In 1992, City Academy -- the nation's first charter school -- opened in St. Paul, Minnesota. Created and led by experienced teachers, it was designed as an alternative school for students struggling in traditional settings. With just 53 students, City Academy embodied the original vision for charter schools: small, teacher-run schools within…

Studies of charter closure rates typically focus on year-to-year closures. While important for researchers, such studies provide little guidance to families seeking to understand the risk of enrolling their child in a charter school. That is because studies determining how many schools close each year provide no information on how long the school…

Thirty years ago, charter schools embodied possibility. They were envisioned as nimble, innovative, community-driven alternatives to traditional public schools -- laboratories of experimentation led by teachers and grounded in equity. The grand bargain was clear: more freedom from regulations and bureaucracy in exchange for heightened…

Many of California's urban public schools, both traditional and charter, have seen dramatic changes in enrollment during the past two decades. These trends have contributed to fiscal and facilities issues for both types of schools, but they also represent an opportunity for better cross-sector collaboration. In our new report, "Changing…

In this introductory article to a theme issue, the author discusses the impact of budget cuts, shrinking enrollment, the teacher's declining public image, and the fragmentation of the music industry and the music education field. On the positive side he describes two cases where community pressure prevented music program cuts. (SJL)

For the twenty-first century, higher education's future is promising, but in the meantime, there are problems--demographics, inflation, middle-class backlash--and two less discussed perils: loss of diversity and weakened commitment to science. However, individual institutions have individual futures and many are bright. (Author/LBH)

Problems affecting the survival of private colleges, including declining enrollment, inflation, costs, efficiency, public attitude, and competition with public institutions for students and federal and state aid are discussed. Thoughts about planning for the future are presented, with focus on planning and support at the state level. (JMD)

Pressures on dental schools in the form of declining enrollments, fiscal problems, and a changed professional environment for dentists are outlined, and options for fiscal survival are reviewed. Emerging differences between public and private schools and the role of the dental school in the university are discussed. (Author/MSE)

Kenyan primary education is plagued by problems of high attrition and gender and regional disparities in access and achievement. Poverty, institutionalized corruption, and declining public funding are primary factors. More funding is needed for teacher salaries, infrastructure development, and improved educational access. (Contains 23 references.)…

While the elite private colleges may survive the enrollment declines of the 1980's and 1990's, the less elite, so-called invisible private colleges may have more difficulty. Finance, enrollment, and competition are the three major elements seen to threaten these institutions' futures. They face an uncertain financial future since historically they…

The decline in the number of federally related jobs is threatening public policy schools and policy analysis is experiencing a loss of esteem. If this trend continues, the quality of students interested in public policy schools may be diluted. (MLW)

The results of analyzing institutional change profiles for 17 four-year undergraduate colleges are discussed. Using critical event cycles as a unit of analysis, attention was focused on distinctive patterns of institutional adaptation. Based on site visits, a list of 33 critical events at the 17 campuses was developed, from which 13 critical event…

Developments in postsecondary education during 1970-75 are considered in relation to students, institutions, and faculty. The following issues pertaining to students are addressed: students who did not enroll, the enrollment rate, the economic origins of students, student incomes, the reliability of income distribution data, the occupational…

Historical developments and current trends affecting American higher education are discussed, along with government and college reactions to problems. A review of the literature covers: retrenchment, the federal role in the past, the role of the states, the private sector, population declines, inflation and unemployment, a loss of confidence in…

The survival of higher education institutions is addressed in this book. Strategies and procedures for assuring institutional vitality are outlined, based on the author's 30 years of studying and advising colleges and universities in various states of financial health. The major components of institutional vitality are enumerated, including a…