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Going to law school to get a law degree has become a little like going to an ice-cream parlor for a scoop of vanilla. Plenty of people still do it, but many schools' brochures--like the elaborate flavor-and-topping menus on ice-cream parlor walls--now tempt them with something different, something more. Law students can have their "juris doctor" credential flavored with a concentration in a specialty like environmental or intellectual-property law. Or they can go for a double, mixing their J.D. with a master's degree in some other field like business administration, clinical psychology, or the geosciences. If they wish, they can top their selection off with a master of laws (LL.M.) degree, signifying expertise in some subfield like alternative dispute resolution. This article reports that the curriculum at law schools has undergone a major transformation in recent years, as many have set up niche programs to attract students. A few critics, however, are beginning to speak out against the trend, arguing that it is driven largely by marketing considerations and hurts legal education.

Foreign colleges and universities are pouring into China in large numbers, but many find that the road to success in China is paved with failed partnerships, unrealistic expectations, and bad planning. The Chinese government is also becoming more cautious after falling prey to some questionable foreign reports, and is reviewing new applications more carefully.

Several books published by university presses serve no purpose besides credentialing professors, but since the collapse of the US academic job market in the early 1970s, it is mandatory for professors to be published. However, it appears to be time, particularly for the younger academics, to abandon the genteel pose of being aloof from the sordid marketplace and start writing books that more people will want to buy as something besides remainders.

An assistant professor of finance, Chris Dussold was fired by Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville in 2004 allegedly for copying another professor's teaching statement, but he believes he was dismissed because of a persistent rumor that he was sleeping with an undergraduate. A year later, Dussold discusses his crusade to restore his reputation and to expose what he sees as widespread hypocrisy among academics.

Students from Colgate University's India Study Group visit South India every two years to study music, dance, languages, yoga, and philosophy. The Americans take a few days to adjust to the culture shock, and face a challenging workload through the semester, with an intensive program that immerses them completely in South Indian culture and includes travel to various cities and remote villages in the region.

The Scholars' Initiative is an international effort to resolve lingering questions about the decade of wars in former Yugoslavia. The aim of the program is to create research teams combining reputable scholars from the Balkan region with their counterparts in other countries which would address historical flashpoints created by the conflicts with the goal of writing a history, anchored in solid scholarship, by consensus.

The US Navy is encountering fierce resistance at home over its plans to develop a laboratory in Honolulu at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. Proponents of the proposed facility assert it will bring millions of dollars to the campus, but critics question whether universities should engage in classified research and weapons development, and fear that academic integrity would be compromised by the military's goals.

A 2005 national survey of incoming freshmen in the US reveals that two out of three college freshmen believe it is essential or very important to help others who are in difficulty, with 83 percent stating they volunteered at least occasionally during their senior year of high school. The survey also finds an increased level of political involvement among students, with more than a third stating it is important or essential to keep up-to-date with politics.

Academics in Afghanistan, with help from abroad, are struggling to repair the damage done to the country's higher-education system by decades of occupation, civil war, and fundamentalist Taliban rule. However, sporadic foreign aid, a lack of basic resources, and overwhelming demand leave plenty of room for improvement in the otherwise remarkable recovery of the country's universities.

Students at many public universities often have a substantial say in what they will pay for the construction of non-academic facilities usually through referenda in which they vote to enact fees to cover the debt service on the building. However, some students are reluctant to vote in any new fee, given that tuition regularly increases at inflation-trouncing rates.

Facebook is an online directory that connects people though social networks at schools, and while most students on any American campus are regular visitors to the site, many professors and administrators have yet to hear about Facebook, let alone evaluate its impact. This kind of social networking affects all levels of academe, and college faculty must reassess their high-tech priorities in order to deal effectively with issues of student insensitivity, indiscretion, and fabrication.

The US colleges are struggling with soaring tuition costs as state support is unable to keep up with enrollment growth, and college officials are becoming more creative in finding ways to reduce expenses. Higher education institutions are increasingly outsourcing non-academic activities, collaborating with other institutions to share goods and services, and absorbing greater financial risks when long-term savings seem likely.

Students in the US are increasingly discovering that online socializing is far from private and that sharing personal details on social-networking Web sites, such as Facebook, can have unintended consequences. A growing number of colleges are moving to disabuse students of the notion that the Internet is their private playground and what they type on such Web sites or blogs can be read by parents and authorities as well.

Research psychologists at the University of Texas are using electronically activated recorders (EARs) to study a range of human behavior, including romantic couples' dynamics, cross-cultural variations in sociability, and how students coped after the 9/11 attacks. The EAR studies, although still in their relative infancy, are generating striking findings about how people spend their time and how their social worlds are organized.

Nearly five months after Hurricane Katrina swept them off their campuses in and around New Orleans, thousands of college administrators, faculty members, and students began a new semester in January 2006. Students came back with a new spirit of determination to adapt to the new realities of New Orleans, and to campuses that are forever changed, with temporary housing and smaller academic programs.

State spending for higher education in the US grew at the fastest rate during the 2005-2006 fiscal year, allowing most colleges in the nation to regain their financial balance after a series of tight budgets for five years. A new analysis by the Center for the Study of Education Policy, at Illinois State University reported that the total general-fund appropriations post-secondary education rose by 5.3 percent to $66.6 billion from 2005.

The Computing Research Association revealed that the percentage of American women in computer science and related fields remains low and stagnant, while other fields, like mathematics, science, and chemistry are seeing growing enrollment of women. Some researchers suggest computer-science programs are stacked women and the way they learn, but professionals feel more social support is needed for women in the discipline.

Canada's colleges and universities are looking for ways to recruit aboriginal students wary of a once-hostile educational system. Prime Minister Paul Martin's promise in November 2005 of increased funding to close the educational gap between aboriginals and the rest of the population would bolster three existing federal programs that provide financial aid to aboriginal students, help universities with recruitment and retention, and support aboriginal-studies programs.

Syllabi from some 20 colleges and universities were reviewed with prominent English and literature departments and a discussion was held with a number of professors who teach literary theory. It is suggested that devolution and fragmentation of theory might be a survival strategy, an adaptation to the new realties of academic institutions.

Doctoral students become so focused on the classroom, exam and dissertation burdens of the moment that they graduate without really being prepared in terms of networking, intellectual development, and publication-ready texts. Hence, certain strategies that have proved reliable indicators are recommended, including starting the dissertation, building relationships and planning several jobs in advance, in order to succeed in a doctoral program and beyond.

Literary criticism no longer aims to appreciate aesthetics, which is to study how humans respond to art. The problem plaguing the literary academy is that literature is reduced to an idea or a moral and theory has become institutionalized in literature departments and continues to be taught.

An excerpt from a round-table discussion with students of several colleges in Florida on whether to support electronic media integration to their learning and campus experiences is presented. Mirella Avesani, one of the four student participants claims that it is important to have open access to computers and related software to complement class work.

The aging of the professoriate has also brought the graying of many of the most prominent experts on higher-education policy. Even these analysts themselves have begun to ask who will be the leaders of the key debates of the future. In an attempt to identify promising new voices, "The Chronicle" offers a look at several up-and-coming thinkers who have already made a mark on debates about American higher education and who are poised to influence national policies. Biographical and professional profiles of up-and-coming experts in the field of higher education are presented. The article discusses the contributions to academia of Kenneth E. Redd, Marlene L. Garcia, J. Douglas Toma, Mikyung Ryu, Jennifer Delahunty Britz, Marc Goulden, Bridget Terry Long, Joel Vargas, Peter J. Stokes, Sarah E. Turner, and Brian Pusser.

Describes the role of Exxon Mobil in the new Global Climate and Energy Project at Stanford University. Questions about the university's independence from the corporation and real impact on the environment are explored. (SLD)

Discusses how, criticized from the left and the right, class-rank admissions programs in three states (California, Texas, and Florida) seem to be having less of an impact than advertised, with elite campuses much less diverse than they were with affirmative action. (EV)

Six students' experiences illustrate how the conflict in Iraq has affected their views and their lives. (EV)

The first Survey of Public Opinion on Higher Education shows that the United States' faith in the value of college remains strong, despite misgivings about some longstanding practices. (EV)

In several sections, explores how the quest for homeland security is changing academe. Discusses the FBI on campus, visa delays, government funding for antiterrorism research, educational programs in counterterrorism, and civil liberties. (EV)

Describes how members of minority groups view the affirmative action cases at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor on the basis of the difficulty they have had in gaining access to higher education. (EV)

Asserting that the Internet2 network has transformed research, teaching, and online campus life, discusses how some colleges are wary of the cost, both of joining and of keeping pace with its technological advances. (EV)

Explores the implications of the recent Supreme Court decision concerning race-conscious college admissions policies, including the continuing debate, college's admissions reactions, implications for race-exclusive scholarships, and student activism. Includes the complete text of the court's rulings. (EV)

Provides descriptions of the policies and practices that enabled six colleges, once in danger of closing, to achieve turnarounds and regain financial health. The institutions profiled are: (1) Rocky Mountain College, Montana; (2) Bellevue University, Washington; (3) Muskingum College, Ohio; (4) University of the Ozarks, Arkansas; (5) University of Hartford, Connecticut; and (6) Chatam College, Pennsylvania. (SLD)

Describes how the Supreme Court rulings on affirmative action in the University of Michigan cases have college officials scratching their heads. (EV)

Describes how, as tuitions soar and more students seek money to go to college, financial-assistance companies prosper by selling information that is available for free. (EV)

Tells the story of Paul Krueger, convicted and paroled murderer, who went on to earn two doctorates and become a faculty member at several institutions, including the Pennsylvania State University. The loss of his job, when his background was revealed, raises questions of rehabilitation, teacher responsibility, and the need for background checks. (SLD)

The obstacles faced by the online subscription library, Questia, illustrate the pitfalls of designing an online library for college students without winning over librarians and faculty. A major problem is the small size of Questia's collections. (SLD)

Describes how several key advocacy groups, working together, have played key roles in bringing the issue of race in college admissions to the Supreme Court. (EV)

Describes how $850 million from private technology companies and the state have begun pouring into nanoscience at SUNY-Albany. (EV)

Describes how a long-predicted decline in the fortunes of small private colleges is beginning to show up in the bond market, as the number of colleges now rated in the junk category has nearly doubled. (EV)

An annual survey finds that more freshmen are showing an interest in politics and the arts, while fewer are attending their first-choice institution. (EV)

Discusses how most colleges lost money on their endowments again during the past fiscal year (an average of 6 percent), prompting business officers to rethink investment strategies. Includes a table listing over 650 colleges' endowment earnings. (EV)

Describes how spending on higher education grew by 4.6 percent in 2001-02, the smallest increase in 5 years. Includes numerous data tables on state appropriations for higher education. (EV)

Describes how, for the first time since 1984, the value of college endowments dropped last year. Includes data charts and a listing of endowment fund amounts and the annual change for over 600 universities. (EV)

Explores how the world's oldest English-speaking university is struggling with issues of finance, governance, mission, and demographics. (EV)

Discusses how president Lawrence H. Summers has no problem taking on Harvard's beloved programs and bringing a "back to basics" approach to the university. (EV)

Explores why, although Golden Key has gained a large membership, many other honor societies question its mission. Its founder has been ousted amid charges of lax standards and improper encounters with students. (EV)

Explores how the latest in a series of suicides at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology raises a delicate question: How deeply should a college involve itself in looking after the mental health of its students? (EV)

Discusses how a plagiarism scandal has again "mired" the University of Virginia's fabled judicial system in "trauma" and lawsuits, while some systems that are less well known, such as that of Georgia Tech, may be functioning more effectively. (EV)

Profiles an economist, a literary scholar, a bioinformatics researcher, and an expert on Islam who found good jobs in a tight academic market. (EV)

Twenty-four people from all walks of college life, including a campus police officer, a scientist studying bioterrorism, and a Muslim student, tell how September 11 affected them. (EV)