

The failure of the courts to articulate a coherent legal theory respecting legal rights of students has led to considerable confusion. An examination of court decisions on student rights suggests that a coherent theory is possible. The contract theory of student rights is discussed. (Author/MLW)

Evangelical colleges have been unaffected by the academic revolution in which faculties, organized into departments, have increasingly obtained hegemony over a large and growing portion of the academic enterprise. These colleges are tuition-dependent, with relatively weak departments, allowing greater flexibility. Oral Roberts University, Berea…

The headmaster of Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, examines the relationship of the federal government to nonpublic education, noting that, while private schools are benefiting from increasing public interest and funds, they must guard against excessive regulation leading to a centrally imposed academic homogeneity. (SJL)

Autonomy, in the context of higher education, is defined as the ability of a university or college to govern itself without outside controls. Autonomy and academic freedom are discussed and procedural and substantive autonomy are distinguished. (MLW)

The issues of academic freedom, institutional autonomy, government involvement in higher education, and students' part in the power structure are analyzed for several European countries. Recent influences, political and economic, are reviewed. (MSE)

North Dakota established the State Board of Higher Education, a constitutional body, in order to remove higher education from the political sphere, but there is little judicial clarification of the degree of autonomy. Judicial decisions in nearby states indicate institutions may not be interfered with by a state legislature. (MLW)

"Organized anarchies" is how Michael Cohen and James March have described American universities. The lack of rational-deductive organizational characteristics in higher education has encouraged it to be "playful" in a way that is "sensibly foolish." Budgetary pressures will force universities to become more…

Reviews the historical development of Alaska's community college system. Discusses pros and cons of central or unified v local or autonomous control. Concludes that the growth of community colleges as power forces overshadows the unified or autonomous school issue. (CAM)

Convinced that what the state touches it secularizes, a growing number of religious institutions are challenging the federal government and risking a reduction in federal funding. The cases of Wheaton College and Brigham Young University are described. (Editor/LBH)

Some states are using rewards and incentives to entice public colleges and universities to improve quality and meet long-term state goals. Performance funding generally represents a small portion of an institution's budget but appears to substantially affect institutional performance, lessen funding fluctuations, and promote funding stability.…

Three principles underlying Chinese academic freedom and university autonomy are discussed: (1) given the socialist nature of Chinese education, education must provide support for socialist modernization, with all activities undertaken in society's interest; (2) universities have legal status to manage their internal affairs; (3) faculty can…

Explores issues of academic freedom and autonomy in various systems of higher education in Latin America, with emphasis on the Brazilian case. Analyzes the issues of financial and administrative autonomy and tensions between the universities and the state during three historical periods: 1920s-50s, 1960s-70s, and 1980s-90s. (Contains 28…