MEASURED SUCCESS

Advocates for electronic portfolios of students' work say the systems can provide data to satisfy lawmakers' and accreditors' demands for accountability from colleges. James H. Hanson (above) incorporates the teaching of ethics and leadership into his structural-engineering classes at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, which uses electronic portfolios to help evaluate progress in teaching such skills. (Photograph by Jeremy Hogan)

Private Colleges Showed Healthy Investment Gains Last Year, but They Aren't Expected to Last

Papal Visit Presents Security and Logistical Challenges for University

Virginia Tech, One Year Later

• Colleges Refine Ways to Identify Troubled Students
• Campaigns to Overrule Campus Gun Bans Have Failed in Many States
• University Has Begun Acting on Hundreds of Recommendations
• Commentary: Guns Don't Belong in the Hands of Administrators, Professors, or Students

Virginia Tech Recasts 'Hokie Spirit' as Triumph of Resilience

• In a Turbulent Year, Virginia Tech Rallied Behind Its President
• Commentary: Campus Security Begins With Caring
• Commentary: The Family Rights and Privacy Act: 7 Myths -- and the Truth

Trustees Are Playing a Greater Role in Managing Colleges' Risks

Tufts and Lesley Universities to Split $272-Million Gift

Campus Construction Continues Despite Economy's Woes

A University Bets on Swanky Suites to Attract More Students

Black Colleges Attest to Value of Community-Development Projects

Sallie Mae Keeps Role on Some Colleges' Financial-Aid Sites

Cost and Red Tape Hamper Colleges' Efforts to Go Green

NCAA Announces Far-Reaching Plan to Tackle Problems in Youth Basketball

Audio: Is the Internet Stifling Innovation?

Updates on Billion-Dollar Campaigns at 28 Universities

KEEP ON BUILDING: Despite economic uncertainty, campus construction continues apace, in part because of nontraditional financing plans like public-private partnerships.

WHAT TO MAKE OF AN ARBORETUM: A landscape architect asks: Is it properly a wilderness or a garden?

BAD WHITEWASH: A mistake during a renovation project at New York University has resulted in lead contamination in a Manhattan neighborhood.

FATE UP IN THE AIR: One of academe's finest flying saucers is on an endangered list because it doesn't have skyboxes.

MILLIONS FOR TWO: Tufts University and Lesley University will share a $272-million gift from trusts set up by a Tufts alumnus.

GRASSLEY'S NEW HIRE: The new senior counsel to a key U.S. senator intends to follow her predecessor's record of investigating college endowments and other nonprofit tax matters.

HAND-HELD HELP: A bill in committee in the U.S. House of Representatives would provide relief to colleges and others that give their employees cellphones and BlackBerrys.

LESS THAN SPORTING: A group of college presidents and athletic directors have objected to the prominence of beer commercials during the NCAA men's basketball final.

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