Principals in rural schools lead with an awareness of multiple contingent factors that influence their decisions every day regarding programming for students. The purpose of this research is to examine how rural elementary school principals conceptualize programs in their schools, the processes used to connect students to these programs, and their…

How does one maintain high goals for instruction with dwindling funds? On a district level, the ability to do more with less is just not possible. It is the capability to reposition available resources that achieves critical goals. One way to visualize this concept is to think of a stretched elastic band. When that band is extended, it changes its…

The study described here tested a model of how characteristics of the feedback environment influence the allocation of resources (time and effort) among competing tasks. Results demonstrated that performers invest more resources on tasks for which higher quality (more timely and more specific) feedback is available; this effect was partially…

Institutions of higher education are entering a new era, one where cost, value, and quality are at the front of mind. To proactively ensure long-term viability, institutions must operate differently. This qualitative case study examined how the St. Alexander University School of Education's Annual Report Process impacted institutional…

Socrates argued that the unexamined life is not worth living. For the past decade, the authors--along with many colleagues, organizations, and commercial firms--have been immersed in the booming, buzzing confusion that is the community landscape of higher education. They have communities that build software (e.g., Jasig, Kuali, Moodle, Sakai),…

Given the significant burden of mental illness among young adults, colleges offer a promising venue for prevention and treatment, which can help set late adolescents and young adults on a path to success and wellbeing. Despite the potential benefits, there have been no published studies of how campuses decide about allocating resources for mental…

California's system of school finance is highly regulated and prescriptive. A large share of state funding is allocated through categorical programs, that is, programs whose funding is contingent upon districts using the money in a particular way or for a particular purpose. In 2008-09, the strings were taken off 40 of those programs, collectively…

At a time when there are enormous economic pressures on campuses to use resources effectively, space being one of these resources, the academic culture of shared governance, with its fragmented roles for decision making, presents additional challenges. These roles are fragmented due to independent faculty and administrative action. They are…

Recently, there has been growing interest in adapting Return-on-Investment thinking to education--sometimes called educational productivity, or academic-ROI. Education leaders do not seek a monetary return on their spending, rather greater student learning, or other outcomes like student citizenship, higher graduation rates, or increased lifetime…

This study implemented a two phase concurrent mixed-methods design to generate a greater understanding of how elementary schools with increased autonomy in fiscal decision making allocated their money, how their site-based decisions affected allocative efficiency, and how increased autonomy affected site-based decision making when compared with a…

This study used a purposeful sample of five public non-charter elementary schools in Hawai`i. The schools, located on two different islands, displayed evidence of improving academic performance and consistently outperformed the state average growth in scores on the Hawai`i State Assessment (HSA). These schools had mid to high percentages of…

In 2009-2010, California made substantial education budget cuts at the same time that it removed its spending requirements from $4.5 billion of state money. This gave districts the flexibility to use the funds in any manner approved by the local school board. Researchers found that most of the formerly earmarked money was moved into general funds…

This paper is written in the context of practice at Nottingham Trent University, using elements of its management as example or counterbalance to the literature. The challenge at the heart of the paper is that of practically balancing a managerial and business-focused culture and processes to support the aspirations and motivations of the…

In 2009, California state legislators freed local educators from the specific guidelines that previously regulated spending on 40 categorical-aid programs known as Tier 3 programs. This Tier 3 flexibility reform, which deregulates $4.5 billion in education funding, was enacted at the same time the legislature made cuts in education spending in…

Recognizing the current administration's focus on improving postsecondary access, this study examines resource allocation patterns and the predictive power of these resources in increasing the likelihood of 2- and 4-year college enrollment among low-income students. Using data from the Educational Longitudinal Study, college choice decision-making…