NATIONAL GOVERNORS' ASSOCIATION TO STRESS POST- SECONDARY EDUCATION IN YEAR 2000 AGENDA - Last week, the new Chairman of the National Governors' Association (NGA), Utah Governor Michael Leavitt, announced a landmark state-of-the states conference to be held next February in Washington, DC. The meeting, which will convene US senators, state governors and, in a follow-up event, their respective House delegations, is expected to kick off an ambitious Year 2000 bipartisan legislative agenda with strong emphasis on post-secondary education. According to NGA, agenda items will include "increasing the velocity of learning in post-secondary education," "reinventing with technology," and "creating public-private partnerships." NGA intends to carry the agenda to the states in a series of meetings across the nation. Read more on the NGA Website at: http://www.nga.org/Releases/PR-10August1999Leavitt.asp (E-News from UCEA 18 Aug 99)

DON'T BLAME TEACHERS FOR LOW COMPUTER USE IN CLASSROOMS - Larry Cuban, a professor of education at Stanford University, asserts that teachers today are unwilling to learn new computer technology. The author believes this unwillingness is due to several factors, including ever-changing technology, lack of new and upgraded software and no technical support. The same technology wave that transformed the corporate world has done little for the world of teachers. Some of the problems Cuban notes are that experts offer contradictory advice to teachers, technology is unreliable, policy makers tend to ignore teachers' views, outside groups make unreal demands of teachers, and schools have ill-managed working environments. All of these factors lead teachers to ultimately ignore expert advice on use of new technology in the classroom. Cuban contends that teachers are given unreal expectations and will not succeed in implementing technology in the classroom without the help of policy makers, vendors, and corporations. (Los Angeles Times 08/22/99 Edupage 25 Aug 99)

JOIN A CONSORTIUM OF COLLEGE TESTING CENTERS: SUPPORTING DISTANCE LEARNING - recently formed by MPACT and CETA. The purpose of the consortium is to provide test administration services to students nationwide. Two and a half days after it was announced, 32 institutions from 24 states had joined the consortium. Guidelines have been established, criteria determined for membership in the consortium and membership is free. Test administration centers, however, are permitted to charge for their administrative services Participating institutions simply fill out an enrollment form, providing requested information and indicating their willingness to administer examinations to students who need them. Information about the consortium, including the guidelines, enrollment form, and list of participating institutions is available from either the MPACT home page or the SETA home page. From both sites, click on "Consortium of College Testing Centers" link to get to the CCTC home page. MPACT - http://www.uni.edu/mpact; SETA - http://www.uncfsu.edu/o_seta (Bud Wood Brigham Young University)