Analyzes the case of a Brandeis University student found guilty of "unwanted sexual activity" by a university judicial panel. The student sued Brandeis, and the Massachusets Appeals Court ruled against Brandeis despite the court's customary deference to the decision making of private institutions. Ten other colleges are supporting…

Surveyed bachelor of social work (BSW) directors in combined BSW/MSW programs about autonomy issues. Found seven variables differentiating programs in their need for more autonomy: dean/director support, fiscal equity, equity in distributing faculty resources, teaching assignment authority, faculty support of BSW program, program director's…

The courts in the old British Commonwealth common law countries have been dealing with questions relating to visitorial jurisdiction in public universities. The visitor is a judge of facts who interprets and applies the laws of the university. A decision of the visitor on matters within visitorial jurisdiction is final and not appealable to the…

In the last decade, consensus around equality and efficiency in New Zealand adult education shifted to a focus on autonomy and accountability, economic rationalism, and vocational skills. Adult educators seeking change should emphasize participative democracy, connectedness, and valuing and advancing groups with diverse identities and interests.…

A new law on higher education came into effect in North Rhine-Westphalia on 1 April 2000, setting a new direction, based in law, that should and will lay the foundations for a revamping of higher education in this state. Since the 1990s, the critical debates that are part of the general German discussion on higher education have shown a more…

This article discusses the debate on the introduction of course fees in German higher education. It also discusses a pilot model developed by the Conference of University Deans (HRK) Presidium to resolve the fee question. This model is attuned to competition and is at the same time socially acceptable. The main idea is that neither a general…

In 1918, just one year before the founding of American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), Thorstein Veblin wrote, "In one shape or another, this problem of adjustment, reconciliation or compromise between the needs of higher learning and the demands of the business enterprise is forever present in the deliberations of the university…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find out what kind of contextual factors that positively or negatively influence effective school improvement (ESI) in The Netherlands. Design/methodology/approach: To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, Sun's contextual level model with ten contextual factors and 48 indicators has been used to carefully…

This article reviews evidence from four international student achievement tests on the effects on student performance of competition from privately managed schools, schools' freedom to make autonomous decisions, and accountability introduced by external exit exams. The multivariate cross-country regressions are performed at the level of individual…

Since 1996, the Center for Education Reform has released an annual report card, grading each state's charter school legislation and labeling as the "strongest" those laws placing the fewest and slightest restrictions on charter schools. While the Center for Education Reform rankings have undoubtedly been the most influential, at least four other…

Student learning can be raised by school autonomy and parental participation through separate channels, but this paper suggests a mutually supportive effect. Increased school autonomy increases the rent that can be distributed among stakeholders at the school, while institutions for parental participation (such as a school board) empower parents…

There has developed moderate discussion in European higher education about the use of performance indicators for both accountability and evaluation purposes. This paper begins by summarizing governmental expectations, institutional objections, and several of the controversies surrounding performance measures. We then report on using performance…

In April 2004, Japanese national universities were incorporated and became much more autonomous from the government in their operations. Their managerial structure was realigned--placing the president at the centre of the decision-making process, and with the participation of external persons--to be more responsive to the changing needs of…

In recent years, a series of articles have examined the performance of charter schools with mixed results. Some of this research has shown that charter school performance varies by charter type or the age of the school (Bifulco & Ladd, 2006; Buddin & Zimmer, 2005; Hanushek, Kain, & Rivkin, 2002; Sass, 2006). However, this research has…

The general aim of this book is to provide a focussed discussion on decentralization and school-based management. In part 1, chapter 1, some problems, anticipations, and a recommendation concerning decentralization are presented. In part 2, chapters 2 through 6 review literature about the structural view of organizations, rationality and…