The Montgomery County Public Schools, (MCPS), Maryland, annually surveys its graduating classes to help determine whether MCPS adequately prepares its graduates. This is the first follow-up study of MCPS's 10 special education schools' graduates (class of 1983). It investigates: (1) postsecondary education and employment activities; (2) students'…

A study estimated the costs of the "Chicago Jobs and Living Wage Ordinance" that would require firms that receive assistance from the city of Chicago to pay their workers an hourly wage of at least $7.60. An estimate of the additional labor cost that would result from the proposed Ordinance was calculated. Results of a survey of…

Vocational training often fails to provide what employers need and students want. To correct supply/demand mismatches requires improving feedback from employers, increasing the flow of information, bringing schools closer to businesses, rewarding institutions for successful employment of graduates, and providing incentives for entrepreneurs. (SK)

The topic of the 1997 annual meeting of the Aspen Institute's Forum on Communications and Society (FOCAS) sprang from the previous work of the FOCAS in the areas of education, lifelong learning, and technology. This report examines the changing nature of the employee-employer relationship and whether the economic, technological, demographic, and…

A study identified and conducted onsite case studies of 18 different education programs conducted by small companies. Two-thirds of them were conducted by manufacturing companies; the remainder were in health services, construction, or transportation companies. Most of the programs served fewer than 25 workers and had been in operation for less…

A method to determine the mutual needs of the business community and colleges that offer a masters of business administration (MBA) program is presented, noting the importance of determining if graduate business education has kept pace with innovative technological changes. Many in the business community question the effectiveness of MBA programs.…

This report describes the third-party evaluation of the third year of operation of the experience based career education (EBCE) project administered by Iowa Central Community College. The evaluation is based on examination of project records; interviews with staff, students, and resource persons; questionnaires completed by students, parents, and…

An evaluation was conducted of private career schools as part of Washington State's accountability system for workforce development. Of some 230 private career schools in the state, 8 volunteered information. Information was also gathered from employment records of the Employment Security Department for 5,902 persons who were students of these…

Voluntary severance plans for college employees offer a possible solution to the problem of limiting labor costs in an inflationary economy, particularly when mandatory retirement is eliminated. The severance package must be carefully budgeted, constructed, and communicated to the employees, and the institution must be disciplined in carrying it…

The evaluation process is very important to identify and recognize the strengths and the weaknesses of graduated students. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the performance of the newly graduated civil engineers from the Islamic University of Gaza in Palestine. The methodology was based on questionnaires and informal interview. The…

Despite skepticism about the viability of an educational investment strategy for rural development, coordination between education and rural employers may be a key to rural economic growth. Interviews with 101 employers in 6 rural counties surrounding Hagerstown, Maryland, as well as a mail survey (95 of the 101 employers responded), examined…

The Tourism Standards Consortium (TSC) is a partnership of the governments of Canada's western provinces (Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia), the provinces' tourism industries, and the Pacific Rim Institute of Tourism in British Columbia. In an effort to increase professionalism in Western Canada's tourism industry, the TSC…

A study evaluated the various aspects of the Maryland Job Service, including the services it provides, coordination between the service and related agencies, the degree to which services provided are congruent with and driven by federal mandates, and employers' and applicants' perceptions of the service. Job services available in other states were…

A study was conducted to understand better a common problem in job development efforts in rehabilitation--the poor returns of mailed-out surveys and, therefore, identification of few job leads for further cultivation. Two experimental job development investigations were used, one with large firms and one with small firms, to examine the effect of…

Evaluation of the CETA/EBCE (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act/Experience Based Career Education) Field Learning Program at eight sites in Montana showed the program to be successful in helping high school students explore careers. The system was generally successful in achieving program outcome objectives: varied types of students were…