The National Center on Accessible Educational Materials for Learning (National AEM Center) at CAST is a technical assistance (TA) center funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). The purpose of the Center is to improve educational and employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities through…

This guidance is intended to clarify that the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS) in 45 C.F.R. Part 1302 Subpart C--Education and Child Development Program Services are required for preschool programs supported with funds under Title I, Part A (Title I) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA); and provide…

Student-Based Budgeting (SBB)--also called weighted student funding, fair student funding, student-based allocations, or student-centered funding--is a school funding system where schools receive dollars based on the number of enrolled students and their individual needs (such as English language learners, or students from high-poverty…

The international imperative for postsecondary education is growing, and the President has asked states to help America once again become the world leader in postsecondary attainment by 2020. It is not surprising that both policymakers and state higher education executives are taking a close look at how colleges and universities utilize resources…

The use of selective, as contrasted with across-the-board, state funding as an incentive for program improvement in higher education institutions is discussed, and the experiences of four states (New Jersey, Florida, Ohio, and Tennessee) are examined for forces that work against the long-term feasibility of this approach. (Author/MSE)

Rather than establish a national test, we should examine what other industrialized nations require of their children. Persistence and creativity are not easily tested, and results are bound to be oversimplified. Developing basic American education standards is appropriate only if every public school is equipped with adequate resources. (MLH)

Strategies used by Griffith University (Australia) to control quality, in response to increasing external pressure for accountability, are outlined. The central strategy involves devolving responsibility to faculties and schools, who must develop plans for quality control within their own academic cultures. Barriers to implementation, including…

This document is volume 2 of a report measuring the performance of Maryland's public colleges and universities based on a series of quality indicators which are grouped into categories of quality, effectiveness, access, diversity, and efficient allocation of resources. Public campuses developed benchmarks, or goals to measure their performance for…

This document offers administrators a concise approach to the various theories of total quality management (TQM) and the tools necessary to implement these theories at postsecondary educational institutions. The book is divided into four chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the principles of TQM by briefly: (1) reviewing the ideas of TQM leaders; and…

Origins of Australia's university quality improvement program are outlined, and its design is examined. Issues discussed include implications of the program for individual institutions, its proposed method of redistributing research funds, and potential problems associated with performance appraisal. (MSE)

In this report, the executive director of the California State Postsecondary Education Commission summarizes the major demographic and political forces that will likely affect the shape of higher education leadership in California during the 1990s. The report discusses the implications of increased enrollment pressures on educational equity,…

The unsatisfactory status of higher education in the United States has many explanations, such as the declining value of scholarship and academic ethos and the neglect of teaching obligations in favor of research duties. This paper posits another theory for the skepticism toward academic institutions: the general loss of confidence of the American…

The college or university academic affairs committee of the governing board holds the primary responsibility for defining, overseeing, and modifying the "policies" that fulfill the institution's academic mission, including: ensuring that the academic program is consistent with the institution's mission and strategies; ensuring that the academic…

This joint statement by the presidents of 17 Virginia State colleges and universities and the Director of the State Council on Higher Education examines the condition of Virginia's system of higher education in light of reductions in revenue, and urges implementation of proposals made by the State Council of Higher Education to meet the challenges…

This paper addresses the need to inform all students of the importance of multicultural issues and the impact that cultural diversity will have on global society and offers a model that examines the problematic issue of incorporating a multicultural curriculum into what has been termed "traditional curriculum." The author develops the…