Key people in the legislatures of 13 states notably active in educational reform or restructuring (Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington) were contacted to obtain information on how state legislatures look at vocational education in light of the overall…

The task of developing and validating planning criteria for evaluating statewide master planning was studied. Through a review of literature on statewide planning in higher education, statewide planning purposes were identified, and criteria for evaluating statewide planning process, product, and outcomes were established. The criteria were…

A survey commissioned by the National Education Association studied how state legislators, especially those in leadership positions, view the current landscape for higher education in their states. The findings are based on in-depth, one-on-one telephone interviews conducted from July 2000 through February 2001 with 64 house and senate education…

This study analyzes and predicts the spread of three different types of land use legislation: mandatory local growth management, major facility siting, and critical areas protection. Chapter 2 focuses on innovative statutes that provide a new or expanded role for state agencies in supervising local control of development. The three statutes…

Members of the Tennessee General Assembly, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission and its staff, the State Board of Regents and its professional staff, and members of the Presidents' Council and Sub-Councils (N=237) were surveyed to identify the most critical issues facing Tennessee public community colleges and to develop implications for…

This reports presents interview findings with education policymakers on various aspects of educational research. The sampling contained the following groups: superintendents and other local education officials; chief state school officers; state higher education executive officers; state legislators; governors' educational policy advisors;…

This study examined the attitudes of students, faculty, administrators, and policymakers in regard to higher education policy, in light of the challenges facing higher education institutions and specifically as they relate to the mission of the university as a research institution. In-depth ethnographic interviews were conducted with students,…

A survey of state legislators was conducted to determine their views of what vocational education should be doing and how it could be improved as well as their perceptions about federal and state roles relative to vocational education. Findings were based on 45 percent of the sample of 209 members of the National Conference of State Legislatures…

A study was conducted in 1981 by the State Board of Directors for Arizona Community Colleges to define the missions of the colleges in specific operational terms and to assess the support for these missions by the colleges' constituencies. Specifically, the study sought to determine the services, clientele, and purposes of specific college…

A study was undertaken of federal and state secondary and higher education policy research design that used a new approach. It systematically used the parties interested in policy development to identify the specific policies within their domain that are in current contention and also identify the arguments and claims on all sides of the policy in…

Institutional effectiveness can be defined as the extent to which internal priorities coincide with the priorities of the external groups that provide funding and support for the institution. If a lack of congruence exists between these priorities, a college administrator has the options of attempting to change the values of the external groups or…

This report examines the current status of federal and state involvement in educational personnel development. First, it describes the federal legislative process, and offers a list of members of Congressional committees dealing with education legislation. Next, it analyzes involvement of the U.S. Office of Education and of individual states in…

An exploration of the decision-making processes of state legislators on public school finance issues focuses on major school finance changes that occurred in Michigan in 1973 and in Washington and Missouri in 1977. Roll call votes, primarily in the lower chambers of the state legislatures, on both selected amendments and the complete versions of…

This research, based on nationwide telephone surveys of voters, state legislators and legislative staff, and high-level business executives, addressed the priority that respondents place on computers/technology in public education, the perceived benefits--and drawbacks--of computers in public education, and the expectations that respondents have…

State higher education policy-making processes can evoke or avoid public consideration of underlying tensions in postsecondary education. A study of imposition of out-of-state enrollment limits at the University of North Carolina, and its effects on the Chapel Hill campus, suggests contemporary dynamics of state policy-making can suppress…