The Chinese National Quality Course Plan is a large-scale project by the Ministry of Education, which has led to the production of more than 12,000 courses from some 700 universities since 2003. This paper describes in detail the purpose of the project and how it is organized at all levels, including how individual courses get selected at…

Where the continuing professional development (CPD) process is being increasingly articulated and circumscribed by policy and central specification, the initial year of teaching may significantly shape career-long expectations of CPD. This article contrasts the early experiences of beginning secondary teachers in Scotland and Hong Kong and the…

In order to successfully match students and jobs in the medical profession of their choice, and at the same time meet the country's health care needs, it has become evident that access to medical schools and the various medical professions should be tightly regulated, in particular by a "numerus clausus." In most Western countries,…

Brigham Young University (Utah) has addressed the need for maintenance and support of distributed computing systems on campus by implementing a program patterned after a national business franchise, providing the support and training of a centralized administration but allowing each unit to operate much as an independent small business.…

A University of Miami (Florida) project to centralize imaging/document management is described. The system will enable document storage, retrieval, and work-flow management, lower costs, and improve on traditional business practices. Benefits of imaging/document management, the rationale for centralizing, and the three-phase implementation plan…

Compares La Junta Nacional de Jardines Infantiles (JUNJI), Chile's federally funded preschool system, with the United States' Head Start program. Notes that, unlike Head Start, JUNJI is administered at the national level; requires preschool teachers to have four-year university degrees; follows a national curriculum; and, due to budget…

At Southern Methodist University (Dallas, Texas), the emphasis in computing and information services has been shifted from dividing resources between administrative and academic computing to combined central support for microcomputing. A universitywide computer planning and policy committee and a college computer coordinator acting as liaison…

Initial efforts to collect data on the impact of Elementary Secondary Education Act Title I programs began in Pennsylvania in 1972. Due to the frequent turnover of local education agency (LEA) staff responsible for Title I impact reports and the fact that a study of the accuracy of reported scores revealed that some sort of errors appeared in…

The mechanics of the Soviet library system, the availability of libraries to the citizenry, organizational components, and the development and planning principles of librarianship as they follow Leninist national policy are discussed in this paper by V.V. Serov, Head of the Main Library Directorate, USSR Ministry of Culture. A program of library…

This publication is the second product of a three-part study funded by the Connecticut State Board of Education pertaining to the operation of educational service centers. This booklet is designed to give the citizens of the state an insight into the development of an educational enterprise that delivers to the school districts and children many…

Presents the research model used in the Allan Hancock Joint Community College District, which operates through a part-time institutional researcher guided by an institutional research committee. Discusses the committee's role and the use of research results in policymaking and other areas. Provides examples of research. (DMM)

Describes the centralized research model used by Miami-Dade Community College. Explains that the district's central office assumes responsibility for conducting all phases of the institutional research program (e.g., determining the research agenda, carrying out projects, monitoring projects, and disseminating results). Highlights strengths and…

Describes a three-year project (1985-88) which established a training center for peer counseling that serves three school districts. An evaluation of the citywide project is reported, and the limitations of centralized training are discussed, along with speculations about expanding services and populations. (TE)

The planning processes at two universities are contrasted as they relate to styles of data management and institutional research required to support two different planning philosophies--centralized planning and decentralized planning. (Author/BH)

The organization and development of the library education system in the USSR is described by K. I. Abramov of the Moscow State Institute of Culture and is summarized in a comment paper by Charles D. Churchwell, Washington University. Abramov begins by stating the philosophical basis for the existence of libraries and librarians in the USSR, and…