In June 1996, Harvard also mailed a survey to a sample of alumnae, the results of which are contained in the report.

Harvard or Radcliffe?

Many of the survey respondents, according to the report, said they were unclear about the separate priorities and activities of Harvard and Radcliffe colleges. Women graduates who participated in the discussion groups also noted "significant confusion" in the roles of Harvard and Radcliffe in undergraduate education, extracurricular life and fundraising.

"[Radcliffe alumnae] are mostly concerned about the fact that Radcliffe is left out of the programs," Chamberlin said.

According to the report, surveyed alumnae also complained of "frustration and confusion" created by the two institutions' simultaneous fundraising efforts, although they reported that they often contribute to both Harvard and Radcliffe regardless.

"We're happy to have alumnae support both institutions. We've never looked at it as a competition. The goals of the Radcliffe campaign are very distinct, and it doesn't overlap with what Harvard [requests]," Chamberlin said.

"We see them as being highly complementary," she added.

Surveyed alumnae ranked financial aid first and the recruitment of women and minority faculty second as their highest giving priories.

Gender Gap at OCS

The report says that last summer, surveys and student focus groups at the Office of Career Services (OCS) revealed that disproportionately more men than women take advantage of its resources.

In an e-mail yesterday, William Wright-Swadel, director of OCS, said that there was actually not an overall gender disparity in OCS use.

"More women use the office for career counseling/advising in each of the first three years; slightly more men use the office for the same service in the senior year," he wrote.

However, Wright-Swadel said that in the areas of fellowships and recruiting, men often outnumber women.

For instance, he said that although slightly more women than men apply for fellowships in general, more men apply for the prestigious Rhodes and Marshall scholarships.

In the recruiting program, men clearly outnumber women, according to Wright-Swadel. For example, he said in the '95-'96 recruiting program, 426 men and 277 women participated.

Wright-Swadel said that OCS is taking several steps to eliminate this gender disparity and has cooperated with Knowles' staff concerning this issue.