Practicum experiences are an integral part of teacher education programs. This study drew on perceptions of stakeholders (preservice teachers, cooperating teachers, and university professors) to examine the strengths and weaknesses of two practicum models of an early childhood teacher education program. Findings showed that preservice teachers,…

Over the past three years, California State University, Bakersfield received NSF funding to support hands-on explorations in "network security" and "cryptography" through Research Experience Vitalizing Science-University Program (REVS-UP). In addition to the summer bridge component, the grant included development of…

This program profile describes recent changes to the process for preparing graduate teaching instructors (GTAs) in North Carolina State University's first-year writing program. The authors--one a nontenure-track faculty member and the other a tenure-track faculty member--describe the philosophical, ethical, and practical concerns in scaling…

Since 2004, Rhodes State College has been at the forefront of developing an institution-wide model of institutional effectiveness--Strategic and Institutional Effectiveness Planning System (SIEPS). A focus on both measuring mission effectiveness and strategic achievement led to development of a unique electronic application that tracks the direct…

This brief explores three examples of state policies designed to help students and families cope with rising tuition costs at four-year institutions: the Wisconsin Covenant, the Georgia HOPE Scholarship Program, and the Indiana Twenty-first Century Scholars Program. Although the authors acknowledge the important role two-year colleges play in…

This final report describes activities of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) in a 3-year collaboration with the ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education to acquire information on model programs within the ERIC database for access by ERIC clients. AASCU members frequently need information on model programs and since…

In response to a desire for an additional, low-cost program of faculty and staff development, Buffalo State College has developed a series of workshop/seminar sessions presented during the break between the fall and spring semesters. Called Winterim, the program offers sessions on a wide variety of academic, professional, and instructional topics…

This project proposal describes a pilot project, "Regional Course Sharing Through Technology," at Chadron State College, Nebraska, which utilizes telecommunications to enable small, rural schools to share teaching staff among several schools. Away from the highly populated urban areas of Nebraska, most school districts are widely…

The Academic Skills Center at Black Hills State University provides a peer assistance program comprising both individual tutoring in classes offered in each academic division and credit classes in study skills. The goal of the Center is to respond effectively and quickly to individual educational needs of students and faculty through a…

This report discusses the Quality Assurance Program at the OSU/WOSC School of Education, a merged school serving Oregon State University and Western Oregon State College. This major reform in teacher education is designed to bring a high level of accountability to teacher education and is called a "Warranty of First-Year Teachers." If,…

Reports the application of a systems approach to develop a personnel development system for Iowa's vocational personnel at the state's fifteen community colleges. Success of the system (which was the result of a year-long institute) is suggested by the fact that most of the colleges are now developing a local plan of action. (DTT)

A planning and evaluation model for management information systems (MIS) at the institutional or system level in higher education is presented. The procedure provides an analytical approach for assessing the effectiveness of an existing information system utilizing a variation of the Business Systems Planning methodology developed by the IBM…

To introduce college students to the liberal arts, Castleton State College established the Soundings Program in fall 1985. The program was designed as a general education requirement for freshmen that earned one credit in each of the two semesters of the first year for attendance at (1) a limited number of required lectures and (2) eight elective…

A custom-fit degree plan was developed and implemented at Connors State College in Oklahoma through support from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. The project objectives were to develop: a model of counseling, advisement, and instructional units; a comprehensive file of community and business resources; and a close…

The Maryland Center for Thinking Studies, established at Coppin State College in July 1988, and presented in this report, provides training and resources in the teaching of thinking and fosters research in thinking improvement. When fully operational, the Center will assimilate and contribute to research in cognitive instruction, disseminate the…