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In 1995 the departments of transportation in Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas formed a partnership to develop and implement a plan to establish a national wildflower corridor from Canada to Mexico. Plan objectives included identification and protection of prairie remnants and rare species found in highway rights-of-way, establishing local origin native grasses and wildflowers to connect native remnants thus establishing a linear corridor; interpretation and educational efforts to increase awareness of natural and cultural prairie resources; assistance and cooperative efforts with communities along a designated and signed Prairie Passage route. In 1995 The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provided a $50,000 grant to each of the six states to perform initial surveys and planning for the Prairie Passage. Implementation of each state’s plan is being accomplished through a variety of funding packages created by each state. From 1999 through 2003 Minnesota was funded by a $750,000, 20:80 match between the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources and TEA-21. Brochures, guide-books, posters, rest area kiosks, interpretive trails, and signage have been developed with this funding. Kansas and Oklahoma also received TEA-21 funding. Plantings have been established and interpretive materials are being developed. Iowa and Missouri have received other state funding. Response to signage and distribution of interpretive materials in Minnesota has been enthusiastic and positive. Several communities on the signed route have proposed cooperative projects around Prairie Passage to further promote economic development and tourism in their areas. DOT district personnel have requested further information and training for use in planning and maintenance. It is hoped that other states will see similar results with materials and projects developed for their states.

In 1991, reacting to public concern about its disappearing wetlands, the State of Minnesota initiated the Wetland Conservation Act (WCA), one of the most sweeping wetland protection laws in the country. The purpose of the WCA is to maintain and protect Minnesota’s wetlands and the benefits they provide. With its goal of no-net-loss of wetlands, the Wetland Conservation Act (WCA) requires anyone proposing to drain or fill a wetland first to try to avoid disturbing the wetland; second, to try to minimize any impact on the wetland; and, finally, to replace any lost wetland acres, functions, and values. The WCA allows and encourages the replacement of impacted wetlands from public transportation projects through the establishment of wetland banks. In 1996, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) and the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources began planning the development of a joint agency wetland bank project. The project area is approximately 1,800 acres in size and is the largest wetland bank site in the state. When the third and final phase of the project is completed in 2003, approximately 1,500 acres of wetland credits will be established. The project restores about 150 prairie pot-hole basins and their surrounding uplands using diverse local ecotype seed mixes. Located in northwestern Minnesota, the wetland complex is within the North American migratory bird flyway, and is also in the naturally occurring range of the North American Prairie chicken. The project was funded by Mn/DOT and BWSR at a cost of a little over $2.0 million. The net cost per acre of wetland credit will be in the neighborhood of $1,500. MNDOT’s share of the credits will be used to mitigate wetland impacts caused by state highway projects. BWSR’s share of the credits will be used to mitigate impacts caused by county, city, and township road improvements. When all of the credits are certified, the land will be turned over to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to be managed as a wildlife management area.

Zidovudine treatment of pregnant women who are HIV-positive may prevent transmission of HIV infection to their infants. Among 409 pregnant women infected with HIV, 205 were treated with zidovudine and 204 received a placebo. The women were between 14 and 34 weeks' gestation and all had CD4+ T-lymphocyte counts above 200. The women in the zidovudine group took 100 milligrams (mg) orally five times a day before birth and received intravenous zidovudine during labor. Their infants were also treated with zidovudine for six weeks. Among 180 infants in the zidovudine group for whom results were known, 13 tested positive for HIV, compared to 40 among 183 infants in the placebo group. The estimated proportions of infants infected at 18 months were 8.3% in the zidovudine group and 25.5% in the placebo group. This indicates that zidovudine treatment can reduce the risk of HIV transmission from mother to infant by approximately two-thirds.

Use of two-way video will improve distance education as people in remote places will experience the essence of classroom activities. It will be of great help in adult education classes and for part-time students and political leaders are allocating funds to develop two-way videos in various states. However, many are skeptical about its effectiveness and many academicians see it as a threat to their jobs.

Evidence is accumulating around the world that greatly increased access to higher education over the past two decades has come at a tremendous price--a severe decline in academic quality. Brief reports on the quality-quantity question and other major issues facing higher education in the world are presented. (MLW)

Academic librarians need to carefully read electronic resources contracts because many include clauses that make the institution unreasonable liable or limit access to the information to such a degree the product is worthless. The licenses appear to be targeted primarily to commercial customers but some librarians have found publishers open to revisions when asked. Making the restrictions more in line with fair-use provisions increases the likelihood that users will follow them and increases the usability of the products in academic libraries.

A controversy rages as to what constitutes fair use between those negotiating for copyright holders and the academic community. A Conference on Fair Use sponsored by the Commerce Department has yet to come up with a consensus on issues involving fair use such as interlibrary loans, digital-image archiving, on-line reserve readings and distance learning. Congress is considering legislation which would strengthen copyright protections in cyberspace but none of the proposed law's provisions deals with fair use.

Six major US universities are involved in developing a National Information Infrastructure with the help of a federal grant of $24.4 million. The universities' goal is to enable researchers to use sophisticated search techniques on huge data bases. Project leaders feel that if their work is theoretically successful, then large collections of text, graphics, sound and even full-motion video could be available on interconnected networks. One of the most significant objectives of the six projects, that the new product will take care of users' needs, has received scanty attention.

New York University's (NYU) Information Technologies Institute is offering distance education learners a 16-credit graduate program through an interactive network linked by NYNEX, New York's main telecommunications company. The facility enables every student to log in to his personal computer, the university programs through special computer cards and is beneficial for students and executives. It is early to say whether the NYU teleprograms for students at home will have a wide subscription base as some would prefer joining a full-time university.

Supporters of information technology in higher education marvel at the advances made in technology such as Internet and powerful desktop software, which will bring about changes in colleges. Officials opined that technology is advancing at such a rapid pace that the academe will have to be restructured according to technological line in five to 10 years.

President of Maryville University of St. Louis Keith H. Lovin, VP Larry Hays and their colleagues plan to make their university prestigious by transforming it into a national model for the integration of liberal and professional learning. They hope to exploit a tradition of frugal management innovate to publicize the university and sustain adaptability to rapidly altering market situations. They will have to contend with a poor reputation in fund raising and an overwhelming reliance on tuition for their operating budget.

Computerised adaptive tests (CATs) will supersede pen and pencil tests for graduate applicants. The Graduate Record Examinations Board intends to introduce CATs as an alternative in Nov 1993. The advantages of CATs over the traditional pen and pencil test are: the computer's ability to tailor its questions to each examinee; students do not need to spend much time on questions they find difficult or simple and only 50% of the questions need be used as the computer can ascertain the student's ability rapidly. Disadvantages are that students cannot change questions already answered.

The merits of employing instructional technology such as software and hardware educational programs, multimedia, hypertext and interactive media are discussed. The awaited assurance obtained from research findings still to be conducted before investing in information technology, can delay their accessibility to the benefits of the technology. Instructional technology promotes non-linear learning path espoused by cognitive experts especially in the sciences and mathematics.

Mathematics education reformers believe that all students can learn math. They also believe that math can be taught through an open, inquiring, practical, cooperative and a hands-on approach which could prove to be better than the lecture and find-the-right-answer methods that have been used for many years. A math reform program at the University of Wisconsin proves that learning is facilitated if teachers get hints from children's notions such as joining, separating, comparing and grouping. This method allows teachers to observe children in a new way that fosters further learning.

China's national leadership is committed to a vast upgrading of education, and the pervasive spirit of reform in economics and politics is leading to higher expectations of higher education. Reforms are targeted in the system's structure, deemphasis on specialization, new emphasis on applied science, and faculty qualifications and productivity. (MSE)

A study of long-term doctoral student persistence patterns at Cornell University (New York) indicates students are more likely to complete their degrees, and in less time, if they receive fellowships rather than research or teaching assistantships, especially if fellowships are awarded in the first year. (MSE)

Collaboration between schools and colleges, one of the most popular aspects of educational reform in recent years, now seems seriously threatened by inadequate funds, uncertain goals, and lack of broad participation by college teachers. Advocates of collaboration fear that their efforts could become just another idea that didn't work. (MSE)

Persistent state legislative interest in public college faculty workload is causing higher education advocates to redirect the debate to consistent measurement of faculty effort, relationship of cost and quality, and intrusion of management on faculty's professional autonomy. Faculty are participating more in the debate. (MSE)

University Microfilms Inc. has started ProQuest Direct, a data base which gives users 'real time' access to newspapers and journals. The product is in the testing phase with about 12 universities subscribing. Reaction has been generally favorable but doubts include transmission delays. So far, the product covers about 3,800 publications, usually with citations and abstracts. Full-text appears for 1,750 titles. Back-files normally cover a few years. Subscription prices are negotiated each time the product is bought.

The Consortium of College and University Media Centers has released its report on the need to develop new laws on copyright and fair use at colleges and universities that address technological changes. The proceedings of the organizations were recorded at a teleconference that was attended by 600 colleges. Most of the educators maintained that the copyright laws on information technology systems are scanty and allow the users to manipulate the regulations.

Business dean of the University of Pittsburgh, PA, H.J. Zoffer, renowned for introducing new radical trends, working long hours and analyzing problems rather than prescribing solutions, has the reputation of holding the longest tenure as a business dean. Although he is now 64, he only plans to retire after developing the university's new undergraduate business college. His colleagues opine that it is his skill and his optimistic and cool nature that has made him popular as a business dean.

A committee at Carnegie Mellon University emphasized the need to adopt an innovative approach to make maximum use of available information technology at the University. The committee urged for a change in approach, as increasing student costs stress the need for a radical transformation from the slow conventional approach of following commercial organizations in adopting new technologies. The innovations the committee encouraged included a wireless version of the campus-wide computer network and intelligence tutors.

Computerized adaptive test (CAT), a new method for testing for college and university admissions, is facing technical and political problems. A bill introduced by State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle demands disclosure of test questions of the previous year, and question revisions by examiners. Testing officials oppose disclosure as it will limit the number of test questions.

Higher education in the People's Republic of China is discussed based on a tour of 15 universities that included formal interviews and informal discussions with Chinese-government officials, university administrators, faculty members, other educators, students, and journalists. (MLW)

Business educators such as the dean of the University of Pittsburgh's Katz School of Management, H. Jerome Zoffer, and James I. Cash, Jr., chairman of the MBA program at Harvard University's Graduate School of Business Administration, are not convinced about the authenticity of the professed revolutionary reform of MBA programs. They believe that the impact of drastic changes, new courses and practical experience programs will be felt only over the years. They feel that changes of this kind will need continued and enthusiastic support of the faculty, which is difficult to obtain.

Computer technology could be used to help improve adult literacy, but for a variety of reasons it has not yet been widely used for this purpose. A report by Congress's Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) has encouraged the nation to take advantage of technology to improve adult literacy. According to Linda G. Roberts, director of the OTA project, we are only just beginning to explore how technology can be used to improve adult literacy.

Stuart Katz, a psychology professor at the University of Georgia, has found that students taking standardized tests, such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), can often guess the right answer to reading comprehension questions without reading the passages meant to accompany the questions. FairTest, a non-profit group that views SAT like tests as biased, regards Katz's study as further evidence that many standardized tests measure students' test-taking skills, rather than their aptitude.

Attendees to the recent colloqium at the National Academy of Sciences criticized the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Program for not being a good measure of quality in choosing candidates for graduate admissions and fellowships. They say that GRE puts more weight in its quantitative testing of verbal, quantitative and analytical abilities. The critics say GRE does not have anything that would measure candidate's initiative, imagination and persistence. These are the qualities which are very important in pursuing graduate studies.

Macalester College has adopted a conservative policy in spending the dividends realized from a $10 million endowment. The institution has started a series of program to construct new facilities and improve teaching without deviating from its cautious attitude. School officials feel that the cash bonanza should be responsibly managed to offer the same quality of service to present and future students. President Robert M. Gavin, Jr said that the college would 'stick to the knitting'. He said new ambitious plans might lead to inferior academic programs.

Yale University psychologist Robert J. Stenberg and colleagues collaborated with Harvard University education professor Howard E. Gardner and came up with the Practical Intelligence for School (PIFS) project. PIFS's main objective is to develop the students' inherent intellectual capacity and encourage them to apply it inside the classroom. Stenberg believes that excellent academic performance does not necessarily denote practical intelligence. With PIFS, students can be assertive enough to challenge their teacher's views. The teachers, for their part, should reinforce such attitude.