Good methods for assessing the comparative costs of various types of academic programs are badly needed. This report briefly describes a method for doing this used in 1970 at the University of South Florida. The method described has limitations, since the data are based on non-personnel costs only. A more useful analysis would be based on total…

This report of an assessment of vocational and technical education needs in South Carolina is divided into seven sections. The introductory section briefly describes the assessment model used in the study. Section 2, National Overview, provides background information of national significance. It includes an analysis of studies conducted to…

The systems approach model described here may assist providers of mental health services to develop skills that will enable them to more effectively design, collect, and analyze information pertaining to current program needs for planning, implementation, and renewal. (MM)

An automated management information system was developed for planning and scheduling unit training in a U.S. Army infantry division. The primary goal of the project was to test the feasibility of the concept for a computer-based management information system. Specific objectives were to integrate information on personnel, training, and logistics…

Education is too complex, multidimensional, and poorly understood to lend itself to a single cost/effectiveness criterion. Rather, analysts in the educational field seek to rank alternatives by their effectiveness, report separately on the cost implications, and leave the tradeoffs to the decisionmaker's judgment. In this context, a program is any…

This conference paper discusses the role of the Planning, Programing, and Budgeting System (PPBS) in planning for educational programs. Proper PPBS analysis includes (1) correct problem definition, (2) consideration of alternative solutions, (3) ascertainment of peripheral effects of the alternatives, and (4) estimations of the cost and…

This issue examines the following topics: comparative adult education (its scientific status and development), adult education research activity in system analysis, the inner structure of the system of adult education, adult education research and recently completed planning work, and the contents of adult education research in West Germany,…

A cost-effectiveness/benefit analysis is defined as a technique for measuring the outputs of existing and new programs in relation to their specified program objectives, against the costs of those programs. In terms of its specific use, the technique is conceptualized as a systems analysis method, an evaluation method, and a planning tool for…

This manual is basically designed as a self-instructional guide by which postsecondary vocational administrators and educators can conduct cost-effectiveness/benefit studies. (Cost-effectiveness/benefit analysis is an evaluation technique which can be used for assessing outcomes of existing and/or new programs in relation to their specified…

A computerized model was developed to evaluate local vocational education programs in relation to the various functions of vocational education. A data base was generated using the local school districts' information and the output was designed for local self-evaluation use in further planning and review of the overall vocational education plan.…

This report presents results of the management reviews of 20 California high school vocational systems which utilized the District Review of Vocational Education (DROVE) process, a consultant-directed self-study that also involves a vertification study conducted by a visiting team made up of nonvocational educators. (Results of the topical…

Recommendations, conclusions, and position papers based on the results of a diagnostic survey conducted six states and 11 communities are reported. They concern: (1) identification of the objectives and goals of occupational education; (2) structuring of alternative programs to achieve them; (3) cost-benefit analysis; and, (4) projections of…

Since the mid-1990s, job-training and employment programs for low-income people have begun to emphasize not only program development and implementation, but also reform of the "system" of labor market, employers, training providers, and helping agencies. In 1995, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which launched the Jobs Initiative in 6…

A study identified strategies used in selected rural states for evaluating the effectiveness of vocational programs and services for handicapped and disadvantaged students. During the study, the researcher examined the documents used by 13 rural states to assess their vocational programs for handicapped and disadvantaged individuals. This…