Five major reasons for the high incidence of laboratory school closings are indicated prior to a description of survival strategies applied in the Early Learning Center at Pennsylvania's Kutztown State College's Child Development Laboratory School. Causes of laboratory school closure are the following: (1) financial difficulties; (2) retrenchment;…

This study investigated how funders and grantees are thinking about sustainability and how best to support promising community-based initiatives so that they do not simply fade away when initial funding is over. Following a literature review, researchers developed questions to guide interviews with approximately 24 funders and grantees. No theme…

Describes how adult students in Great Britain mobilized research, learning, and action in a campaign to protest building closures and funding cuts. (SK)

Using Porter's five-forces model (potential entrants, suppliers, buyers, rivalry, substitutes) to analyze competition in Canadian university business schools, the authors conclude that schools are becoming increasingly vulnerable to competitive pressures and that strategic reorientation is necessary. (SK)

Examined the enactment and early implementation of remedial education policies in Massachusetts and Oklahoma. Findings suggested that efforts to end or restrict remediation are driven largely by status attainment concerns--the desire by policy makers and administrators to create "competitive advantage" for certain public higher education…

Describes how one teacher fought to keep a school district's family and consumer sciences program alive when it was about to be discontinued. Includes letters written to the district superintendent and the Washington Post explaining the benefits of the program. (JOW)

Discusses reasons for the failure of the sociology department of Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, to institutionalize radical sociology. Expounds on the dynamics of radical movements and the opposition they create. Describes the faculty conflicts involving questions of theory versus practice, revolution versus reform, and competing…

Years of meticulous research work can be lost when projects are discontinued. Institutional support can make all the difference. The Whitby Research Group coordinates projects, provides access to computers, and enables researchers to share their work in seminars. (JOW)

Learning from program failure hinges upon acknowledging that everybody fails and having the ability to cope. Coping techniques may include accepting blame, denying failure, analyzing failure, blaming others, talking and sharing, remaining objective, using stress management techniques, and taking another risk. (SK)

Sutton's Process Model of Organizational Death has three phases: organization threatened, organization as temporary entity, and organization defunct. It is exemplified in the closure of DePauw University's School of Nursing, the insights from which may be adapted by others experiencing program closure. (SK)

Begins with a general discussion of downsizing and its outcomes, then offers an analysis of downsizing in higher education with an emphasis on three points: the factors causing universities to consider downsizing, the special nature of universities that makes downsizing particularly difficult, and the downsizing methods used by universities. (EV)

Describes how private philanthropies are abandoning higher education, citing other priorities and a sense that colleges are not needy. (EV)

Discusses the debate among experts over why New York University's for-profit venture went under--the changing economy or bad decisions? (EV)

Little solid evidence is available to gauge whether the federal government's multibillion-dollar Reading First initiative is having an effect on student achievement, but many states are reporting anecdotally that they are seeing benefits for their schools. Among those benefits are extensive professional development in practices deemed to be…

A freeze on $3.28 billion in requests for aid under the federal E-rate program has left hundreds of school districts scrambling to pay for their technology needs--and, in some cases, crippled classroom instruction. The E-rate program, which has disbursed more than $8 billion since its inception in 1997, helps link public and private schools as…