Can the U.S. keep its dominant economic position in the world economy with only 30% of its population holding bachelor's degrees? If the majority of U.S. citizens lack a higher education, can the U.S. live up to its democratic principles and preserve its political institutions? These questions raise the critical issue of access to higher…

Communities across the country are grappling with different approaches to improving their schools. Introducing or expanding charter schools is one of the approaches that states and school districts have considered or implemented. Charter schools serve more than 5 percent of public school students nationwide and make up close to 7 percent of all…

The landscape of higher education (HE) has dramatically altered in the past 30 years and it continues to evolve and change. More students are entering HE and attending university or college on a global scale than ever before. Supporting and enhancing the undergraduate student experience across the student lifecycle, from first contact through to…

Briefly summarizes the effects of federal funding on vocational agriculture programs and reviews how individuals and professional organizations can influence federal funding legislation. (LRA)

National debts and deficits are not the curse on the economy that they might seem. The goal of establishing a balanced fiscal policy will not be obtained by simplistic legislation calling for an annual balanced budget or automatic (and harmful) spending cuts. (IW)

New methods of financing higher education used in Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom are summarized and compared. The paper concludes that while these approaches are designed to improve efficiency, realize specific outcomes, and leverage additional funds from other sources, they may have unanticipated, unintended, and, in some…

Based on survey data from college and university distance learning programs in the United States and Canada, this report gives higher education administrators hard data to make decisions on the financing, scope, and development of distance learning efforts. It also profiles some of the leading practitioners such as Johns Hopkins, California State…

Reports a survey of 315 higher education and private secondary institutions in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and United States that investigated factors critical to success in international marketing of educational programs. Results suggest that two factor groups (reputation and resources, and possession of international…

This book contains 10 papers on critical issues facing colleges and universities seeking to "internationalize" the curriculum and design good programs and services for foreign students in the United States and for American students abroad. An overview by Richard D. Lyman introduces the following papers: (1) "Foreign Student Flows…

Considers the view, long fashionable in academic and political circles, that sees the expansion of higher education as benefiting the nation economically. Argues that higher education has expanded well beyond that threshold and would be regarded better as a form of consumption. (CFR)

Asserts that productive education programs combine academic study with productive work. Discusses drop-out prevention and the difficulty of integrating academic study and vocational training. Concludes that there are many successful examples that can be used as models. (CFR)

Quality Education Data is an education research firm identifies and tracks the use of technology in education. QED surveyed a selection of all public school districts and schools in the United States about technology trends. This report provides statistics for hardware, software, and network purchases in K-12 schools for 1996-97 as compared to…

This collection of essays, which is separated into 4 sections, concerns open and distance learning at school level, or grades K-12. The first section, "The Knowledge Society," includes the following chapters: "Classroom Open Learning: A Case of Old Wine in New Bottles?" (Jenkins); "Living and Learning in the Information…

This book, which is intended for individuals involved in developing, delivering, and supporting human resource development (HRD) programs, discusses worldwide HRD trends that were identified in a study of the HRD practices in 35 countries. Chapter 1 discusses the importance of the HRD trends identified and explains how they were identified.…