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The article reports that the Center for Digital Education of the United States has released a new strategy paper in coordination with Alcatel SA on the topic of cybersecurity in higher education. The paper "Cybersecurity on Campus: Balancing Academic Freedom, Open Networks, and Secure Computing," examines the security of data within university networks. The paper also provides a checklist to help institutions develop an information technology security plan.

The paper presents the findings of a survey showing that higher education in the United States has made progress in implementing retention programs and policies since the late 1980s. However, the findings suggest that institutions still have a way to go in making larger-scale, institution-wide changes that will aid student persistence. The study found that less than 52 percent of responding institutions have identified a person on campus responsible for coordinating retention efforts. Less than 48 percent of the institutions have established a goal to improve first-to-second-year persistence. About a third have established a goal for improved degree completion. Institutions can start by having a more accurate view of incoming students' academic preparation and skills. INSET: 'What's Working' Recommendations.

The article discusses research on the effect of writing cover letters addressing teacher feedback on the scores of papers in a psychology research methods course. It references the study "Writing Cover Letters That Address Instructor Feedback Improves Final Papers in a Research Methods Course" by F. Daniel, C. M. Gaze and J. L. G. Braasch in Volume 42(1) of "Teaching of Psychology." The results indicate the benefits for students of writing a cover letter.

The article discusses research on the effectivity of detection software in reducing plagiarism. It references a study by R.J. Youmans published in an issue of "Studies in Higher Education." Junior psychology majors randomly selected were informed that their 10-page research papers will be scanned for detection through the site Turintin.com, with half of students in the study required to mention in their papers at least three peer-reviewed articles.

The article cites a paper that objects to active learning, referring to it as a movement that portends trouble for higher education in the United States. The paper contends that active learning is cover-up for deeper problems in higher education, such as class size. It disregards the immense body of research on active learning and its implications for teaching practice.

College and university administrators have a new tool to use while addressing the problem of unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing of copyrighted music, movies, software, and other digital copyrighted content. On March 26, the American Council on Education and the Education Task Force of the Joint Committee of the Higher Education and Entertainment Communities, began distribution of the paper "University Policies and Practices Addressing Improper Peer-to-Peer File Sharing." This paper is intended to provide college and university administrators with a variety of examples of actions colleges and universities which are taking to address the problem of unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing.

The article focuses on "Unleashing Waves of Innovation: Transformative Broadband for America's Future," a white paper prepared by Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) and other higher education organizations. It notes that the document focuses on the necessity of national broadband strategy in various institutions in the U.S. using the 7.2 billion U.S. dollars from the stimulus funds. Meanwhile, it reseals the plan to publish guidelines on the distribution of the funds.

Reports on developments in distance education institutions in the U.S. Development of an Online Course Evaluation Project by Monterey Institute of Technology and Education in California; Launch of Web-based materials, streaming videos, and a facilitator's guide by the faculty at Syracuse University in New York; Plan of the University of Dayton to develop a certification program incorporating the paper Computer Ethics 101.

In this article, the author discusses the role of families and students in regard to the financial aid given by them for the future of higher education. The author refers to an paper that was published in the June 6, 2005 issue of the newspaper "The New York Times," which gives details of how changes to the federal formula have increased the amount that students and families must contribute toward college expenses before they are eligible for financial aid. The changes to the federal financial aid formula coincided ironically with General Motors Corp.'s introduction of its "GM Employee Discount" promotion. In this promotion, the failing automaker is offering a discount to all its customers equal to that given to its employees, dearly hoping to drive a few more consumers to commit to a five-figure purchase.

The paper presents several reports related to recruitment and retention in higher education. "Latino Students and the Educational Pipeline: Pathways to the Bachelor's Degree for Latino Students," a report from the nonprofit group Educational Policy Institute, examines differences in the college persistence rates of Latino students and white students. Four reports from the Center for Institutional and International Initiatives at the American Council on Education (ACE) explore internationalization efforts at American colleges and universities. A survey by the American Council on Education reports that while American postsecondary institutions have made progress in serving low-income adult students, they could be doing more.

A working paper entitled "Addressing the Needs of Under-Prepared Students in Higher Education: Does College Remediation Work?," by Eric P. Bettinger of Case Western Reserve University, Ohio and Bridget Terry Long of Harvard University concludes that remedial college courses help students persist. A more accurate way of measuring the efficacy of remedial coursework is to compare two groups of students of similar academic skill and preparation. The only difference between the groups being that one receives remediation and the other does not. The study looked at the records of public four-year students as well as the records of public two-year students planning to transfer to complete a bachelor's degree. The results suggest that borderline students who received remediation fared better than borderline students who did not.

The article presents a survey conducted by a higher education firm, the Noel-Levitz Centers Inc. concerning the use of electronic communication tools in the recruitment of new students to degree-granting private and public nonprofit institutions in the U.S. The survey revealed that, most of the institutions are not taking the best advantage of their electronic-recruiting practices. There are five underused electronic recruitment tools identified including instant messaging, parent email addresses, online financial aid calculators, electronic applications, and online campus visit forms.