The list of 61 finalists for the latest Race to the Top competition shows that the U.S. Department of Education was successful in enticing high-scoring applications from districts in rural America and in states that had not shared in the Race to the Top bounty before. But whether the ultimate winners, which will be announced this month, will be…

States seeking waivers under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act are hoping to replace what is widely considered an outdated, but consistent, school accountability regime with a hodgepodge of complex school grading systems that are as diverse as the states themselves. That's the picture that emerged from an "Education Week" analysis of…

City University of New York's (CUNY) new community college, planned almost entirely by administrators and slated to open in 2012, seems designed to shunt its student body into narrow, mostly terminal career-technical programs with the promise of an associate's degree at the end. But to what purpose? To "reimagine community college education…

The Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) regularly tracks state developments, proposals, and legislation as they affect public higher education governance and trusteeship. This paper provides an early read on what state, university system, and institutional leaders see as important for the immediate future of public…

The research summary "Successful, Safe, and Healthy Students" presents the research background for the Obama administration's proposals for comprehensive, community-wide services in high-poverty neighborhoods, extended learning time, family engagement and safe schools. While these policies have broad and common-sense appeal, the research…

In 2008, the California Community Colleges Board of Governors amended its Title 5 Regulations to include provisions for granting conditional approval for educational centers. Prior regulations pertained to full or final approval only. The Commission's current guidelines do not contain provisions for conditional approval. This agenda item outlines…

A campus master plan cannot predict the future of a campus, but it can provide a valuable and productive road map for future development. This article suggests that such a road map might best meet an institution's needs and resources when it is linked to the reasons it decided to plan in the first place. Identifying the reasons for planning…

The Palomar Community College District has proposed to establish a new educational center in the northern region of the District. The California Postsecondary Education Commission recommends approval of the proposed center. The information in the Palomar Community College District Needs Study satisfies all Commission criteria for establishing a…

This workbook is about producing the "Inquiry Brief" or "Inquiry Brief Proposal" for TEAC (Teacher Education Accreditation Council) accreditation. It is designed as a companion to the TEAC "Guide to Accreditation." The exercises in this workbook are selected by the writing workshop presenters to help program faculty get started on their "Brief."…

This paper presents the "Report to the Legislature: Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Strategic Plan". This was a year of transition in public education. After former commissioner David Driscoll retired in August 2007, Deputy Commissioner Jeffrey Nellhaus filled in as acting commissioner for nearly nine months until newly…

In December 2007, the California Postsecondary Education adopted the last in an initial series of reports on the nexus between postsecondary education and workforce development by requesting staff to return with plans and priorities to pursue implementation of ten general policy options, grouped into three categories. One option is already being…

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…

The Los Rios Community College District has proposed to convert its Davis outreach operations to a single, state-approved educational center. The proposal responds to the district's need to expand educational services in the Davis area. The area is marked by high student demand and limited instructional facilities. In the 2006-07 academic year,…

The middle grades are a time of change for adolescent learners. Middle schoolers are in the process of refining their social skills and their self-concept. They begin taking responsibility for their education and making decisions about their own learning. They start planning for college and careers, understanding for the first time how their…