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The federal Hope Scholarship program, designed as a middle-class tax break, required substantial negotiation and diverse, often conflicting tactics to become policy. The story of the idea's creation and its journey to policy, based on interviews with over three dozen college officials, Clinton administration aides, lawmakers, and others is outlined here. (MSE)

The University of Virginia admits proportionately more blacks and children of alumni than other groups. Some other groups also get preferential treatment in admissions: athletes, musicians, artists, applicants from rural areas, children of faculty, female scientists, and other minority group members. (MSE)

Data on 1993 campus crime from 796 higher education institutions with enrollments over 5,000, required by federal law, reflects a rise in robberies, aggravated assaults, arrests for drug and weapons violations though property crimes and murders decreased. Interpretation of data, seen as providing an incomplete picture, is debated. (MSE)

Table details crime data 1991 and 1992 from 774 colleges and universities including reported incidents and number of arrests by type of crime. Shows robberies and assaults on college campuses are increasing. However, because of confusion about the Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act, the federal law requiring colleges to report crime statistics, interpretation of the data is difficult. (MSE)

Lead news stories on intercollegiate athletics in newspapers and on television are increasingly common. If the media are to report accurately on college sports, campus leaders must be willing and prepared to share information on the related educational and fiscal issues, including graduation rates, admissions information, and program financial status. (MSE)

Reports on a $1 billion dollar grant from Bill and Melinda Gates to send 20,000 low-income minority students to college. The Gates Millenium Scholars Program will require students to demonstrate financial need and maintain a 3.0 grade point average in college. A list of the largest private gifts to higher education since 1967 is also provided. (DB)

The August 1994 Ohio Supreme Court ruling opening state college and university tenure and promotion documents to the public allows examination of the faculty evaluation process. A review of 48 tenure cases at Ohio State University, which included interviews with scholars and officials, is presented. (MSE)

Colleges' student newspapers are criticized for poor coverage of minority groups. Survey reveals that few student editors are minority group members. Table detailing the survey results shows college newspaper editors by race for 111 colleges. Although diversity is cited as a goal, it is not easy to accomplish. Separate sections and minority-group highlights are sometimes used to improve coverage. (MSE)

The process that led to enactment of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, which provides Americans with over $40 billion in education-related tax benefits beginning on Jan 1, 1998, provides a prime example of the politics involved in the formulation and passage of federal higher education policy. When President Clinton originally floated his revised plan to couple tuition tax credits with increased Pell Grants for the needy, both higher education groups and Congress gave the proposal mixed reviews. Eventually, after extensive negotiation, Clinton attracted enough support to enact most of his plan.

Universities and their representatives spend increasing amounts of time and money lobbying Congress on behalf of higher education. Others with higher education experience serve as experts and even as lawmakers themselves. Representatives of higher education were evident in various congressional contexts during the course of an Apr 1997 day. Students and lawmakers discussed financial aid and other issues. University presidents met with Senate leaders. Education lobbyists sounded out congressional staffers on the forthcoming budget and professors offered expert testimony on Japanese politics.

A National Collegiate Athletic Association study indicates Black athletes (n=835) entering Division I colleges in 1984 and 1985 were half as likely as White athletes (n=2,453) to graduate. Results seem unlikely to resolve the debate over the NCAA's Proposition 48 concerning eligibility standards. (MSE)

The US Supreme Court decided in Jun 1996 that the alternative program at Mary Baldwin was not the equivalent of Virginia Military Institute's (VMI) training program and so required VMI to admit women. The Court found that the Baldwin program lacked the necessary prestige and military training and denied that women would damage VMI since they would be held to the same standards as the male students. Antonin Scalia wrote the only dissent, charging that this decision undermines not only public but also private all-male institutions and would undercut VMI's adversative training style.

The US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit has ruled that the University of Texas Law School should not use race as a criterion in admitting students. The ruling was a big surprise to university officials across the country, as it stated that Regents of the University of California v. Bakke could no longer be used to justify race-based admissions. The 5th Circuit ruling was the latest in a string of rulings undermining affirmative action.

A proposed state policy requiring college students to maintain a 2.0 grade point average to participate in extracurricular activities is seen by supporters of athletics as discriminating against athletes and endangering Oklahoma's teams' success. If the extracurricular activities provision is removed, grade standards for good academic standing would be made even higher. (MSE)

By adding several adult-education programs, enrolling undergraduate men, restructuring the undergraduate curriculum, and adding a comprehensive sports program, Queens College has tripled its enrollment and nearly quadrupled its endowment in 12 years. Some women who enrolled before it went coeducational resent how administrators have catered to the male students. (MLW)

Surveys conducted by 'The Chronicle of Higher Education' reveal that six presidents of private colleges earned more than $400,000 during 1993-1994. The study also showed that 19 other professors earned around $300,000 and 76 of them received between $200,000 and $300,000. The Internal Revenue Service has decided to maintain a check on the salaries and benefits of the staff in private colleges.

Data collected by the Chronicle from 796 colleges reveals that violent crime was on the rise in campuses during 1993. Reports of robberies, drug and weapons violations increased, while burglaries and other related crimes decreased. Sex offenses declined, but shortcomings in the reporting of such cases question the validity of the data. The government has asked colleges to verify whether racist tensions motivate crime in colleges. Tabular data includes reported incidents and arrests.

Media coverage of sports and athletes must be thoughtful and balanced. Sports teams have a reputation for bringing people together, easing racial tensions, and boosting the economy of the community in which the teams are located. This is true to some extent, but there are significant flaws in these premises, and the opposite situation is sometimes the case. Sports journalists are often criticized for uncovering crime or corruption in sports, but an over-protective media is not providing the truth to readers, who need to hear the entire story.

Bill and Melinda Gates will provide $1 billion to minority students over a 20-year period, the largest gift ever made to higher education. The grant program, managed by the United Negro College Fund, will give full undergraduate scholarships to 1,000 financially needy students each year, beginning in the year 2000.

Congressional inquiry about how the University of California uses federal funds to support graduate student education questions millions of dollars in possibly improper research reimbursements from the government. The university has been accused of telling research agencies federal grant money waiving graduate student tuition is payment for work performed while simultaneously informing the IRS they are untaxable scholarships.

The Southern Methodist University football program has been troubled by corruption and violation of National Collegiate Athletic Association rules for a number of years, and an angry faculty blames a board dominated by Dallas businessmen. Both the football program and the institution's reputation are threatened. (MSE)

Rising program deficits and lack of state aid for college sports programs in Oregon have caused the suspension of sports teams as a cost-cutting measure. Some trace the financial problems to equalization of women's sports and the 1982 downturn in the lumber industry. Financing options appear limited. (MSE)

A rift among college presidents perils the drive to reform college sports. Cost-cutting measures proposed by the presidents were defeated by NCAA members. Five athletic directors with widely differing programs view their own budget dilemmas, and college officials assail the decision permitting ineligible athletes to play professional football. (MLW)

Administrators at the University of Colorado at Boulder are seeking aggressive solutions to its very small Black population's problems of social isolation, threats to ethnic identity, and stereotypes. (MSE)

The imposition of severe penalities on the University of Alabama by the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Committee on Infractions has raised questions about the 'summary disposition' process. Earlier the university officials and N.C.A.A. had agreed that Alabama had unintentionally ignored the NCAA's guidelines governing the academic eligibility for admission of athletes. The infraction committee later rejected the university's explanations charging that it was a deliberate violation.

The University of Virginia uses affirmative action to promote admission of black students, but children of alumni and athletes are also given favorable admissions treatment. Admitting students with different backgrounds and special skills brings an element of diversity to the campus. Black students note that their parents were not allowed to attend the university. They also question reverse discrimination charges that focus on black students but ignore admissions policies that favor children of alumni.

The Ohio Supreme Court's decision to probe into the alleged illegal promotion given to scholars at the Ohio State University has evoked controversy in academic circles. Surprisingly, an analysis of the documents of the scholars conveys that they deserved the promotions and tenure. The scholars who were denied tenure benefits were said to have done inadequate research work. The case has raised long-standing questions regarding tenure, academic reviews and the criteria upon which scholars are evaluated.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association, during its annual convention, announced that the new academic eligibility Standards for freshmen athletes will be introduced one year later, in Aug 1996. The new rules will require freshmen athletes to achieve a 2.5 grade point average in 13 high-school courses and a scholastic Assessment Test score of 700 in order to be eligible. The new rule will also give financial aid to partial qualifiers so that they can practice with college teams for one year.

A survey conducted by The Chronicle to evaluate the salaries of private college staff in the US shows that physicians in medical schools are the best paid employees and that official cuts have not reduced the salaries of executives. There were fewer women than men in the highly paid category. The survey was based on data collected from the federal tax form, which has various inconsistencies such as pay raises mentioned under benefits.

Khalid Abdul Muhammad, a member of the Nation of Islam, is popular among students at Howard University despite his anti-Semitic and anti-white sentiments. The popularity could be because of the media attention Muhammad has received, which arouses students' curiosity.

Minority students challenged the racist overtones in student publications and demanded a comprehensive coverage of radical issues and recognition for minority editors and reporters. Some publications countered this attack with the allegation that student publications are explicitly racist due to their incompetence and journalistic oversight.

University officials are trying to remain composed as they warn mail handlers and staff to beware of suspicious packages following the recent letter bombings of two professors. Computer-science professor David Gelernter from Yale University, New Haven, CT, and professor of pediatrics Charles Epstein of University of California, San Francisco, CA, were seriously injured in the explosions. The FBI believes the same perpetrator has been responsible for 14 such attacks since 1978. The random selection of victims has left many college officials feeling helpless.

A survey of total salaries, bonuses and compensation benefits of 190 college and university presidents for the schoolyear 1991-1992 are presented. The data was collated from research I and II, Doctorate-Granting and Liberal-Arts I private institutions. Wayne Isom of Cornell University followed by other Cornell medical professors. Boston University, Columbia University and Vanderbilt University are the top three highest-paying research universities that offer their presidents more than $400,000 in salaries and benefits annualy.

Auburn University's highly successful coach Pat Dye endured a stormy resignation after 12 years on the job. The National Collegiate and Athletic Association (NCAA) found several rules violations on Auburn's athletics program which Dye was chairing. Dye resigned voluntarily but his resignation heartened many Auburn officials who saw in it a chance to redeem the university's athletics program before the NCAA's charges.

Complaints and intrigues abound over the politics and management style of United States Sports Academy founder and president Thomas P. Rosandich. Since the academy was established in Oct 1990, a high turnover of personnel of around 80% has occurred yearly. Interviews with former faculty and officials reveal that Rosandich is a slave-driver and fault-finder who criticizes employees in public. He also reneges regularly on his promises and employment contracts. However, few can find fault with his ability to earn money for the academy.