InterCon provides services to health insurers of foreign tourists who travel to the United States and Canada. Management wants to implement a new information system that will deal with several operational problems, but it is having difficulty securing the capital resources to fund the system's development. After an initial failure, the chief…

The government is consulting the sector on a new skills strategy and a simplified funding system for further education (FE). Some of the leading players were asked what they made of the government's vision and what they would like to see in the strategy. Brendan Barber warns that spending cuts will undermine many of the positive proposals in the…

In its fiscal 2011 budget request, the Obama administration has laid out its intention of carrying forward key teacher-effectiveness policies within the economic-stimulus law into the next edition of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. In doing so, the budget proposal would invest heavily in competitive grants for new ways of recruiting,…

This paper presents the public higher education system trends in Connecticut for 2011. This report contains the following sections: (1) Higher Education in a Statewide Context; (2) Expenditure Trends; (3) Comparative Funding Indicators; (4) Enrollment Trends; (5) Position Trends; (6) Tuition and Fees; (7) Student and State Share of Costs; and (8)…

This publication is an ECS (Education Commission of the States) "read of the field," built on its scrutiny of new reports and research, and its analysis of emerging drivers of change. This publication is intended to stimulate thinking around how best to craft the "2.0" of powerful policy across the states. The 12 policy areas highlighted in this…

In American popular culture, the word "rural" invokes images of sunny farms and little red schoolhouses--while "urban" means drugs, poverty, and crime. But those who know the reality of both worlds will say that rural schools face many of the same challenges as their urban counterparts. The problems of rural schools are often…

In this article the author offers a few interim thoughts on how those of us campaigning for a comprehensive future should think about, and publicly respond to, the education policies of the current Coalition government and the new direction of the Labour Party. (Contains 1 note.)

President Obama announced a plan to spend an unprecedented $12-billion over 10 years to improve programs, courses, and facilities at community colleges. The money, the president said, will position two-year institutions to produce five million more graduates over the next decade and to play a leading role in rebuilding the economy. But after the…

When California approved its budget last month, the community-college system managed to escape the sharp budget cuts that befell most other agencies. But the state's fiscal troubles have nonetheless created a cash crisis for two-year colleges. As part of its plan to close a $41-billion budget deficit, California will delay providing $540-million…

Reforming the way a state distributes its funding to local school districts is clearly a challenging task. This paper presents the Rhode Island story on school funding reform. First, the paper begins with a short history of Rhode Island's school finance system and the key factors that called for school funding reform. Second, the paper discusses…

"Education Matters" is the monthly newsletter of the Association of American Educators (AAE), an organization dedicated to advancing the American teaching profession through personal growth, professional development, teacher advocacy and protection. This issue of the newsletter includes: (1) National Standards Gain Steam: Governors'…

U.S. has slipped into a recession greater and deeper than anyone expected. At least 47 states are grappling with budget shortfalls, and 46 states already anticipate problems into 2010 and 2011. State legislatures have the daunting task of balancing budgets as revenues drop and the need for services increases. Whether one participates in a child…

The 2011 edition of the "Digest of Education Statistics" is the 47th in a series of publications initiated in 1962. The "Digest" has been issued annually except for combined editions for the years 1977-78, 1983-84, and 1985-86. Its primary purpose is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field…

Education is important for all children, but even more so for children with disabilities, whose social and economic opportunities may be limited. In this article, Laudan Aron and Pamela Loprest assess how well the nation's education system is serving students with disabilities. Aron and Loprest trace the evolution of the special education system…

The nearly $54-billion that Congress is directing to the states for education as part of the stimulus bill President Obama signed last week may stave off the worst budget cuts proposed for public colleges. But the money is unlikely to save institutions from the state budget ax entirely. And some states slated to get the most aid from that pot of…