The Common Core of Data (CCD) is an annual collection of public elementary and secondary education data by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education. The purpose of this report is to introduce new data through the presentation of tables containing descriptive…

Continuing economic difficulties will challenge education institutions in the year ahead. For 2010 and beyond, budget realities may force administrators to close underused campuses, eliminate academic programs, lay off employees, delay or forgo construction and renovation projects, and cram more students into each classroom. At the same time, the…

The experience of the UK Research Councils in assessing the impacts of their research funding is discussed, including a report on the findings of research which reviewed the impact studies implemented by the Research Councils. The response of the Councils to the challenge of demonstrating the impacts of their funding and the main methodologies…

The ailing economy has spared few schools and universities. Faced with funding cutbacks, most education administrators have had to make difficult choices about where to allocate dwindling resources. Even in the best of financial times, educating students is the first priority. When money is tight, school maintenance and operations (M&O)…

Background: School accountability policies and high-stakes testing have created new demands on state policy makers to provide assistance to low-performing schools. California's response was the Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program (II/USP) and the High Priority School Grants Program (HPSGP). Objective/Research Question/Focus of…

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the ranking practices of 25 European higher education ranking systems (HERSs). Ranking practices were assessed with 14 quantitative measures derived from the Berlin Principles on Ranking of Higher Education Institutions (BPs). HERSs were then ranked according to their degree of congruence with the BPs.…

We examine the extent to which readily available data at a large public university can be used to a priori identify at-risk students who may benefit from targeted retention efforts. Although it is possible to identify such students, there remains an inevitable tradeoff in any resource allocation between not treating the students who are likely to…

In this essay, we discuss the importance for a higher education institution to participate in self-inquiry, or a reflexive practice of identifying where a university is with regard to establishing an embedded campus structure grounded in diversity in terms of values, principles, objectives and goals, outcomes and resource allocations. This process…

This paper discusses issues relating to the use of the Association of Business Schools' (ABS) "Academic Journal Quality Guide" within UK business schools. It also looks at several specific issues raised by the Chair of the British Accounting Association/British Accounting and Finance Association regarding the ratings for top…

This book is designed to help educational leaders, decision makers, and teachers wade through the complexities of aligning technology planning with learning goals. Organized around a problem-solving model based on solution fluency, the authors outline how to: (1) Address state, regional, or provincial standards; (2) Improve test scores--Meet…

In fiscal year 2009, the Department of Defense's (DOD) Military Tuition Assistance (TA) Program provided $517 million in tuition assistance to approximately 377,000 service members. US Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to report on (1) DOD's oversight of schools receiving TA funds, and (2) the extent to which DOD coordinates with…

The author's first school librarian position was in her hometown elementary school where she had been a library aide in the fifth grade. The principal spelled out the problems with the situation she would be entering--the school library was the least favorite of the resources, many policies and procedures were antiquated, and the collection needed…

For 70 years, the Union City School District used a line-item budget system, a top down approach that was regarded by many as "deaf, dumb, and blind." This antiquated central administration process gave school leaders and staff little, if any, input into the distribution of resources for their schools, resulting in a redundancy of allocations,…

School superintendents annually need to gain affirmative votes from their governing bodies to approve their district budgets. This paper proposes a framework through which the superintendent can express the district's educational needs and concomitant resource allocations in conceptual terms rather than in multi-columned ledgers. The framework…

The results of the twelfth annual EDUCAUSE Current Issues Survey reflect the everyday balancing act that IT leaders need to perform. Many of the issues show the need for continued and thoughtful long-range planning, yet new issues have also risen quickly to the top, requiring nimbleness in both thought and act. Administered by the EDUCAUSE Current…