Paints a nostalgic picture of one-room schools, then identifies some of the current problems in rural school and cites some innovative solutions. Topics include problems and advantages of consolidation, regional services, sharing between districts, and the potential of telecommunications and other educational technology. (JHZ)

A study of the dental school applicant pool, measured by the number of individuals taking one of two standardized dental school entrance examinations, found substantial changes in the last 15 years. Applicant pool differences in Canada and the United States and probable reasons for those differences were also analyzed. (MSE)

Procedural burden-of-proof issues led Federal Circuit Courts to affirm changes in pupil assignment systems in Norfolk, Virginia, but reject changes in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Supreme Court's decision not to review the Virginia case leaves school boards and federal courts without guidance on questions raised by resegregation. (MLF)

Results of a survey of 141 presidents of private, liberal arts colleges concerning their planning strategies for moderating enrollment decline include information on faculty-student ratios, career programs, counselors, placement officers, admissions officers, financial aid administrators, and institutional positioning tactics and success. (MSE)

The report presents findings from a study into the causes for modern language enrollment decline in Scotland's high schools. Data were drawn from teacher, students, and administrator interviews in 12 school studies and a survey of modern language teachers and a sample of students from 100 schools taking standardized modern language exams. Results…

The views of 24 Australian university faculty interviewed about the way higher education's recession has affected their work reveals a widening gap between academic ideals and institutional realities. Comments focus on: teaching, students, research, colleagues, career prospects, the university, and the quality of academic life. (MSE)

A steep and continuing national decline in master's program applications is influencing applicant pool composition, enrollments, and programs. Reasons include immediate and long-term economic considerations and current lessened interest in social reform and human service. Both educational and professional questions are raised by these…

Opportunities exist for colleges willing to experiment with new ideas and keep pace with technology. Possibilities for enrollment growth exist in the changing population, including adults, minority groups, foreign students, part-time undergraduate and graduate students, and women seeking higher education. (Author/MSE)

A major change has occurred in both economic theory and its effects on government economic policy and higher education. The change is reflected in intellectual climate, extended government control, strategies to bring higher education in line with labor market needs, academic standards, graduate employment, faculty quality, research, and industry…

The controversy generated by the CUNY open admissions policy is described by its former president. The combination of tuition charges and the modified open admissions policy lowered student enrollment and the retrenchment of younger faculty lowered the morale of the faculty. (MLW)

Transitions in the social and economic circumstances of Western postsecondary education are: changing numbers of students and jobs; the shift from elite values to educational goals that promote equality; the growing significance of the school government relationship; and stability rather than expansion. (JMD)

School systems encountering declining enrollments also face an increasing proportion of senior faculty drawing high salaries. There are no hard data on demographics of the teaching professions or research which supports any relationship between age and quality of teaching. Crucial research questions remain which gerontologists could help answer.…

Colleges must turn to long-range enrollment planning to ensure proper academic and fiscal management. The Higher Education Finance Research Institute, with the College Board, has developed a model that will allow colleges to test the current scale and scope of their programs against regional projections of their enrollment potential during the…

Given the changing legal context for higher education desegregation cases, there is an apparent need to rethink the strategies used by integration advocates. Examines implications of the articles in this special issue for the ongoing policy discourse on "de jure" segregation and inquires whether grounds exist for litigation on the "de facto"…

Describes efforts at St. James' C of E Primary school (Ashton-u-Lyne) that resulted in a school transformation from being under the threat of closure because of low enrollment numbers to being an oversubscribed school that is credited with promoting the highest standards of personal development and racial harmony. How this period of change was…