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Discusses William G. Spady’s article on the need to educate students for the Information Age, and contrasts this with James L. Morrison’s account of his personal experiences in implementing Spady’s recommendations. Concludes that faculty need to be trained in the skills required in the Information Age, in order to support and facilitate the change in the learning environment.

A discussion on the need for integration of distance learning into regular courses to ensure quality of education for all. Face‐to‐face students and distance learners should exist in the same communication environment, and faculty who introduce new technology in this way should be rewarded.

American higher education is undergoing substantial change in terms of the way colleges and universities are organized and function. This change is being driven by the combined forces of demographics, globalization, economic restructuring, and information technology – forces that will, over the coming decade, lead us to adopt new conceptions of educational markets, organizational structures, how we teach, and what we teach. This article describes these forces and speculates on their effects on higher education in the USA and other industrialized nations.

States that four trends promise to dramatically change the university of the next century: globalization, virtualization, multiculturalism, and politicization, driven by economy and efficiency, technology, values and rights, and power and politics. The article explores the impact of these trends on the future of the university, presents possibilities for structural change, and offers probable scenarios for the future. The conclusions suggest that the Web and globalism may end the monopoly of the traditional university and paradoxically place the transformed university simultaneously at the center of society.

On the Horizon was born in the mind of our current Editor Emeritus, Jim Morrison, as an environmental scanning journal. Published for a number of years by Jossey‐Bass, On the Horizon was acquired by a small, selective, house in the UK, Camford. Today we are pleased to announce that OTH will be published by Emerald, http://emeraldinsight.com, a major international publisher of over 130 professional journals. Beginning with Volume 10, in January 2002, OTH becomes a quarterly, doubled in size with expanded features, longer, more in‐depth articles, and a global focus, as it adds regional editors to its board.

A commentary on a previous interview with the University of North Carolina President, Molly Broad. Discusses the issue of academic freedom under the First Amendment, and the importance of adhering to tenure standards to protect this academic freedom.

Electronic networks are changing business operations worldwide. Universities must prepare students to handle the rapidly expanding range of commercial information in cyber formats. Although students can teach themselves to use technology, critical thinking skills are best acquired in a learning environment that encourages discussion and collaborative work. Faculty and librarians at the University of Delaware designed a cyber‐learning project that combined discovery learning with problem‐based learning. Teams of undergraduate students were challenged to present the best proposal for an Internet marketing strategy in a competition judged by local business people. Although the students were enthusiastic and produced sophisticated presentations using library databases, the Internet and presentation software, they failed to apply quality measures to evaluate their data. The mixed results of this interdisciplinary instructional project indicate that faculty and librarians should collaborate to create a cyber‐learning environment that will both stimulate critical thinking and emphasize the use of quality measures for information.

Considers the role of universities in a changing environment and the deconstruction of the traditional Academy. Suggests that universities are now operating more like commercial enterprises; that at one time The Academy was supported by the institution, but now the intellectual element is just one aspect of the institution. Explores the notion of clicks and bricks.

Looks at the changing face of education and where it is going. Sees many changes brought about as the global economy develops, IT moves on apace and there’s a widening range of education providers.

Discusses changes that will affect the Academy in the new Millennium. Explores the impact of the Internet on many aspects of academic life, including scholarly communication and publications, collaborative research, e‐education, and entrepreneurship in education.