Online doctoral programming geared toward working professionals can provide unprecedented flexibility in terms of time and place that affords greater access to a broader student demographic. At the same time, online learning poses its own unique set of challenges and limitations for students with and without disabilities. Universal Design (UD) is…

College Promise programs--initiatives designed to guarantee tuition and fees for eligible students--have swept across the country, unlocking the opportunity of higher education for students in more than 200 communities across 44 states, including 16 statewide programs that have passed through legislation or executive orders. These forward-thinking…

A capstone experience, as an exit degree requirement, allows Master of Public Administration (MPA) students to build quasi-experimental practices by applying learned knowledge and skills throughout their curriculum in the United States. Accredited MPA programs have implemented their capstone courses differently to achieve required standards. Small…

This is the third paper on the topic of outcomes-based funding written by Dennis Jones for Complete College America. The first paper, "Performance Funding: From Idea to Action" (ED535356), proposed a set of design and implementation principles to help states develop and implement their own outcomes-based funding models. The second paper,…

This chapter describes a model for continuous improvement that guides the work of the National Center on Scaling Up Effective Schools, or NCSU. NCSU is a research and development center funded by the Institute for Education Sciences, the research arm of the United States Department of Education. At the core of the Center's work is an innovative…

During the 2013-2014 school year, a charter school in Central Florida (which will be given the pseudonym "The Unity School") known for its practice of full inclusion launched an unconventional project. The Unity School, which serves children from preschool through grade five, began offering foreign language to all pre-kindergarten…

The following paper describes the rationale for creating an online therapy program of cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, for students at the University of Florida who are struggling with stress and anxiety. In addition, the paper discusses the unique challenges of the instructional design process of creating psychoeducational materials through…

In 2011, the Arizona State Legislature adopted a law creating the first education savings account (ESA) in the United States. Following Arizona's lead, several other states, including Florida Tennessee,Mississippi and Nevada, have implemented ESA policies. Typical eligibility requirements include conditions such as a pupil's diagnosed disability,…

This paper provides a summary of the design, development, and evaluation of a mobile distance supervision system for teacher interns in their field-based teaching experiences. Developed as part of the University of Florida's Restructuring and Improving Teacher Education 325T grant project, the prototype system streams video of teachers in rural…

The demand for online courses and programs continues to rise as more learners are looking for flexible learning options to meet their needs. Despite declining levels seen in overall enrollment, distance education enrollments are steadily growing (Seaman, Allen, & Seaman, 2018). Along with this demand and increase, however, comes a concern of…

More than half of poor African American infants are born into "fragile families" and nearly half grow up in single-mother families with little or no father involvement. However, most prenatal interventions fail to help unmarried mothers talk and plan together with their baby's father, especially when fathers are nonresidential. This…

Response to Intervention (RtI) is a process that addresses both the identification of learning disabilities and the design of early intervention and instruction. RtI provides a framework upon which to structure high quality instruction for all students and a means by which to identify those in need of more intensive intervention. The process is…

The topic of virtual reference has been a popular one in the past year, and this column highlights a range of those articles. Included are overviews of the topic, articles addressing specific technological solutions and concerns, and pieces that explore the intricacies of delivering and assessing a "traditional" service through a…

The 2001 Florida Legislature passed Ch. 2001-125, Laws of Florida, Section 40, which is often referred to as the Safe Passage Act. It requires all school districts to conduct a self-assessment of their school safety and security using best practices developed by the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA). It also…

The Florida Association of Professional Health Educators (FAPHE) has been instrumental in developing a voluntary registration/certification process to upgrade professional standards, identify health educators, and establish a network for the purpose of continuing education. Eight basic steps have been identified as necessary for the development of…