Strategic enrollment management (SEM) initiatives benefit when SEM committees are inclusive and collaborative. When financial aid professionals are excluded, the risk that certain initiatives will fail increases, especially if those initiatives involve academic changes. Here, the authors explore the reasons financial aid offices and academic…

Scholarship about the growth of educational development has charted major shifts in developers' focuses and roles through time and, especially in recent years, has explored the professionalization of the field around the globe. This essay uses a lifecycle analogy to consider the development of one organization, the POD Network (The Professional…

Support for the use of local languages for learning and communication is currently in fashion among national policy-makers in Africa. This position has been promoted by UNESCO and other local-language advocates for years; more recently it is being seen favourably by a range of influential international institutions. However, even positive language…

To support concepts such as teacher empowerment, school improvement plans, and site-based decision making, principals must learn how to lead or work with small groups. Each project team must have a champion (usually the principal), assigned members, a name, a district goal, desired outcomes, critical parameters, a time frame, resources, processes,…

Strategic planning is complex (Dodd, 2004), and when managed well, it requires deliberate incorporation of evidenced-based data and the collaboration of key stakeholders. Thus, it is essential that the planning process includes the integration of data that are collected regularly and that both internal and external professional partners have the…

The use of focus groups to assess existing college student leadership efforts and as a step in developing better programs is examined. Procedures include assembling a planning team, identifying information needs, determining the composition of focus groups, soliciting and training volunteers, and using focus group results to design a program. (MSE)

Before a general education (GE) program is initiated or assessed, a solid institutional foundation should exist, including a philosophy and definitions regarding GE. At Ohio's Sinclair Community College, the institutional foundation included a college-wide Assessment Steering Committee charged with developing a comprehensive assessment plan for…

Comprehensive Arts Planning Program (CAPP) grants were awarded to 30 school districts in Minnesota to improve their arts education programs. Each district formed a community-based team of eight persons. Each team was then responsible for planning developing, and promoting comprehensive arts education within the district. Following a brief…

The North Carolina State Occupational Information Coordinating Committee (NC SOICC) was established in June 1977 to implement an occupational information system in the state that would meet the planning and operational needs of programs assisted under the Vocational Education Act and the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA). The…

A task force was created in November of 1978 to assess the state of foreign language and international studies in Illinois public schools. This report begins with an overview of the current decline in foreign language enrollments and offerings. The need to foster foreign language study is discussed, both for its special place in intellectual…