In March 1988, the Office of the Legislative Auditor for the State of Minnesota conducted a program evaluation and financial audit of physical plant operations at the University of Minnesota's Twin Cities campus. The auditors examined the physical plant's management, financial, and personnel controls and the effectiveness and efficiency of…

This guidebook is one in the Target Topic Series developed to highlight issues and concerns related to effective community education operation. It is intended for the community education advisory council member who wants to improve the effectiveness of the council. The material is designed to improve the atmosphere of the council to allow the…

This guide to the economic analysis of media use in education reviews the evidence on the costs and benefits of educational media and provides a methodology for future decision-making. It includes chapters on establishing a framework for media choice, evaluating the effectiveness of media use, and analyzing costs. The empirical evidence from past…

The effects of four educational benefit programs for military personnel were tested nationwide. The four benefit programs included a control or baseline contributory program, the Veterans Educational Assistance Program (VEAP); a second contribution program offering enhanced kickers in the Army, the Ultra VEAP; and two noncontributory plans, the…

Managers' claims that reducing employment discrimination will lead to higher costs and decreased personnel efficiency in organizations are not supported by theory or empirical evidence. Economic theories, in fact, indicate that discrimination does not have a rational economic basis and that reducing discrimination should lead to increased, rather…

This publication documents one community college's experience in setting up a "supermarket" guidance system model. Its goals were to maximize the number and kinds of available services, and make them maximally accessible to all students. A commercial design firm was hired to analyze the school's present and future requirements. A computer…

Sixteen New Jersey school districts located in four counties were selected to field test a generic educational planning system. The pilot program was to "ascertain where changes in guidelines, procedures, policy program, or resources were needed." The second major goal of the pilot program was to produce information for those districts…

A cost-effectiveness model is presented for academic administrators to use in making evaluation and planning decisions related directly to the instructional activities of academic departments. The advantages seen in the model are that it is simple and flexible, concentrates on balancing income generated by the department to expenses incurred, and…

This report discusses the use of funds provided by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act in California, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Texas. Objectives of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act are discussed and requirements for states to receive formula grants are reviewed. Observations from project…

This document is a description of the energy efficient designs for new schools in the Alief Independent School District of Houston, Texas. Exhibit A shows how four major school projects differ from conventional designs. Parameters and designs for heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and lighting are given. Twenty year projected energy costs and…

This report from the General Accounting Office reviews selected aspects of Wisconsin's Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. Chapter 1 describes AFDC and specifies the scope of the program review. In Chapter 2 the potential for increasing child support collections from parents is explored. Actions which could increase collections…

Three papers address the question of why the field of curriculum alternates between periods of creative change and periods of relative inertia. Key historical influences are discussed and related to the present state of the field. Ralph W. Tyler's paper "What the curriculum field needs to learn from its history" deals with the cyclical…

Boards of education must be convinced that spending money up front for preventive maintenance will, in the long run, save districts' tax dollars. A good program of preventive maintenance can minimize disruption of service; reduce repair costs, energy consumption, and overtime; improve labor productivity and system equipment reliability; handle…

Heightened efficiency in higher education has led to declining commitment to student needs for personal development. Contributing institutional factors include over-emphasis on system efficiency, pride in physical facilities, status needs, obsession with management and accountability, lack of interaction between learner and educator, emphasis on…

In the 1980s, equity concerns will come into conflict with efficiency concerns in school financing. This paper attempts to trace the changing nature of these concerns during the 1970s and to suggest trends for education financing in the 1980s. The first section discusses equity issues related to state school finance reforms and suggests that…