The role of state college trustees and their interaction with state government are considered. It is suggested that the trustee should be concerned about what is best for postsecondary education in the state generally as well as for the specific institution. The future trends indicate declining college enrollments, which require planning…

The migration of students into and out of Virginia in the fall of 1979 was examined for first-time, full-time students enrolled as undergraduate (freshmen or transfers), first-professional, graduate, or unclassified. Overall, Virginia ranks eighth in the United States in terms of students migrating into the state. It is expected that between 1980…

Three basic designs for studying college student attrition are described and the comparative assets and liabilities of each are discussed. It is noted that administrators faced with declining enrollments and costs for students not completing degree programs are likely to call for attrition studies, yet methodological inadequacies exist in many…

This issue contains the second of a two-part feature about European community school centers. The principal difference between the European and the American community school movements is that in almost all European nations the federal government supports them and takes an active part in their development. The article focuses on the forms of…

Baseline enrollment projections for New York State are presented, and various events that could alter the projections are examined. Almost all institutions will probably experience some enrollment decline, but the magnitude of the decline will vary across and within types of institutions. Possible sources of students are examined to encourage…

Within the context of declining enrollment, this paper considers the questions of economies of scale, cost-quality interrelationships, and rigidities in the Ontario school system. From a survey of the pertinent literature, the author concludes that economies of scale are linked to the level, size, and pupil/teacher ratio of a school and operate…

From a psychological perspective, this paper explores the effects of staff reduction, resulting from declining enrollment, on elementary and secondary teachers in Ontario. The authors state that fear of future unemployment has contributed to the stressful nature of teaching and is likely to retard the efficiency of even those teachers who retain…

While enrollment is declining in Ontario's elementary and secondary schools, the demands for adult education are increasing. This paper explores the possibility of integrating the two systems. The authors consider the conceptual bases for an integrated system as well as the effects of integration on administration, staff selection and training,…

Analysis of demographic data is utilized in this report to trace the relationship between public expenditure and school enrollment in Ontario and to predict the direction of educational expenditure in light of projected enrollment trends. The report shows that inflation, changes in educational policy, and increases in teacher salaries, rather than…

Eight essays on financing policies and issues in higher education to be faced in the near future are collected. They include: The Political-Economic Context for Financing Postsecondary Education in the 1980's (Robert C. Andringa); The Political-Economic Context: A Reaction (Kay S. Cornaby); Financial Responses for the 1980's (Melvin D. Orwig); A…

The impact of declining enrollment on the public schools and its implications for educational planning are examined. Three critical areas in instructional improvement are considered. As enrollments decline, more space becomes available in school facilities. Uses for this space are suggested: development of resource centers, expansion of enrichment…

This paper examines how 402 randomly selected sociology departments in colleges and universities in the United States are attempting to cope with problems in higher education. A survey instrument was developed in which questions focused on two basic issues: (1) how have problems such as enrollment declines, shifting academic interests among…

Longitudinal data on enrollment, weekly student contact hours (WSCH), and average daily attendance for 1967-1977 provide the following findings: (1) an overall ten year enrollment growth of 53.5% for fall and 57.6% for spring semesters; (2) day enrollment increases of 82.7% for fall and 83.6% for spring as compared with evening enrollment…

This chapter of "The Best of the Best of ERIC," Volume 2, contains 15 summaries of documents and journal articles on declining enrollments, all of which are indexed in either "Resources in Education" or "Current Index to Journals in Education." The materials included deal with various aspects of this topic, such as…

This essay explores the issues arising from enrollment decline by examining the local school district context in which these issues must ultimately be resolved. The first section of this paper suggests that fluctuation in enrollment should not be treated separately from the continuously changing economic, political, and social environment of the…