The California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) recognizes the importance of educational centers as a cost-effective means for meeting increased student demand. Educational centers are an economical way of serving a region's educational needs because they often involve collaboration and shared facility use with high schools, university…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to question the appropriateness of a proposal for a new European Qualifications Framework. The framework has three perspectives: historical; analytical; and national. Design/methodology/approach: The approaches are diverse since the first insists on the institutional and decision-making processes at European…

This report discusses professional development projects that are currently funded by the Improving Teacher Quality (ITQ) State Grants Program, including representative projects that will be presented to the Commission at the June meeting. In addition, the ITQ program has recently released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for grants that serve early…

Our analysis of California's state department of education's Request for Proposals (RFP) for a project to "Build Collaboration for Mental Health Services in California Schools" leads us to underscore both the opportunity presented by the proposed work and the potential for serious unintended negative consequences. This brief is designed…

This volume features original studies and research syntheses on educational effectiveness and efficiency and serves to clarify what is known about effective public schools. It concerns educational conditions, policies, and practices with an eye toward student achievement, especially that of children living in poverty. Thirteen chapters include:…

In this report, the Commission considers a proposal by the Santa Clara Community College District to establish an educational center in the community of Canyon Country. The district was created in 1968 when the communities of Valencia, Newhall, Canyon Country, Agua Dulce, and Val Verde voted overwhelmingly for its establishment. It serves a…

As preparation for restructuring in Memphis, the jurisdiction coordinator and design teams conducted pre-implementation professional development experiences. Describes teachers' perceptions of these efforts and initial reactions to their school's program choice. The 503 teachers surveyed enjoyed specific aspects of the training sessions and…

This scenario discusses a situation in which a proposal has been published by a consortium of foundations for an "external" evaluator to evaluate a replication at two new sites of a program they have been funding for many years. A proposal is received from Dr. Porto-Novo, who has been the external evaluator of the initial program for about 10…

Two proposals in the bill currently circulating to reauthorize No Child Left Behind seem to be shoe-ins for making their way into federal law. The impetus behind both proposals is to help poor kids by making sure that districts spend as much money on them as gets spent on rich kids. Going against the grain, the National Council on Teacher Quality…

Suggests three stages to proposal writing that will help increase the writer's success rate and help in writing proposals faster: interview the reader/buyer; write a "yellow-pad" proposal; and use a guide for proposal writing. Also discusses how to organize a proposal. (CT)

The report evaluates a proposed San Ramon Valley Center community college and responds to California legislative requirements that the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) advise the legislature and governor regarding new institutions and campuses of public higher education. The report concludes that the San Ramon Valley Center…

Although the federal government dedicated nearly $40 billion to funding student loans in 2006, only 60 percent of potential students from low-income families attend college, compared with 90 percent from high-income families. This paper argues that enrollment rates are lower than they could be because potential students undervalue loan subsidies,…

"Learnfare" is a term applied to the mandating of school attendance for teen parents and/or school age dependent children in households receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) benefits as a condition of continued eligibility. This idea emanates from policymakers' concern about high truancy and dropout rates generally,…

Through successive rounds of negotiations, the World Trade Organization (WTO) encourages countries to commit their higher education system to the mandates of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The WTO is an organization committed to the aggressive trade liberalization of services like higher education. This ideology, known as…

The authors share a successful Fulbright Group Projects Abroad grant award. The purpose of the grant was to enhance American educators' experience and knowledge of South Africa, in particular, and sub-Saharan Africa more generally. Toward that end, participants experienced a multifaceted view of South Africa's geographical diversity, both physical…