Issues in balancing health services and costs in a changing society, where groups have differential access to health care, are discussed, including need for a universal health care system, growing cost of health care for the elderly, prolongation of life among older adults, and the claims of children on services. (MSE)

Asserts that natural conditions and resources and the territorial organization of the use of resources constitute the study of geography. Argues that how geography is defined determines both prospects for resource use and environmental attitudes. Suggests that methodological study of how human activities affect the environment deepens students'…

In the coming reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, Congress will carefully examine the purpose, accessibility, process, and administration of student aid program. The deliberations promise to be extensive. Eight specific student aid policy issues to be addressed are identified. (Author/MSE)

Technology is a tool that can support good teaching and well-managed schools. To assure taxpayers and parents that investments in educational technology are worthwhile, schools can emphasize access, focus on teaching, link it to reform, encourage research, and plan for the future. Lists Web sites for finding information about the effectiveness of…

This paper is addressed to those who want to start their own child care center, and provides guidelines for doing so. It identifies the first things to be considered--planning and conducting a community needs assessment to analyze the competition in the area and make the decision of opening a day care center, and gathering information from a…

This activity guide, developed to provide hands-on environmental education activities geared to South Mountains State Park in North Carolina, is targeted for grades 4 and 5 and meets curriculum objectives of the standard course of study established by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Three types of activities are included:…

School district budgeting is a daunting process. To help administrators, board members, and teachers who are not as knowledgeable on the subject as they feel they need to be, a practical manual on the budget-development process is offered here. Three themes are established early in the book: "budgeting is planning"; "administration in budgeting is…

This paper presents results of a study designed to determine whether each university in Florida's State University System (SUS) was being treated fairly by the funding methodologies used by the Legislature and the Board of Regents (BOR). The paper provides an examination of the generational formulas used by the Legislature and the BOR that result…

This report presents results of a study investigating the process used by the Board of Regents (BOR) for developing its legislative budget request, as well as the process used by the BOR for allocating appropriations among the universities. The report also includes an assessment of the extent to which funds are allocated on an equitable basis for…

This paper documents how the University of Oklahoma developed discipline cost indices which it then used in its budget allocation process. In order to overcome the interinstitutional comparison problems between universities which use different reporting and accounting methods, discipline cost indices were derived using data collected through the…

Facing severe budget reductions in 1991 despite institutional restructuring in response to budget cuts in the mid-80s, the Chancellor's Ad Hoc Budget Planning Group at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) proposes a process for fiscal change while aiming to retain institutional excellence. A first section states the current problem, reviews…

With the goal of providing professional development resources for enhancing faculty research productivity, Washburn University (Kansas), which employs about 250 full-time faculty, developed a program that allocates institutional funds through a peer review process. The fund's peer review process has involved two committees, a Faculty Research…

In order to develop a financial plan for and identify constraints on the production of distance learning materials, a total human resources development (HRD) plan must be produced, and endorsed by the highest level of management. The HRD plan sets out the human resources needed to secure the organization's future in terms of people and their…

Among the many reasons why college and university costs are rising are factors internal to the institutions which hold down productivity. Most efforts to improve productivity usually fail because they do not introduce new energy or information from the outside. In order to improve productivity, formal, non-quantitative evaluation should include a…

The use of quantitative decision making tools provides the decision maker with a range of alternatives among which to decide, permits acceptance and use of the optimal solution, and decreases risk. Training line administrators in the use of these tools can help school business officials obtain reliable information upon which to base district…