This dissertation is comprised of three studies that investigate the implications and determinants of public funding for universities. The first chapter lays down the foundation for the other two studies. I discuss how state-level policies, as determined by legislators, represent a pivotal component of firms' non-market strategies that have direct…

This manual was designed primarily for use by people with disabilities. The hope is that it is also useful for families, as well as service coordinators and providers who directly assist families and individuals with disabilities. The focus of this manual is to provide easy-to-read information about available resources, and to provide immediate…

In this essay, we explore the importance of state financial aid programs for both states and the students they serve. Effective state financial aid policy benefits from rigorous research that engages partners from a variety of roles, such as state agencies, legislative staff, and intermediary organizations. It also benefits from the engagement of…

The purpose of the study was to broaden awareness of legislative intentions associated with a State's facilities funding policy (Texas' Instructional Facilities Allotment, IFA). Recognizing the politically contested nature of school funding, arguments in support and against investing in facilities appear equally replete. Be that as it may, some…

This issue of "Legislative Review" takes a look at the news in higher education from April 1 to 8, 2011. This Legislative Review reports that: (1) HCR 3046 failed in the Senate April 6 on a vote of 7-40 after a 0-7 "do not pass" recommendation by Senate Education April 5; (2) Senate Appropriations amended and approved HB 1003,…

Public university systems and institutions actively engage in legislative relations efforts with elected representatives who comprise state legislative bodies. Historically, the primary impetus for fostering legislative relations was to leverage appropriations. Funding issues remain an important component of higher education's interactions…

The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) follows education budgets and legislation during regular and special legislative sessions. The Legislative Reports follow education and budget issues from governors' proposals through final legislative actions in each of the 16 SREB states. The reports include bill numbers and legislative Web site…

Adult and Organizational Learning and Policy Development in Environments of Gray The purpose of this study was to describe, analyze and provide an understanding of the values that influence state legislators' decision-making as it relates to appropriations, tuition and fees, and financial aid for public postsecondary education in Idaho. The study…

Performance funding in higher education ties state funding directly to institutional performance on specific indicators, such as rates of retention, graduation, and job placement. One of the great puzzles about performance funding is that it has been both popular and unstable. Between 1979 and 2007, 26 states enacted it, but 14 of those states…

Despite rosy economic news, highlighted by the 8.2 percent surge in the nation's economy in the third quarter of 2003, state coffers aren't growing at pace to meet the needs of schools and other high-priority programs such as Medicaid and prisons. Last month, many states started issuing estimates of how the money they'll have to spend in the 2005…

In a number of states, legislatures are successfully opposing governors on budget cuts that would adversely affect colleges and universities, even in states where relations between academics and politicians have been strained recently. (MSE)

This pamphlet is designed to help parents lobby for state-level funding of gifted programs. Suggestions for making telephone calls and writing letters to representatives and senators are offered along with sample scripts for a telephone call and a letter. A description of the 15-step legislative process for gifted education bills in Illinois is…

The issue for the decade ahead is no longer whether states will use their power to require increased accountability, initiate more detailed budget review, and seek influence over what colleges teach and to whom, but how they will use it. Economic and demographic changes, access and economic barriers, remediation, quality and effectiveness, and…

In order to work within the legislative framework, it is suggested, administrators and trustees must concern themselves with five essentials: key calendar dates, specific committee structures, the chairman's power, the party in control, and the flow of legislation. Administrators must also know the legislators, the issues, and the governor. (MLW)

School finance reform, in the opinion of many of those concerned, implies a shift away from the local property tax as the main source of revenue for the public schools. The inequities associated with property tax administration and the uneven distribution of property tax wealth within any given state have led to increasing concern about the wisdom…