To improve the viability of family-and-consumer-sciences programs, they should be contemporary and future oriented; teachers should let others know what they are accomplishing and enlist school administrators, parents, and community leaders as allies. Teachers should ensure that school boards have information about local programs. (SK)

At Midway High School (Kansas) and other small schools of the Midwest and West, eight-man football is the biggest show in town, allowing participation by many students and rousing community support for the school. Supporters say the teams are essential to school and community identity. In Kansas, however, special state funding that keeps small…

In the 1970s, camps were challenged by economic recession, growing administrative demands, and changing attitudes and interests of campers and staff. An illustrative article from 1972, "Facing the Camping Future with Confidence" (Michael F. Buynak), discusses hidden costs in camp operation and the need for camp administration to shift…

Economic downturns have decreased most community college budgets as no other time in history. Public revenues are down significantly. Enrollments are up. Competition from the private sector is increasing. This environment, which developed with surprising rapidity, presents a challenge for community and technical college leaders and a paradigm…

This study is the fourth in a series of studies conducted by the American Association of School Administrators on the impact of the economic downturn on schools. AASA launched the series in fall 2008 in response to state budget shortfalls, federal buy-outs and interventions, and a series of additional events characterizing a slowing, stagnant…

Enrollments will not see steady growth again for five years. Most of the struggling colleges that have managed continuing success so far are predicted to survive. Some will endure specifically because administrators and trustees have incorporated the procedures and programs that have been successfully implemented in other institutions. (MSE)

Techniques used by private colleges to survive fiscal crises are reported. Included are: common factors contributing to financial problems, the means perceived by presidents to be most useful in crisis planning, and the implications of the findings for overall higher education planning and management. (MSE)

Fund accounting, currently used by many colleges and universities to report their economic performance, may obscure rather than clarify the facts for institutional constituencies. Global accounts are more thorough and descriptive of the institution's financial status, and can be used in conjunction with traditional accounting. (MSE)

The few existing historically Black Presbyterian colleges are struggling for survival. The church is encouraging the colleges to become self-sufficient as the predominantly white Presbyterian colleges are but does not want to diminish church ties. (MSE)

Organizational change may benefit performance and survival chances if it occurs in response to dramatic restructuring of environmental conditions and builds on established routines and competencies. These propositions are tested on the savings and loan industry in California, which has experienced technological, economic, and regulatory shifts…

This paper identifies two trends seen as shaping the future of dentistry: (1) the position of dental schools within the university structure; and (2) the regulation of schools through accreditation and licensure. Concluding comments address how dentistry can serve the public through greater access to care. (GLR)

David Baker and Cornelius Riordan mistakenly claim that Catholic schools failed in the 1950s because they were mediocre. Their article is a house of cards built on a distortion of history and a single new finding that Catholic schools' social-class composition has changed. The "elitism" problem, stemming from rising costs, can be remedied by more…

Discusses ways to overcome the financial crisis facing many universities in developing countries, including providing greater resources to higher education; raising tuition; privatizing higher education; admitting only the best candidates; attracting foreign students; requiring graduates' employers to compensate universities; linking industry and…

Argues that use of technology to market institutions and counsel students adds new dimensions to college recruitment practices. Predicts that emerging web technologies and their associated marketing theory will challenge the status quo and will add yet another dimension to the responsibilities of the admission professional. (Author/JDM)

Public deliberation is a little-used concept that gets people talking about education and working together to improve it. Study circles discuss each solution's pros and cons, explore people's deeper motivations, weigh others' views carefully, work through conflicting emotions, and identify common ground. Pueblo, Colorado's process is profiled.…