Analysis of Swedish higher education according to a variety of efficiency and quality criteria and in comparison with other systems shows this liberal, unified system with open enrollment reaches an internationally acceptable standard of output relative to cost, indicating that democratization has not resulted in lowered quality as critics…

Participants at an issues clarification working session concerning open enrollment for students with disabilities identified three kinds of issues for districts and students: outcome, implementation, and demographic. Participants expressed concerns in the areas of pupil benefit, parent involvement (or convenience), teacher/administrator job…

Development of a national higher education market in Australia provides the opportunity for open-access universities to develop recruitment strategies based on the experience of North American institutions. Implications are drawn for focusing on student learning potential, reorganizing the curriculum, integrating recruitment and teaching/learning…

The success of Great Britain's Open University has become a model for distance education in the United States. The Open University is nonselective in admissions and designs its courses for part-time students and working adults. It plans to begin enrolling American students in a new sister institution, the United States Open University. (MSE)

Examines the accessibility of higher education in nine western European countries in terms of selectivity and affordability. Finds much variation in relative selectivity, ranging from strong entrance selection procedures (Finland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) to those with open systems (Austria, Belgium-Flanders, and the Netherlands). Finds…

Nothing is dearer to community colleges than the belief that they can and should serve all eligible people who seek admittance. For decades, the "open door" community college has been an often-used, much-revered metaphor for equal opportunity in higher education. In this article, the author emphasizes that open access to community colleges is…

We are universally testing children to see if elementary schools are doing their job. So, too, in high school. Only in college is a person deemed educated merely for having collected enough hours. Open admissions, the absence of a required core, and ubiquitous indoctrination have so devalued those credit hours that today's degree reliably…

The American Public University System (APUS) is currently attracting more than eight hundred new undergraduate students every month, the majority of whom are required to take "Foundations of Online Learning" as their first course. That first course plays a critical role in the academic career of new students and may have a direct bearing…

This study assesses funding differences, and the sources of those differences, between charter schools and traditional districts in Texas. The need for this research stems from conflicting reports on charter school revenues and growing concern over the quality of charter school financial data reported through Texas' Public Education Information…

This update provides an overview of school-choice models and issues as they were defined in 1992. It describes how intra- and inter-district programs work and the factors that contribute to the effectiveness of a choice plan. Tensions in the choice debate center around the issues of diversity versus commonality, competition versus efficiency, and…

In January 1983, a study was conducted to determine the level of commitment of community colleges throughout the United States to the philosophy of open door access to enrollment. A questionnaire was mailed to each state director of community college education to determine whether the state had a formal commitment to an open door admissions…

Open admissions students tend to be highly oral. Their modes of thinking are different from the modes of thinking demanded in the highly literate world of college. They can learn the more literate modes of thinking, however, but this requires special awareness and effort on the part of their teacher. (Author/RC)

In response to concern that open admissions was contributing to declining student preparation and institutional reputation, Practical Bible Training School, a small, private college, proposed new admission criteria: an American College Testing Service (ACT) score of 15, a Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) combined score of 700, or a 2.00 high school…

Reasons for an open admissions policy in North Dakota, results of this policy, and future considerations are discussed. While graduates of accredited/approved high schools are eligible for college admission to institutions in the state, restrictions exist for out-of-state students. More than 40 programs across the state restrict enrollment, based…