The purpose of the study was to explore the lived experiences of African American urban high school students that dropped out of school in an urban Alabama city and their teachers that taught the students between 2004 and 2008. In addition, the purpose of this study focused on the dropout phenomenon by interviewing students and their former…

Key legislative objectives for the US Federal educational policy over the past several decades relied heavily on quasi-market strategies (such as school rating, school closure, the contracting out of schools) as central levers in "reforming" public schools. Using financial data on 11 national for-profit firms contracting with schools and…

When the stock market plunged 778 points last week, losing almost 9% of its value in one day, higher education responded in an uncharacteristic way: It began to buckle. Colleges have often considered themselves recession-proof. However, last week's events compounded an already difficult year for many institutions, which have suffered from…

This article reports on Wachovia Bank's move in freezing the accounts of nearly 1,000 colleges that invest through Commonfund, leaving them unable to reach billions of dollars they depend on for salaries, construction, and debt payments. The move could cause other ripples, as Moody's Investors Service announced it would review the credit impact of…

Investors were hardly the only ones shaken by the tumult in the financial markets this month. Business schools suddenly found themselves struggling to make sense of events on Wall Street, with some critics blaming an ethically challenged curriculum for the troubles. Current and prospective students, meanwhile, worried about job prospects. On…

Over the past several decades, Kentucky's efforts to build equity, adequacy, and excellence in public education have produced substantial results. The state has moved closer to delivering for all children, but it has not completed the effort. Instead, having set itself a 2014 deadline to deliver proficiency for all, despite progress, Kentucky is…

Many people were relieved to bid farewell to 2008, a year that will be remembered for unprecedented economic woes that rippled from Wall Street to Main Street and around the globe. The world's financial problems will not be resolved overnight, and in this fragile economy, school district budget cuts are likely the norm. Is there anything school…

In times of financial distress, the communication strategies of leaders of institutions of higher education are often flawed. This is because the best approaches to helping a campus deal with financial woes are counter-intuitive and require an understanding of money as a language. But bankruptcy law, financial counseling, psychology, and…

The economic consequences of a partnership dissolution have been described consistently in the research literature. For women all studies indicate severe financial losses, whereas men do not experience income decreases to the same extent. This article focuses on the 2 main strategies to cope with the economic consequences of a separation:…

When people talk about the future of public universities, they are usually talking about the flagship state universities. Flagship state universities have greatly increased expenditures in the past decade. The goal of the flagship institutions has been to compete with the best private universities, based on the assumptions that state funds will be…

Research in the Komi region of Russia shows that families are experiencing financial problems, but that the desire to have children is strong. The data also show that fathers are more willing to share in family tasks. (Contains 3 tables.) [This article was translated by Kim Braithwaite.]

To understand the experiences of leaders in student affairs in higher education and to document the strategies they used to cut budgets and the results of these actions, the authors conducted a qualitative research study using public institutions as case studies. Data were gathered in 2005 through phone interviews with senior student affairs…

With the economic climate growing worse week by week, directors of scholarly organizations are preparing for the likelihood that 2009 will be a grim year for their finances. None report that they face immediate crises, but many say they fear that certain kinds of revenue--from conference attendance, foundation grants, and especially investment…

Not long ago, forecasts for state appropriations to higher education were gloomy as the credit crisis, a slumping housing market, rising energy costs and unemployment, and sagging consumer confidence took their toll on state finances. The budget news emerging from many statehouses for colleges and universities has been better than expected. This…

This article reports that the credit crisis tying global financing systems into knots has left hundreds of colleges scrambling for cash to pay their bills and to cover the spiking interest on their debts. While it is still unclear to what extent the federal government's new $700-billion bailout package will help unwind the credit tangle, the…