This paper examines the debate in the U.S. Senate over the reasons why state governments have decreased funding for higher education. One side believes that federal mandates on states to pay for Medicaid have forced them to reduce spending on higher education. The other side believes that states unwisely reduced taxes, which decreased their…

This paper presents the testimony of Gina Adams before the Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee Hearing on "Improving Early Childhood Development Policies and Practices." This testimony was presented to the House Committee on Education and Labor, U.S. House of Representatives last March 19, 2009. She talks about how…

This study examined the extent to which issues related to internationalization were considered in institutional policy development at universities, along with the underlying reasons why such issues were considered. A written and telephone survey was conducted with trustees from seven state-supported universities in four states. Two state…

Educational policy decisions are political and are affected by demographic, economic, and social factors that influence policy-makers. As the number of federal government programs grew from the 1960's to the 1980's, so did the number of special interest groups lobbying in Washington, District of Columbia, to promote legislation, regulations, and…

Five papers are presented from a legislative seminar on budgeting for higher education and the legislative oversight process. In "Budgeting: A University Perspective," Jack K. Williams addresses the preparation of an institutional budget, what legislators should know about budgets, plans for no-growth or retrenchment, and the importance…

In this speech, Chancellor Thomas J. Nussbaum defends the existence of local governing boards for community colleges and offers suggestions for improving the current weak governance structure. He argues that doing away with local governing boards would: (1) create a greater inconsistency between the mission and the governance of the colleges; (2)…

Discusses the history of agricultural education and points out important advancements through the years. Provides a discussion of current problems facing agricultural education with special focus in the area of legislation. Describes the necessity and steps for personal--as well as professional--association involvement affecting policymaking. (LRA)

This paper investigates the use of enrollment limitations by "flagship" state universities in regard to out-of-state (OOS) students, presenting a case study of the enrollment limitation debate in the University of North Carolina system and its Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) campus over the last decade. The state legislature, in concert with the…

Individual members of state legislatures wield the greatest influence in state level policy formation. This was one of the findings of a study that identified the power and influence context of state-level policymaking. Data were gathered from six states (Arizona, California, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Illinois) using an instrument…

After several lengthy evaluations of California's Early Childhood Education (ECE) program proved inadequate, unhappy legislators and educators finally found satisfaction in a brief, mimeographed report. Several factors were responsible for the success of this new evaluation, the "Interim Report on the Special Study of Selected ECE Schools…

The current status of state policy on minimum competency testing in Wisconsin, and the political process that produced that policy, are explored in this report. The document presents the preliminary findings of research conducted for a doctoral dissertation. The research methodology, mentioned only briefly, involved participant observation,…

Brief observations and predictions on the state of postsecondary education and perspectives on federal and state roles are presented. It is suggested that higher education has lost its former high priority status in the minds of the public and ligislators; survival is a major preoccupation with many collegiate institutions; competition for…

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,…

Conflict over authority between the California Legislature and the University of California is examined. While the University of California has broad constitutional autonomy over academic matters, organization, and governance, the legislature has certain authority over the university under its own constitutional and budgetary powers. Attention is…

Findings from 20 interviews conducted with individuals involved in the California New Teacher Project, which is administered by the California Department of Education and the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, are reported to assess the policy environment for new teacher support and assessment programs. The study was conducted by the Southwest…