How might school funds be spent more effectively in today's uncertain environment? This up-to-date volume explores a range of ideas to help schools and districts better manage their resources, including: how to rethink staffing and management to get more value for employee compensation; how policymakers might revisit pension arrangements in ways…

The management of resources is a central duty for school and college leaders, but one for which they are often under-prepared. Good, contextual information and guidance are vital, especially as increased marketisation, international comparison and decentralised governance put additional pressure on leaders to manage their resources astutely. This…

Digital inequity has been a long-standing issue in the education community. A lack of home internet and technology devices can not only hinder students' ability to access educational resources at home, but can also have a detrimental effect on student achievement. Education agencies have taken steps over the past decades to address digital…

Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) invited 10 districts to participate in a community of practice designed to increase understanding of how to braid and blend federal funds. District teams composed of principals, superintendents, business managers, and other district leaders participated in four 90-minute virtual sessions. The purpose of…

TransferBOOST (Bachelor's Opportunity Options that are Straightforward and Transparent) is a multi-year state-level initiative developed to provide students with affordable, quality, well-supported two- to four-year pathways. For every 100 students who enroll in community colleges, 31 students transfer to a four-year institution. Of those, only 15…

Opportunity America received a grant from Lumina Foundation to conduct a national research study of community colleges' credit and noncredit occupational education programs and their relationships with employers. Opportunity America contracted with Wilder Research to manage data collection and analysis for the study. The purpose of this study was…

This brief provides education administrators and partners (providers, intermediaries, funders) with strategies and examples from seven school districts nationwide that have successfully funded, implemented, and sustained evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs. School administrators from these districts were interviewed and…

Higher education expert William F. Massy's decades as a professor, senior university officer, and consultant have left him with a passionate belief in the need for reform in America's traditional universities. In "Reengineering the University," he addresses widespread concerns that higher education's costs are too high, learning falls…

This report provides an overview of the financial health of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)-funded higher education sector in England. The analysis covers financial results for the academic year 2013-14, as submitted to HEFCE in December 2014, as well as the outcomes from the sector's Transparent Approach to Costing (TRAC)…

An often-volatile economy, changing demographics, and technological innovations in educational delivery are among the dramatic changes across higher education that have forced boards and institutions to question the viability of the existing business model. Flat or declining state support in real terms, lower investment returns in some years,…

This study contends that one area rich for reform and cost-saving opportunities is college and university procurement--the billions of dollars public institutions spend annually to purchase goods and services. While considerable cost savings may be realized in the reform of current procurement practices, these practices are largely shaped by state…

This book offers practical guidance on management of financial and real resources in schools and college, and critically evaluates current tensions involved in the area of educational resource management. It is essential reading for educational leaders who wish to improve the effectiveness, efficiency and equity of their resource utilisation…

To align their financing strategies and fundraising efforts with their fiscal needs, charter school leaders need to know how much funding they need and what that funding will support. This cost estimation tool offers a simple set of worksheets to help start-up charter school operators identify and estimate the range of costs and timing of…

This article describes the benefits one gets when big schools roll out highly effective eProcurement systems--strategic improvements and savings. eProcurement systems are hot again in higher education, driven by unrelenting cost containment demands, along with industry shifts that have consolidated choices and brought top products to the…

This book provides an overview of strategies colleges and universities can use to help contain costs. It also describes a range of strategies that have been used to contain costs and refine budgeting systems in an era of low returns on investment and greater competition. The volume synthesizes research on internal cost containment strategies…