Both supporters and critics of Texas' Top 10 Percent law have been surprised at its popularity, but some UT officials and legislators would like to see the program scaled back. As a Texas state legislator, Jim McReynolds, D-Lufkin, knows a thing or two about influencing the voting positions of his colleagues. This past spring, when Texas House…

Community colleges are unique among higher education institutions in their potential access to local appropriations as well as state funding. A total of 26 states reported to the Education Commission of the States in 2001 that community colleges in their states received some share of local funding. Using data for 781 public community colleges, we…

As the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) begins development of a new six-year strategic plan for higher education, this report reviews progress made towards the goals of the 2002 plan, each to be accomplished by 2010: (1) Accommodate at least 61,000 additional students; (2) Increase Virginia's national standing in sponsored…

Court decisions have laid out expectations of what due process procedures need to be followed in student disciplinary cases and academic dismissal cases due to poor academic performance. This paper will give show where due process comes from and how it found its way into higher education. It will show that there are differences in the ways public…

The term "tuition driven" no longer pertains only to private colleges. As state appropriations to public universities dwindle, more colleges are relying to a greater degree on keeping classes full in order to generate revenue. The fact is, virtually all institutions are essentially tuition driven. Although trustees generally understand what being…

Amid growing criticism of public universities, there is little discussion of what appropriate institutional evaluation would entail. Six-year graduation rates are commonly used, and public bachelors granting institutions have lower rates than private institutions, but with the growth in non-traditional college attendance, these can be misleading.…

This is a case study of a state institution granted charter status in 1992 in exchange for capping its request for state funds. St. Mary's College of Maryland received widespread freedom from state procedural controls, including procurement, personnel, and some capital development processes. The state, however, retained its oversight of the…

What has been called "degree recognition" has become the subject of considerable attention in Canadian higher education within the past decade. While concerns similar to those that are being voiced today have arisen occasionally in the past, the scale of this phenomenon today is unprecedented historically. In response to the increased…

This report provides new and unique empirical evidence on postsecondary education pathways in Atlantic Canada based on the data from the Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS). This study covers postsecondary students in public institutions at all levels of study--college, bachelor's, master's, Ph.D. and first professional degrees--with…

The expansion of higher education has become a significant trend in the East Asia region, and Taiwan has proven no exception. The driving forces of higher education expansion in Taiwan include enhancing national competitiveness and human capital, responding to social and industrial needs, and reducing educational inequalities among social groups.…

The State Higher Education Finance (SHEF) report is produced annually by the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) to broaden understanding of the context and consequences of multiple decisions made every year in each of these areas. No single report can provide definitive answers to such broad and fundamental questions of public…

This annual report provides detailed information concerning tuition and mandatory fees at public higher institutions in the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education's (WICHE's) 15-state region, including an institution-by-institution historical review of tuition changes from year to year as well as a 10-year average. Also included are…

This study uses a cross-section national sample of four-year colleges and universities in the United States to examine the variation of part-time faculty employment. Results of this study suggest that higher educational institutions actively design and adopt contingent work arrangements to save on labor costs and to manage their resource…

As part of its Performance Accountability Framework, the Commission analyzed the affordability of public colleges and universities. This report summarizes how the real cost of a college education in California changed between 1996 and 2004 and examines the way students at California's public colleges and universities paid for their education. In…

The Chinese people have great regard for those who read widely, yet little is known of the extracurricular reading behaviors of Chinese students. This study drew on data from two national surveys to investigate the amount of time Taiwanese college students spend on extracurricular reading. Findings are interpreted in relation to prior research on…