The "OECD Review of Resourcing Schools to Address Educational Disadvantage in Ireland" provides an independent analysis meant to support Irish authorities in identifying ways to strengthen the resources and supports provided to students at risk of educational disadvantage in both DEIS and non-DEIS schools. The report serves three…

Statewide higher education governing and coordinating boards have long been involved in academic planning, academic program review, and academic program approval. A detailed analysis of the templates that statewide boards require institutions to use during the program approval and review processes reveals the role these processes play in ensuring…

The strategic planning process requires considerable detail, much of which is covered in traditional literature on strategic planning. Using actual and existing strategic plans as example, we discuss aspects of strategic planning in academic settings that are often not addressed. We present a list of action items that should be considered as part…

A survey of the academic program review and approval activity of state-wide postsecondary coordinating and governing boards was concluded in 2006. This study is the latest in a series of survey/studies of state level program review and approval begun roughly thirty years ago by this author and colleagues. The boards selected for this survey were…

Profiles of the 14 states of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) provide information on the structure of these states for public postsecondary education and budgeting. For each state, the following areas are discussed: state-level coordinating and/or governing agency, institutional governing boards, state board for vocational education,…

A state mandated evaluation study was done of certain programs and activities of the Mississippi Commissioner's Office of the Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) including the Commissioner's Fund and operations of university foundations and athletic programs. This report presents findings, recommendations, and documentation, as well as responses…

The political processes involved in an academic program evaluation are discussed. The focus is on how evaluative information is politically linked to programmatic decisions within the context of various organizational and evaluative utilization models. To examine the explanatory power of the various theories and models, information from a program…

A 1978 conference report on major issues of the 1980s in statewide coordination and governance in postsecondary education is presented as part of an inservice education program. The introduction to the report contains the conference summary by Jerome M. Pollack. The keynote address by Richard Millard is presented in three separate sections,…

Results of an external review of West Virginia University (WVU) and recommendations for strengthening WVU are presented. The review was designed by the Academy for Educational Development and involved 14 review panels and 42 senior university educators and administrators. A summary section on the observations, findings, and recommendations of the…

A review of the South Carolina master plan for higher education is presented. The following issues are addressed: coordination and governance, roles and missions of state colleges and universities, enrollment projections, program review, prerequisites for freshman admission, quality incentives, desegregation of state institutions, finances, and…

This report to the Mississippi Legislature presents the findings of a review of the cash management policies, procedures, and practices of the State Board of Trustees of Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL). The methodology involved review of: applicable Mississippi statutes; standards promulgated by the National Association of College and…

A report on two- and four-year colleges in New Mexico is presented, including 50 recommendations of the Governor's Commission on Higher Education. An overview of higher education in the state and the different types of state-supported colleges is provided. Excellence in state institutions is discussed, with attention to governing boards;…