Results of a national survey describe the extent to which employers employed more PhDs from prestigious doctoral programs in the 1970s than previously. Evidence of a possible shift in program quality as a result is examined. (MSE)

Institutions need coordinated events programs that support institutional goals and are closely related to them, whether the objective is fund raising, student recruitment, or improvement of the college image. Carefully selected and planned events create news, affect perceptions, influence attitudes, spark emotions, and affect people's decisions…

Instructor expressiveness and lecture content were combined with instructor reputation in a 2 X 2 X 2 factorial design to assess interaction effects. Results indicated that reputation interacted with expressiveness but not content, in which students rated positive, high-expressive instructors more favorably than negative, high-expressive…

A national poll of 337 community college presidents on 39 factors affecting institutional image indicates college student-related factors ranked higher in relative importance than factors usually associated with the public relations office. They include student word-of-mouth, student faculty relationships, and student success after college. (MSE)

Alumni relations, it is suggested, must "fine tune" their alumni volunteer programs or risk misusing a unique institutional resource. The tradition of lay governance, the development of alumni relations, volunteers in alumni relations, recruiting, and the institutional image and pride of identification are discussed. (Author/MLW)

A pilot research program to measure the academic qualities of undergraduate colleges has been announced by the Higher Education Research Institute of Los Angeles and the Council on Learning. The study will include a literature review, measures of institutional popularity among students, and reputational ratings of undergraduate departments. (JMD)

The National Academy of Education is described as a loose federation of prominent educational and social science researchers, which has never pretended to be a think tank or a lobbying organization. Its influence is indirectly felt through the prestige and quality research of its members. (MLW)

Wright College, part of a seven-college Chicago (Illinois) district, has a strong transfer program central to its institutional identity, and because of its role in the multicampus system, its faculty and administrative commitment to the transfer function, and its student needs and preferences. The college's historical role and reputation as a…

In each of the past three years, a dozen or so public and private colleges have elevated themselves to universities, less because of substantial institutional changes than to highlight institutional vision and communicate prestige, in turn improving fund raising. Many have gradually added master's degree programs. Private colleges can change…

Explores the issue of privacy focusing on informational privacy and how it could be jeopardized by new technologies. Provides contexts of privacy and discusses privacy and celebrity in U.S. culture, privacy abuses, and privacy as a common value. Includes teaching activities by Michelle Parrini and Jennifer Kittlaus. (CMK)

A school fund-raising drive for a young cancer victim at Twality Junior High School in Tigard, Oregon, became a legal hassle with the involvement of a professional fund-raising organization being investigated for mishandling funds. Advises making a thorough background check before letting anyone take custody of funds raised through the school.…

An institution that exists primarily for its own sake--that identifies itself primarily in terms of its resources and reputation--compromises its capacity as an instrument for improving society. Colleges need to transcend their institutional egos and concern themselves with their impact on students and society. (MLW)

A survey of first-year students in an association-sponsored management program found students were drawn to the program by business or personal contacts, program reputation, course practicality, and program length. They ranked the program as just below a university management degree and somewhat higher than a non-management degree. (Author/MSE)

After an unusual amount of negative publicity, California State University at Chico surveyed 500 freshmen and 250 junior transfer students and 500 students admitted but not enrolled concerning their perceptions of the publicity and reasons for attending or not attending. Results suggest the publicity had little influence. (MSE)

Contrary to assumptions of the supergame model, agents in exchange situations will normally not be perfectly informed about past behavior of their partners. Moreover, they will generally be in a position to choose their partners. The formal model of this article, reputation formation, attempts to take account of these facts. (JBJ)