A followup study of 10 prereferral teams within a rural, northwestern state investigated common causes for prereferral teams to be discontinued within schools and examined effective methods being used to maintain the prereferral teams. Prereferral teams assist general educators with academic and behavioral concerns they encounter with their…

This paper presents findings of a study that investigated educational change within two innovative schools experiencing financial crisis. Data were derived from interviews with 14 educators (principals and teachers) and from observations of school board meetings. The two schools were: (1) the Team Academy, a nongraded K-6 school; and (2) the…

Cooperative education programs that operated in 1974-1975 were identified and their status by 1981-1982 was investigated. General characteristics of program growth that might indicate the structural and organizational correlates of longevity and stability were assessed. Attention was directed to two- and four-year colleges that were not federally…

The Center for College Affordability and Productivity (CCAP) is an independent, nonprofit research center based in Washington, DC that is dedicated to researching public policy and economic issues relating to postsecondary education. CCAP aims to facilitate a broader dialogue that challenges conventional thinking about costs, efficiency and…

Almost everyone agrees that colleges have become costly to attend and are a growing burden on society to finance. Rising tuition costs threaten the ability and desire of students to attend college. Are there things that can be done to significantly reduce the cost of college? The answer is an emphatic "yes." The Center for College Affordability…

Model demonstration projects have developed and implemented a wide range of services to facilitate the transition of youth with handicapping conditions from school to work or to postsecondary educational settings. Factors pivotal to the continuation of such projects after federal funding ceased were studied. Data on 58 sample projects were…

Two decades following the publication of David G. Brown's "Criteria for Pruning Programs," (which recognized that traditional financial support to higher education was decreasing and proposed 10 guidelines for evaluating existing programs) a study was developed to determine what criteria are actually being used by comprehensive…

The results of a study of five midwestern school districts suggest that the abandonment of program innovations or revisions may be related to a lack of understanding of how schools work as social systems and how political processes influence change efforts, as well as a failure to appreciate the many dilemmas facing those who attempt to facilitate…

Minnesota and Wisconsin technical college personnel (25 presidents, 63 counselors, 23 placement officers, and 34 alternates) considered training-related labor market information most important in program maintenance decisions; advisory committee input for program modification decisions; employer input for adding programs; and cost for dropping…

Criteria used by states for review and approval of academic programs were investigated in 1983 based on a survey of boards of education of states belonging to the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO). The survey revealed an overall increase in state-level program review activity. While the general criteria for program review and…

This study examines, from an organizational perspective, decision rules guiding program discontinuance, testing the framework of decision rule rationality versus action rationality. A multi-site case study method was used; interviews were conducted with 11-16 individuals at each of four research I or II universities that had discontinued at least…

This study examined the status of local gifted education programs in 19 states and reasons attributed by 1,579 educators for the status of the programs. Programs in states with gifted education mandates and good economic health were intact and expanded, while programs in states without mandates or in poor economic health were threatened. (SW)

This study describes the actions taken by public institutions of higher education over the last several years to respond to severe financial pressures. It is based on the responses of 296 public colleges and universities to 24 questions included in the 1994 Campus Trends survey that were relevant to actions taken in expenditure control, new…

This study explores the ability of shared governance systems to make institutional hard decisions, focusing particularly on discontinuance of academic programs. A case study method examined shared governance processes at four research institutions to identify themes and patterns across the institutional decision-making process. Between 11 and 16…

Experiences of the 1970s and prospects for the 1980s of colleges that had undergone enrollment decline and/or financial cutbacks were surveyed, based on visits to 20 colleges and universities in 11 states in the Northeast, Midwest, and South. Some of the strategies to resist and overcome decline have potential for success in a wide range of…