To reform a special education teacher preparation program can be gratifying, difficult, complex, political, and urgently needed. The Monarch Center, a federally funded technical assistance center, was established to guide and support minority-serving institutions in their efforts to improve their teacher preparation programs. Four guidelines…

The article is meant to assess the ways in which the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and its Great Cities Commitment can serve as a model of academic institutional change that anchors or is, otherwise, foundational to academic institutional achievement and urban development. Through both normative discussion and case study, the article…

Since its inception in 1972, the Higher Education Cooperation Act (HECA) is proving to be an effective agent for improving Illinois higher education, and at a nominal cost. Various HECA projects aimed at encouraging international cooperation and increasing access to higher education have involved in some way nearly every public and private college…

The need for the State of Illinois to create and implement a comprehensive plan for economic development has never been greater. The revitalization of the economy of the state can only be achieved through the implementation of a series of strategies designed to facilitate the restructuring of the economy to accommodate a 50 percent change of the…

A case study of the Graduate Studies Center at Milliken University, a cooperative project of Milliken (a private, church-related undergraduate university) and four state institutions, funded by the Illinois Higher Education Cooperation Act (HECA), reveals benefits to students, the state schools, and Milliken (the broker) with no threat to…

A case study focused on a trio of forensics service areas in southeastern Illinois (Carmi and Mt. Carmel), southern Indiana (Evansville), and western Kentucky (Henderson, Owensboro, and Bowling Green) to examine the relative health and level of communication present within and among each of the three districts. Since most of the forensics programs…

The Illinois Master Plan-Phase III, which stresses the urgent need for the state to achieve a completely integrated system of higher education through consortia or regional Collegiate Common Markets (CCM), is actually not a new idea, but is in many ways a revitalization of the philosophies espoused by William Rainey Harper at the beginning of the…

The goal of an articulated secondary/postsecondary tech prep project was to develop a model curriculum to prepare students to enter a postsecondary program leading to an associate of applied science degree. Continuing study at a four-year university would also be an option. Six schools participated as tech prep sites. Each site formed a team…

This report examines 1989-90 survey data concerning off-campus coursework offered in Illinois and the Illinois Board of Higher Education's policy directions in the context of the Board's Priorities, Quality, and Productivity initiative. Analysis shows that many institutions do not have a significant presence in many of the community college…

A systematic approach to disseminaton of vocational education research and development program improvement efforts is comprehensive, effective, and efficient. Systematic dissemination is a prerequisite link to assessing impact of research and development--for program improvement to occur, successful dissemination is crucial. A systematic approach…

This report describes fiscal year 1998 grant allocations made under the Illinois Higher Education Cooperation Act (HECA) to support programs and projects involving cooperation among higher education institutions. A total of $16.59 million was allocated. Projects recommended for grant funds include 3 new and 12 continuing interinstitutional…

There is some evidence that regionalism in higher education is emerging as a move toward a middle-ground position between strict institutional autonomy and stronger statewide coordination. Most observers of contemporary postsecondary education agree that the challenge of the next decade will be to find mechanisms for coordination that can achieve…

This publication provides individual descriptions of grants allocated by the state of Illinois for aid to higher education for fiscal year 1997 under the provisions of the State Higher Education Cooperation Act. The Act provides funds for interinstitutional grants, minority educational achievement grants, minority articulation program grants,…

A comprehensive study was undertaken of the effectiveness of an external degree program implemented in Illinois to meet the needs of adult students studying for the bachelor's degree. The rationale, history, structure, administration, and governance of the statewide program offered through five universities are described. The majority of students…

Experiences that have been gained in Illinois in efforts to achieve interinstitutional coordination and cooperation among colleges and universities are described. Attention is directed to the role of the Illinois Master Plan Phase III to establish an integrated incentives in cooperative programs, experiences in the operation of an incentive grant…