In January 2010, the General Assembly passed the Complete College Tennessee Act (CCTA), a comprehensive reform agenda seeking to transform public higher education through changes in academic, fiscal, and administrative policies at the state and institutional levels. While the higher education landscape has been shaped by the CCTA, it is also…

Although datasets such as the Integrated Postsecondary Data System are available as inputs to higher education funding formulas, these datasets can be unreliable, incomplete, or unresponsive to criteria identified by state education officials. State formulas do not always match the state's economic and human capital goals. This article analyzes…

Administrators in America's rural school districts are uniquely challenged to meet increased achievement expectations despite decreasing resources. Mandated reform initiatives, population decline, and the complex formulas used to distribute tax-based funding have disproportionately affected rural schools. In this mixed-methods study, researchers…

In April 2007, the New York State Legislature with the leadership of the Governor passed historic education legislation that provided for a multi-year infusion of new school funding; the creation of a clear cut system of accountability for new funds distributed under the legislation; and a fair and simple funding formula, known as Foundation Aid.…

This article presents an empirical analysis of the public funding system for higher education in Germany and a comparison with five other European countries. The large number of separate student support items in Germany makes it an exception and makes the system obscure. The allocations of public expenditure to German institutions are below…

There are very real barriers to using people, time, money, and technology well in today's public schools systems. To begin to break down these barriers, the Education Resource Strategies (ERS) has created a framework to prioritize seven urgent restructuring priorities. The authors have found that these areas represent the largest opportunities for…

Billions of education dollars are trapped each year. At this time of continued budget shortfalls when every dollar spent on education must yield maximum returns in student outcomes--states are frequently tying the hands of districts. While funding adequacy and equity must remain a priority for states, ensuring that limited resources are used as…

This report contains and analyzes statistical information about the financing of California postsecondary education from the 1965-66 fiscal year through 2010-11. CPEC (California Postsecondary Education Commission) compiles, analyzes, and disseminates this information to provide policymakers with comprehensive and comparable financial data that…

Cyber charter schools are public charter schools which are entirely online and typically serve all grades from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. Pennsylvania implemented widespread charter school legislation as early as 1997. This has offered a great number of Pennsylvanians options in their public schooling. One of these options has been…

Community colleges across the nation appear to be facing a "perfect storm" during which surging enrollments, tepid state funding, and strong accountability forces are colliding to severely threaten access to and completion of postsecondary education and credentials by lower-skilled and low-income students. In the last few years, record enrollments…

Community college funding formulas are tools utilized to substantiate the acquisition of funds and delineate the cost of education. This study develops a typology of community college funding formulas placing 48 states in three categories and five subcategories. (Contains 5 tables.)

This article explores the roles of racism and Whiteness in the decentralized governance structure and practice of a weighted student formula funding policy in an urban, West Coast school district. Specifically, it examines the ways in which a racialized struggle for fiscal authority played out at one urban high school where the immense racial…

This study is the tenth in a series of studies conducted by the American Association of School Administrators on the impact of the economic downturn on schools. AASA launched the series in fall 2008 in response to state budget shortfalls, federal buyouts and interventions, and a series of additional events characterizing a slowing, stagnant…

This report projects the amount Colorado would need to spend to maintain state services at 2007 levels through fiscal year 2012-13 and the amount of revenues that will be generated to pay for them. The costs of services were estimated based on factors that drive the budget, such as the number of students in college, inflation rates and the number…

The performance of higher education in New Mexico--measured by cost-efficiency, degree production, graduation rates, and a host of other metrics--remains exceptionally low in comparison with all but two or three other states. For most of the 2013 calendar year the Higher Education Department worked on various fronts to address the most pressing…