Higher education in America faces such formidable problems as unaffordable tuition, lack of accountability, students ill-prepared for college, declining enrollment in math and science, and too few graduates fluent in critical foreign languages. This Opportunity 08 position paper recommends that the next President should take the following steps to…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Congress Moves Forward with Budget Plan for FY 2008: House and Senate Spending Blueprints Include Significant…

Understanding educational advancement is important both for institutions, which increasing rely on its revenues, as well as professionals. This paper examines the knowledge base present in 241 doctoral dissertations on advancement, 1991-2006. Most dissertations are produced in education departments, using fundraising/philanthropy as a framework.…

A National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP) report addresses the questions "What have conservative foundations done with their grant dollars to promote concepts of privatizing public education through "school choice," primarily linked to school vouchers? What were their strategies in providing resources to an array of conservative…

When parents and staff at Winter Park Elementary School in Wilmington, North Carolina, realized that some children could not afford school activities, such as purchasing ice cream on Fridays, they decided to level the economic playing field. The school began eliminating all practices that required students to spend money to participate. Students…

This article describes Fisk University's drive to improve its graduation and retention rates. Fisk's six-year graduation rate is more than 10 percentage points above the national average for four-year institutions. Seventy percent of Fisk alumni go on to graduate or to professional schools. No other institution produces as many black doctorates in…

This study explores the social factors that influence young people's participation in school and out of school physical activities. Fifty-two 16-year-old adolescents from different socioeconomic backgrounds in one suburban and one inner-city secondary school in the Midlands, UK, participated in group interviews which explored their perceptions…

Lawrence Mead addresses the problem of nonwork among low-income men, particularly low-income black men, and its implications for families and children. The poor work effort, he says, appears to be caused partly by falling wages and other opportunity constraints but principally by an oppositional culture and a breakdown of work discipline. Mead…

A crucial national dialogue is under way about higher education and its role in securing America's future. Last fall, a blue-ribbon panel on higher education, established by Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, issued a report expressing concerns that the United States could be losing its status as the world leader in postsecondary…

Citing a pattern of outside interest groups aggressively seeking to impose their influence on recent collegiate hiring and tenure decisions, five prominent professors have formed the Ad Hoc Committee to Defend the University. They are circulating an online petition that takes explicit aim at "groups portraying themselves as defenders of Israel,"…

Increasingly, government, foundations, and others are asking community-based organizations for more evaluation information. Although the demand for this information may be increasing, the field knows very little about the way organizations are responding to this demand. Using data collected from interviews and a mail survey of community-based…

Graduate counseling programs are proficient in training direct service providers but less able to teach the business of sustaining a community agency's services. Modern philanthropy emphasizes social advocacy by investing in change that benefits the local community and respects the diverse cultural experiences of potential clients and…

Leal Filho, MacDermot, and Padgam (1996) contended that post-secondary institutions are well suited to take on leadership responsibilities for society's environmental protection. Higher education has the unique academic freedom to engage in critical thinking and bold experimentation in environmental sustainability (Cortese, 2003). Although…

In fall 2007, and in alignment with the strategic plan of the Colorado State Board of Education, the Colorado Department of Education released "Forward Thinking," a plan which publicly announced seven goals that, when attained, would culminate in a statewide system of accountability and support addressing the needs of all districts. Some…

This annual report shows the breadth and scope of the work achieved on behalf of the students across New Mexico. This document is a reflection of the commitment from the higher education and public education communities as well as that of the New Mexico Higher Education Department to further educational and professional opportunities for every…