This project examined recent changes to Michigan's Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS). A QRIS is a way to assess, communicate, and improve the quality of early childhood education (ECE) programs. The goals of the study were to document how Michigan's original QRIS functioned and to understand how changes to the QRIS calculation system…

Relations between colleges/college governing boards and statewide coordinating boards, and alternatives to coordination, are considered. The history of statewide coordinating boards is briefly sketched, and it is suggested that current conditions and trends require both state and institutional responses. Among the issues are declining enrollments…

A districtwide strategic planning model for school improvement is described in this summary report. Six elements of the model are described, which include the strategic planning process, belief statements, policies that stress self-esteem and dignity, a mission statement based on educational equity, objectives to achieve equity, and 12 action…

This paper describes the activities of the Michigan Department of Education and local districts in establishing a statewide plan for using microcomputers in education. Components of the plan include the design of a computer literacy grant program known as TIME (Technology in Michigan Education); the establishment and funding of a statewide network…

Proposed in the Michigan legislature is the establishment of a new institution to be known as Wolverine State College: an institution without a campus or principal location. The proposed legislation articulates three distinct state policy objectives: (1) Under the umbrella of a single institution, the development of a meaningful alternative for…

Conditions in higher education in Michigan and the role of the Governor's Commission on the Future of Higher Education in Michigan are highlighted. The average college tuition rate in Michigan is the highest in the nation, and a critical maintenance and equipment problem exists. The Commission is composed of knowledgeable persons without vested…

Recommendations of six state reports that addressed issues confronting state governments and public higher education in the last 2 decades, as well as some new issues, are considered using content analysis. The reports were prepared by formal study commissions in the following states: Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Nebraska, and New York. In…

Technology planning policy in Michigan has been reviewed and revised through research on local school districts, with an emphasis on the effects of planning on program outcomes. This paper is a case study in the impact of research on practice as it evolved in relation to technology planning in Michigan. This paper reviews the study results and the…

The social, economic, and political conditions that exist in Michigan are outlined in an attempt to predict what effect these conditions will have on the future of the state's public education system. Accompanying the depressed economic status of Michigan's automobile industry and the state's declining school enrollments, numerous cutbacks have…

A study was designed to investigate the possibility that college students who participate in career decision-making (CDM) programs differ from the general college population in ways unrelated to their CDM status. This exploratory hypothesis was tested by determining, first, whether a regression equation could be constructed using readily available…

Tech prep is an alternative to the traditional college preparatory course of study. It is a 4-year sequence of study encompassing Grades 11 and 12 through 2 years of postsecondary occupational education culminating in a certificate or associate degree. The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act of 1990 is the catalyst for…

This paper describes the role of and planning process for networking conferences in the cluster evaluation of the Michigan-based science education projects funded through the W. K. Kellogg Foundation Science Education Initiative to improve science teaching and learning with a long term goal of improving the scientific literacy of Michigan…

The AccessMichigan Electronic Community Health Information Initiative (AMECHII) is a response to a recommendation of the Michigan Information Technology Commission Report recommending improved access to high-quality health care information for all Michigan stakeholders. This project is multi-type, including public, general academic, academic…

A seminar convened by the Policy Analysis Service brought together state and federal student aid officials, representatives of higher education associations, and analyst-researchers to address a number of issues related to the impact of the federal Basic Educational Opportunity Grant program on the states. Formal presentations included a…

This report of a regional conference on Competency Based Teacher Education (CBTE) held to allow the six States in Region V (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin) to share information about vocational personnel development activities and programs, consists primarily of 12 conference papers: (1) Personnel Development in…