The Law School Admission Council recently reported that applications were heading toward a 30-year low, reflecting, as a "New York Times" article put it, "increased concern over soaring tuition, crushing student debt, and diminishing prospects of lucrative employment upon graduation." Since 2004 the number of law-school…

Community colleges report opening Spring term enrollment figures to the Illinois Community College Board using a brief web based survey. Overall, short term statewide results of the fiscal year 2011 Spring enrollment survey show decreases from last year's record levels. Compared to the same term one year ago, statewide Spring 2011 headcount…

In 2009, the city of Detroit proposed a $500.5 million bond referendum to stem the declining enrollment in Detroit Public Schools (DPS) that mirrored the decades-long decline in the city's population. Proposal S was passed in November to fund the construction of 8 new schools, the renovation of 10 more, and the improvement of information…

Many state education leaders are taking a fresh look at school finance in hopes of containing costs. Some are reworking transportation formulas, or zeroing in on special education eligibility, or merging districts. Others are investing more in digital learning, charter innovations, and information systems. But state leaders too often overlook a…

This paper builds on prior work defending innovative information systems programs as ABET-accreditable. A proposal for a four-year degree program in health informatics, initiated at the authors' university to combat enrollment declines and to therefore help information systems to survive and thrive, is described. The program proposal is then…

As more and more school systems are forced to implement reduction-in-force, litigation over reduction in the number of professional personnel, as well as job security, will continue to increase. As a result, there is a need for school administrators to develop a better understanding of the issues, outcomes, and legal trends resulting from…

The decline of United States students in graduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematic (STEM) programs is a major concern in light of the findings and recommendations made by the National Academy of Sciences Committee Report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm (2006). The purpose of this study was to determine if research universities…

By most accounts, the position of German studies in the American academy is no longer secure. To a large extent, that is due to reasons beyond the control of individual faculty or departments, including the general crisis faced by the humanities and the diminished importance in the eyes of the public of literary criticism, a vital part of the…

This research identifies 22 fields that declined in absolute numbers and/or prevalence over a 35-year period. Most were basic fields in the arts and sciences. Steep declines were evident only in a few fields, notably European languages and literatures. Larger, higher status, and historically liberal arts oriented institutions were less likely to…

Our 31st annual report analyzing data from southeast Wisconsin's public school districts finds that while 68 of the 92 school districts are exceeding or significantly exceeding expectations on our new state report cards, there are large achievement gaps across the region on state assessments for low-income students and students of color. Key…

Our 32nd annual report analyzing data from southeast Wisconsin's public school districts finds progress on some college readiness indicators and largely positive showings on district report cards. Those results are offset, however, by discouraging results on standardized tests and continued substantial achievement gaps between students of…

This brief examines the series of events that led to the Highland Park school district being converted to a system of charter public schools in 2012. Used as a strategy to help the district eliminate its large fiscal debt while still providing resident students with a local public school option, Highland Park's charter conversion is one of the…

This paper discusses an all-encompassing approach to increase the number of students in engineering through innovative outreach, recruiting, and retention programs. Prior to adopting these programs, the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the University of Oklahoma (OU), Norman, experienced a reduction in engineering enrollment…

Many universities are having a tough time weathering the economic storm because of state-funding shortfalls and dwindling endowments. Humanities programs at public universities like the University of Iowa and University of Minnesota have been cut. Kean University in New Jersey has proposed restructuring and merging some programs. Nevada's top…

This report summarizes fall enrollment in Iowa's community colleges. Every year, Iowa's 15 community college districts submit data on the tenth business day of the fall semester. This report summarizes several aspects of community college enrollment from fall 2013. Highlights from this report include: (1) Fall 2013 enrollment was 94,234 students,…