Between 1998 and 2003, conflict, violent crime, and a severe economic downturn pushed the Solomon Islands state to the brink of failure, exacerbating the problems of an already struggling education sector. Most schools on Guadalcanal were seriously disrupted; some were burned down or vandalized, others closed as teachers and students fled…

College endowments earned an average return of minus-3 percent for the 2008 fiscal year and an estimated minus-22.5 percent in the five months after that, two new reports show. More than a quarter of all institutions said they plan to draw less money from their endowment this year than they had expected to spend. After a half-decade of soaring…

This paper deals with the impact of the global financial crisis on Japan's economy, especially on its higher education. The first section provides an overview of Japan's national economy with a focus on the impact of the global financial crisis on the national economy, then the author touches on the impact on the Japanese government's finances,…

The financial state of the nation's public pension funds--which provide the retirement incomes for all state employees but in most states are dominated by teachers, administrators, and other school employees--has gone from bad to worse, and is projected to continue to worsen in coming decades. A perfect storm of factors has combined in the past…

The context in which boards are making endowment spending decisions has changed remarkably in the past year. In January 2008, Senators Max Baucus and Charles Grassley, chair and ranking minority member, respectively, of the Senate Finance Committee, cited "explosive college endowment growth" as evidence that college and university boards should…

"Spectacular error" sounds euphemistic compared to "devastating," "catastrophic," or "meltdown"--terms more commonly summoned to describe the credit crisis and ensuing global economic carnage. Whatever they are labeled, gross miscalculations on Wall Street are having a deleterious effect on college campuses across the country, with many…

This year's "School Library Journal's" spending survey showed that, despite the recession, the vast majority of media centers around the country have retained their credentialed media specialists. For example, almost 85% of elementary schools and more than 95% of middle and high schools have a full-time certified librarian. In addition, salaries…

The counterintuitive approach of the world's greatest value investor, Warren Buffett, may be the best hope for colleges and universities during this recession. Buffett's time-tested philosophy of seeking value and investing for the long term remains a sound approach, even if his short-term returns have declined along with those of the rest of the…

Provides update to 13-year analysis of finances of major database producer noting actions taken to improve finances (decrease expenses, increase efficiency, develop new products, market strategies and services, change pricing scheme, omit print products, increase prices) and consequences of actions (revenue increase, connect hour increase). Five…

This book offers an independent analysis of the New York City education budget for 1981 by the Educational Priorities Panel (EPP). It represents an alternative to the mayor's budget, which calls for $89 million in cuts, and the board of education budget. The first two chapters contain background information on the EPP and an explanation of the…

Assesses the financial impact of online services for management and describes the process of financial management of the online search service at Charles River Associates, Inc. The areas of budgeting, pricing, and controlling are examined in the context of a financial management methodology. (CWM)

This paper examines the impact of the Latin American external debt on education. Results suggest that increases in debt levels in 19 Latin American countries have negatively affected education as a percentage of government expenditures. In some cases, this means that education expenditures are failing to keep up with growth of total government…

The State of Alaska spends 75% of its operating revenues on transfer payments to individuals and local governments and on salaries and benefits of state workers. By the year 2000, dwindling petroleum revenues will result in a projected $1 billion gap between state income and spending, but inflation and growing population could widen that gap to…

The relationship between college costs and family income is examined, along with the debt burden incurred by students while pursuing a postsecondary education. Attention is directed to an analytical model of discretionary income, the families' current income and college costs and how these have changed over the last decade, and general empirical…

A summary is presented of a 1982 limited distribution report, published by the Communication Network of the State Higher Education Executive Officers and the National Center for Education Statistics, which presents findings of a survey conducted by the Washington Council for Postsecondary Education. The survey focused on the fiscal situation in…