This guide to the policy-making functions of community colleges' boards of trustees is based on a 3-year operational review conducted by Cambrian College in Sudbury, Ontario (Canada). The guide begins by outlining the purposes and processes of Cambrian's governance self-study. Next, differences among Canadian colleges that affect the role of their…

As student bodies become more diverse and student needs multiply, institutions may find recruitment and retention increasingly challenging tasks. Effective enrollment management can introduce some stability and predictability into the planning context, with the promise of increased efficiency and effectiveness in meeting both student and…

The third generation of educational research and policy analysis gives consideration to the nature of the policy instrument and the design and organizational context through which reform ideas and policy goals are translated into results. This paper presents findings of a study that examined the use of systems change as a policy instrument. It…

This quarterly publication presents scholarly developmental research results pertaining to social and public policies which affect children. The first issue in the 1994 volume examines "Children's Changing Access to Resources: A Historical Perspective" (Donald Hernandez). This report focuses on changes in the American family's finances,…

This issue of Policy Insights draws on findings from WICHE's report Accelerated Learning Options: Moving the Needle on Access and Success, to lay out some of the important policy issues that decision makers might consider when adopting new state policy related to accelerated learning or modifying policies already in existence. The publication…

The 2005 Washington State Legislature authorized, through Substitute House Bill 1345, a two-year pilot project allowing eligible students, who enroll for four or five credits in a term, to receive the State Need Grant (SNG). Several important policy considerations emerged during the pilot project. Board staff explored these issues with financial…

LDA (Learning Disabilities Association) of Minnesota receives many calls and emails regarding testing accommodations for large-scale testing programs. Callers include the test-takers themselves, parents, teachers, counselors, advocates, and an occasional attorney. The standardized tests they ask about include the GED, SAT and ACT (for college…

This paper summarizes what is known and what is not known about mentoring programs focused on youth and related to college-going. Several aspects of mentoring are reviewed so that the concept and some program variations--such as peer and adult mentors, informal and formal mentoring, compensated and uncompensated mentoring, one-to-one and group…

Although family child care has the potential to offer young children individual attention and customized, educational programs to help them thrive, the quality of these programs is dependent upon a workforce that is at the bottom of the occupational status and pay hierarchy. This report examines ways to promote high quality in family child care…

Alcohol is the most widely used drug in the world and its use in the workplace can have serious consequences on safety, productivity, working relationships, and absenteeism. Some of the effects of alcohol consumption on the workplace, along with the types of responses that companies can make, are covered in this review. The text opens with a…

In October 1997 at the White House Conference on Child Care, the Clinton administration announced several initiatives to expand federal control over day care. This policy paper contends that federal initiatives of this type are misguided because they seriously misread the true state of child care in the United States. In response to advocacy…

There was a notable transition in the nature, content, and administration of rural policies in many developed nations in the 1980s and 1990s. These changes concerned issues of governance and institutional framework, the definition of "development," and policy goals and content. A key question, however, concerns the extent to which shifts…

Asserting that U.S. policy makers have much to gain from studying child care financing and delivery approaches in other economically-developed countries, this paper summarizes aspects of the organization and financing of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services across 14 industrialized countries as of the mid-1990s. The first section…

This paper explores efforts to link early childhood education and care (ECEC) with schools in countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), other than the United States. The first part of the paper discusses the context for children's transitions from ECEC to school, the ways in which transitions are understood,…

This Wisconsin Technical College System Board (WTCS) report provides an overview of the agency, a discussion of the 1999-2001 budget and policy actions, a review of the agency's performance, and an outline of the 2001-2003 strategic direction and statutory changes. The WTCS is the state agency statutorily responsible for the initiation,…