The dilemma of maintaining academic standards as well as open access policies is discussed in this paper with respect to the causes of and possible solutions to the problem. Trends leading to the standards/open access dilemma are first considered, including the dominant belief in the 1950's that education served to select and groom the most…

Cost accounting in California community colleges is considered in this study in terms of the mission of the colleges, the impact of the open enrollment policy, the economic benefits attributable to the colleges, and comparisons made with other segments of public higher education. The study revealed that statewide community college operating…

The 1973-83 master plan for Maryland's community college system is presented under the following topics: (1) retrospect and prospect (community colleges in the nation and the State, the Open Door, and reasons for and objectives of the master plan), (2) students--a new breed (including enrollment, staffing, and institutional evaluation), (3)…

To help public schools experience free-market competition, Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander and President Bush propose parental choice among private, parochial, and public schools, supported by public financing for program design and tuition grants. Sidebars highlight church/state separation concerns and school choice experiments in…

Describes a national study of community college funding conditions at the state level, which ascertained whether individual institutions had implemented or were considering enrollment limitations resulting from budget shortfalls. Although a majority of states reported declining state support and increasing enrollments, few college leaders reported…

Information on establishing and running a free university is presented in this handbook. A free university is defined as an organization offering ungraded, unaccredited classes, activities and programs to the general public. Information on starting the free university includes: how to determine the needs of your community; deciding on a name and…

The rhetoric of the community colleges presents them as democratizing agents, enabling the underprivileged to move upward in society through education. While this is their purpose, the community colleges also aspire to gain acceptance as regular members of the system of higher education. In Connecticut, the image of the community colleges suffers…

This report chronicles the East Hartford, Connecticut, Parents' Choice Project--an education voucher plan. The plan was intended to dovetail with the school system's already-existing open enrollment policy and was to include the area's private and parochial schools, as well as all the public schools. The feasibility and implementation studies…

About 150 educators, administrators, and officials of public and private educational agencies took part in three days of discussions that focused on equal opportunity and the related issues of: (1) access, placement, and retention; (2) black colleges; (3) standardized tests; (4) needed change in white attitudes; (5) open admissions; (6)…

This plan, including all goals, projections, and policy directions, is predicated upon continued open access to community college occupational, transfer, and community services programs, in accordance with the educational needs of the citizens of the state. Enrollment projections suggest that growth in full-time enrollments will be moderate while…

This document argues that for the 1.8 million students attending the 731 rural community colleges in the United States, the community college is often the only option for higher education. However, both access and excellence for rural students are being negatively impacted by recent federal and state policy that has decreased funding to community…

Britain's Open University is described as an open admissions university that does not compromise academic standards, a technological system that delivers a traditional education, and a distance learning institution that approximates on a mass scale the tutorial relationship of older British universities. (MLW)

Although the nation is spending more on its public schools than ever before, American students score poorly on standardized tests in comparison to other countries. Rising spending has had little effect on educational results because of a dramatic decline in labor productivity in public schools. Research on class size indicates that efficient class…

This six-part report is the result of a 1980-81 study by the Illinois Community College Trustees Association of the fundamental questions that underlie the common educational enterprise of the community college system. It seeks to provide community college trustees and state policy-makers with guidelines for governing and planning higher education…

The third in a series of reports examining the impact of student charges on the goals of open access and educational quality in California's community colleges, this report considers alternatives for maintaining access and quality, the conditions under which student charges should be imposed, and the structures and levels of student charges. Part…