This paper offers an examination of the transformation of higher education over the last century with a focus on some current tensions and some ideas for responding to the rapidly changing environment. Early sections of the paper describe the "massification" of higher education in which 40 to 50 percent of the population participate in…

This policy brief discusses how certain types of state funding provisions create fiscal incentives for more restrictive placements for students with disabilities. This most likely occurs when funding systems are tied to the location in which the services are provided and a more restrictive placement will generate more state aid in relation to…

This report discusses diverse economic issues involved in educational reforms aimed at improving economic growth. The focus is on elementary and secondary education in the southeastern United States. After a general overview of the economics of educational reform, section I discusses the issues involved in modeling and estimating the linkages…

This document contains the four state-of-the-art papers that serve as planning materials for construction of the planning guide for the project, Accessibility to Vocational Education Programs and Facilities for Handicapped Persons. The first paper suggests techniques by which school administrators can identify barriers to vocational education…

Some of the responses of colleges and universities to declining enrollments and diminishing resources are reviewed. Institutions have tried to reduce the size of their operations, reallocate resources internally, and retrench a number of faculty and programs. Several approaches to reductions, reallocations, and retrenchments in specific cases,…

A colloquium series in higher education at the University of Minnesota in the fall and winter of 1977-1978 examined the influence of academic reward systems on faculty behavior and academic productivity. These essays are the collective results of their findings and recommendations. Essays include: "Perspectives from Psychology: Financial…

Community involvement is conceptualized as a typology of the following processes of social change: (1) conversion; (2) mobilization; (3) allocation of resources; and (4) instruction. The effects of these forms of involvement are considered in a review of 13 evaluations of programs for disadvantaged youth involving the community. (SLD)

This review of the literature examines barriers to building community and fostering involvement among female undergraduate and graduate students in engineering. It also explores a comprehensive set of strategic initiatives that can be taken by women in engineering advocates to build a sense of community and mutual support among students. Barriers…

This literature review on special education finance is based on computerized bibliographic searches, nominations from leading special educators, and citation searches. It is organized into four sections covering the following topics: (1) costs, (2) funding sources, (3) funding formulas for special education programs and services, and (4) fiscal…

The past and current status of the student activity fee is reviewed from the perspectives of the legislature, state agency or state board of control, case law, and institutional trends. The analysis is based upon four national studies, a review of case law, and a campus model for the administration of student activity fees. Various states have…

The question of what American colleges and universities should spend to educate their students is addressed. Both societal and institutional factors that determine the costs of colleges' educating their students and longitudinal changes in the unit cost of higher education are examined. The following issues are considered: long-term trends in unit…

The United States has no coherent strategy for helping noncollege-bound students develop the competence for middle-level jobs. The need for more emphasis on the needs of noncollege-bound students became apparent during the 1980s as less-educated workers began encountering more wage and employment difficulties and as occupations requiring…

This review of the literature focuses on the effects of enrollment and fiscal decline on local school district management and also looks at the effects of local districts' policy responses to decline. The review's five sections include an overview of the kinds of literature available on decline; a summary of the main policy issues identified in…

This report describes barriers to the successful recruitment and retention of African American students in gifted education programs and services, and offers recommendations for ensuring successful recruitment and retention of this population. Barriers to recruitment identified include: inadequate identification practices, too little attention…

As part of a 3-year study to identify emerging issues and trends in technology for special education, this paper examines current and future demographic characteristics of the United States population. The study stresses the importance of understanding demographic trends and their interrelationships in the effort to predict their potential…