Recalling the myth of Sisyphus repeatedly pushing the same boulder up a mountain in his new book, author and educator Frederick M. Hess explains how the K12 education leadership is faltering, and how it can rise above. "Cage-Busting Leadership" (Harvard Education Press, February 2013) is a new book and consequently, a small, growing…

This interview took place in several meetings over a period of two weeks in late spring, 2008. Carl Ehmann had spent the past five months working with multiple California community college districts to resolve numerous, and multilevel, shortages in senior leadership positions. Robert A. Frost and Ehmann had come into contact through Frost's…

Not for the first time in its history, the UK Higher Education sector finds itself in a position of significant financial constraint. The current coalition Government's actions to address the budget deficit have led to sweeping cuts across many public sector departments, but it is higher education that has seen the most draconian reduction in…

Economic downturns are sudden and sharp reminders that public universities must shift their reliance on state appropriations to other sources of revenue. The recent economic crisis is another reminder that many sources of revenue must be sought for the continued vitality of public higher education in the United States. The ways and means for…

This article addresses the design and application of cost adjustments in state school finance policies intended to compensate local public school districts for differences in the costs of recruiting and retaining teachers. Broadly speaking, the state policy objective for including cost adjustments to state aid for such things as teacher cost…

The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) leads a Mission Growth Working Group, which consists of states that are significantly impacted by the growth of military bases. The group includes state representatives appointed by the governors of Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana,…

California's budget crisis jeopardizes the progress made in strengthening the teaching workforce. The threat of impending teacher layoffs will weaken the teacher preparation pipeline and affect the state's ability to attract and retain thousands of teachers it can't afford to lose. If California is to remain committed to strengthening student…

The key to economic and social development lies in the knowledge and skill base of human capital. This report, presented to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance, calls for vigorous action on the part of the Government of Canada, in concert with the provinces and territories, to protect the Canadian economy from a skills shortage…

Discusses the business of higher education where, shielded by laws, traditions, and folkways, college costs have risen without regard to productivity. Looks at how some are offering tuition at bargain rates to attract students. (JOW)

University-affiliated foundations have difficulty locating and retaining good fund-raisers. A recent survey found that demand for fund-raisers is greater than supply; only one in five is looking for a new job. This paper explains issues and lists strategies that can help affiliated foundations recruit and retain chief advancement officers and…

Discussion of cultural diversity and the significance of ethnicity, race, and race relations in the workplace focuses on the need to recruit library school faculty and students from diverse backgrounds. Highlights include racism; minority faculty; retaining and recruiting minority students; funding; and future possibilities. (Contains 12…

The market for undergraduate education has many similarities to an arms race. A school's position, relative to other schools, determines its success in attracting students and student quality. Its position, in turn, is largely determined by the size of its student subsidies, the difference between its educational spending, and the net tuition it…

After the quality of a school's teachers, the quality of a school's leaders is the most influential school-based factor affecting student learning, and research indicates that leadership impacts student achievement the most in academic settings serving students who traditionally have not done well in school. In an effort to provide high-quality…

Although the theory of the market is well understood, little is known about how for-profit schools will operate in practice. This paper considers why for-profit schooling has developed during the current period and not before (e.g., entrepreneurs must compete against heavily subsidized public schools, which limits their ability to charge prices…

Volunteers are seen as essential to the success of a major giving program. Of equal importance, however, is the support a volunteer gets from the development office: volunteer research, prospect research, volunteer recruitment, supervision, training, and solicitation. (Author/MLW)