The chapters presented in this report take stock of much of what has been tried and learned about state policy leadership in bridging the divide between K-12 schools and postsecondary education. They bring together the work and perspectives of the authors and of several sponsoring and collaborating organizations, including: Editorial Projects in…

This new edition of "Good Policy, Good Practice II" revises and updates the authors' 2007 publication. Like the earlier edition, it responds to one of the questions that is raised most frequently in the authors' work with public policy and education leaders as they begin to address the national and state imperatives to increase the proportion of…

This occasional paper describes the development of the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education and the current statewide challenges that make the plan ineffective today in preventing the erosion of college opportunity. (Contains 29 endnotes and 8 tables.)

This paper discusses recession and the major policy considerations that states and institutions must face in the current economic downturn. It explores the public policy implications of three major variables: (1) each of the 50 states has a unique higher education system; (2) each state also has a unique revenue and budgetary process; and (3) each…

State initiatives in the 1980s were first directed to quality improvement in higher education. The cumulative impact of these initiatives on minority participation and degree achievement, with declining federal affirmative action, caused many states to move equity to top priority. Recent studies of state-level initiatives suggest necessary…

This report presents the results of a multi-state study of state governing structures for higher education, focusing on the complexity of general patterns of higher education governance. The study focused on higher education governance in seven states--California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New York, and Texas--and was based on a review…

Recently, state policy began paying more attention to minority achievement in elementary, secondary, and higher education. The effectiveness of such policy in higher education depends upon institutional commitment and progress in increasing minority participation, retention, and achievement. Dealing with poor student preparation at the elementary…

California state legislators are showing a lack of long-term leadership and vision in their planning for the state's higher education needs as indicated in their recent decisions regarding increased tuition and fees. California's public higher education system stands at the nexus of two powerful trends: the long-term social, demographic,…

Discusses lessons concerning the financing of higher education drawn from previous recessions and describes the differences inherent in the current recession and its potential impact on growing college enrollments, particularly the increasing demand from low-income and minority students. (EV)

An examination of public policy issues and accountability in education focuses on the current situation in California's system of higher education. It looks first at how the consensus about public financing embodied in the state's 1960 master plan for higher education has come apart since about 1990, and reports on two studies, one on recent…

The state of California faces trends which will significantly shape higher education in the coming century and which require public debate and decision in the near future. The trends are enrollment growth coupled with continued slow economic growth with consequent low appropriations for education. A study by the National Center for Higher…

This comparative study synthesizes data from a national study which examined differences among states in their governance structures, and asked if differences in performance were related to governing structures and whether governance structure affected strategies of state policymakers. The seven states examined were grouped into four governance…

This report examines the historical role of statewide coordinating boards, most of which were established after World War II to help states deal with conflicting institutional political interests and values. While authority over institutional management remains vested in governing boards, statewide coordinating boards serve as alternative models…

The purpose of the National Center's studies and reports, including "Measuring Up, 2006," is to stimulate public policies that will improve the effectiveness and accessibility of higher education. This document is the fourth national report card on higher education in the United States. As in earlier editions, the 2006 report card…