Each year, Austin Independent School District Department of Research and Evaluation (DRE) staff develop a plan of work to describe the scope of work for the coming year. The plans that make up this document identify programs to be evaluated and services to be provided by DRE staff and provide the blueprints for evaluation that staff will follow…

A conceptual framework for considering the costs and benefits of postsecondary education assessment is presented, along with a typology linking the costs of evaluation to their informational benefits. A number of cost-analysis paradigms and techniques for assessing alternative evaluation projects at the institutional level are also examined. The…

Financial planning and resource allocation for chemistry--which has costs not shared by most other disciplines--in Victoria (Australia) colleges are discussed in light of enrollment trends and these colleges' contribution to the pool of chemistry graduates. Materials and equipment costs and class size are considered. (MSE)

Estimates participation in different types of postcompulsory education and training programs in the United States, compares the costs of and funding for these activities, and considers differences in the attributes of participants among programs. (Author/GC)

Examines the implications of a British plan to provide one-year paid traineeships to all unemployed 16 year-old school dropouts. Rising youth unemployment has prompted proposals for new postsecondary vocational and technical education programs. The program's impact on the secondary curriculum and postsecondary educational systems and on program…

Describes the human resources department at West Virginia University. Discusses the training needs assessment project, formation of an advisory committee, targets for training, budget restrictions, department faculty and staff, faculty attitudes about the program, training sites, use of video-based simulation, and how the program is currently…

Five areas are considered with respect to the relationship of merit pay and developmental composition: (1) the kinds of merit pay; (2) the sources of merit pay funds; (3) the combinations of developmental writing programs, types of merit pay, and the sources of funding; (4) the evaluation of teachers for the purposes of merit pay; and (5) the…

The current status of coal mining technology training in 25 educational institutions throughout the United States is examined. Surveys of these institutions asked for information related to: (1) name and type of institution; (2) number of years in mining training; (3) type of degree granted; (4) number of students enrolled in underground and…

Describes a program which enables homebound students to earn an associate degree in applied science and to gain marketable skills through learning at home. The article describes who is eligible, how the program is supported, what materials are used, how instruction is conducted, and how the students have performed. (CT)

A study was conducted to develop a comprehensive program costing model for vocational education. This model produced a comparison between the cost of operating a given vocational program and the average aggregate cost of operating all basic education programs. The model is applicable for both the secondary and postsecondary level programs and can…

Describes how the DeVry Institute of Technology (Illinois), a for-profit educational institution, outperforms the federal government's plan in providing job training by offering quality technical education to working-class students. The author compares total degree costs, explains the school's curriculum and educational practices, and explores the…

This document lists projects funded under the Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education's (FIPSE) Comprehensive Program from 1995 through 1998. Also included in this edition are abstracts of the three 1998 FIPSE focus competitions: Disseminating Proven Reforms, European Community/United States Joint Consortia,…

The Guaranteed Student Loan (GSL) program's current operations, legislative history, and growth are reviewed, along with research needs. GSLs are made by lenders to college students, and the federal government guarantees them and provides incentive payments to lenders and subsidy payments on behalf of students until loan repayment begins. Today,…

Aspects of American and British postsecondary education are compared. Two lessons are seen in the American system: (1) it is easy to establish a mass-access system and difficult to reverse the process; and (2) providing undergraduate courses in community colleges is cheaper than providing them in research universities. (MSE)

This article provides an overview of programs based in post-secondary settings in Maryland that serve students ages 18-21 with significant disabilities who are still receiving public school special education services. Student and setting characteristics, staffing, funding patterns, referral and admission practices, and program components are…