Addressed are the issues of government/school relationship and the increasing centralization of postsecondary education. Drawing from the experiences of foreign countries, the value of institutional differentiation, and the need for planning and autonomous action for differentiation, coordination, and change are discussed. (JMD)

Increasing state involvement in the decision-making processes of Connecticut community colleges limits the autonomy local college administrations need to achieve objectives and respond to local needs. Four areas of operation particularly affected by this trend are expenditure control, personnel, data processing, and facilities development. (LS)

Distinguishes between local role in community college administration and management and state role in coordination and leadership. Focuses on the need for state coordination in district organization, educational programs and services, acquisition of sites and facilities, finance, policies and procedures relating to students, research, and…

A relatively low level of state funding and an emphasis on cooperative efforts between local boards and state organizations to resolve problems have enabled Pennsylvania community colleges to maintain local control. They now face increased state funding leading to greater state control and a general trend toward more centralized control. (LS)

Control is a balance between decision-making at the state and institutional levels. In Mississippi, locally controlled two-year institutions with state coordination from an effective community college system, which will meet future needs if imaginative and diverse local participation in statewide concerns continues. (LS)

Examines the legal status of regional and programmatic accrediting organizations in American higher education, reviewing relevant court decisions. Considers the quasi-public role of accrediting organizations and their relationship to the U.S. Office of Education and other government agencies. (JG)

A slowdown and even rollback of the government intrusion can be brought about if the higher education community adopts a basic commitment to the development of credible self-regulating mechanisms. One area that needs attention is accreditation. (Editor/LBH)

The Usery decision invalidated an act of Congress as exceeding the commerce power--extension of minimum wage and maximum hour provisions to virtually all employees of states and their political subdivisions. The ruling is a salutary one if it heralds the Supreme Court's recognition that a significant degree of political and economic autonomy for…

The system of external course evaluation in the nonuniversity sector of British higher education, currently under review as institutions seek greater autonomy and the state seeks better quality and control, is described. Implications of proposed system changes' implications for interinstitutional relationships and the balance of power are…

Part of the acceptance speech of the 1985 National Council for the Social Studies Teacher of the Year, this article describes the censorship experience of this honored social studies teacher. The incident involved the showing of a videotape version of the feature film entitled "The Seduction of Joe Tynan." (JDH)

Reviews the growth of library networks and bibliographic utilities, and describes the concept of a national bibliographic network. The impact of microcomputers, the increased computer literacy of librarians, preferences for local autonomy, and the availability of commercial online services on the desire for a national system are discussed. (CLB)

Recent changes in Finnish higher education are characterized by increased political trust and a desire to give the system a more important social role, by increasing direct public accountability through institutional evaluation and encouraging internal leadership and academic self-regulation. The changes will require more advanced institutional…

A discussion of common practices in and literature about faculty recruitment and selection concludes that (1) little has been written about the process or issues, (2) great reliance is put on personal judgment, and (3) each institution controls the selection process exclusively. (MSE)

School culture emerges from educational research as the most critical theme for changing secondary schools. Educational problem solving to change school culture must be carried out in individual school buildings rather than at centralized locations. The district offices must aid this site authority with moral support and technical assistance. (VM)

An educational planning exercise that increased centralization in Britain's public sector colleges in 1984-85 is described, and the issues it has raised about the relationship of government and institutions and the nature of educational policymaking are discussed. The responses of eight institutions to the changes are examined. (MSE)