The last decade has brought about a major change in higher education. Course design has developed from a craftsmanship-like process to a structured production, which involves interdisciplinary teams and requires more complex communication skills. This conceptual article introduces E[superscript 2]ML--Educational Environment Modeling Language--a…

Advocates of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) say it saves money on long distance calls by sending them over the Internet, improves communication by eliminating the Private Branch Exchange (PBX), and offers a host of neat features such as call forwarding, e-mail accessible voicemail, and more. When it comes to measuring the dollars-and-cents…

The authors describe 2 efficiency (planned missing data) designs for measurement: the 3-form design and the 2-method measurement design. The 3-form design, a kind of matrix sampling, allows researchers to leverage limited resources to collect data for 33% more survey questions than can be answered by any 1 respondent. Power tables for estimating…

This study focuses on a cost analysis conducted for the purpose of improving education in Illinois. The study explores educational funding in Illinois using 2005 Illinois School Report Card data, as collected by the Illinois State Board of Education. The study strives to make transparent the purpose, key stakeholders, methods, and intended use of…

This project explored the possible applications of new technology to standardized testing. Because the multimedia approach is particularly promising for music, the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) music test was chosen as the context for this project. The basic system for administering the test and recording the results was written using…

The Quantum Opportunities Project (QOP) was a multisite youth development demonstration project funded by the Ford Foundation in San Antonio (Texas), Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), Milwaukee (Wisconsin), Saginaw (Michigan), and Oklahoma City (Oklahoma). The programs, organized around educational activities, guaranteed up to 250 hours of education,…

This report addresses the dollar savings described in the Government Accounting Office's (GAO) report supporting direct lending as opposed to the present guaranteed student loan program. The critique explains the changes in the GAO model assumptions and projections that are believed necessary to move from the original $4.8 billion savings to a…

An initiative was undertaken to develop cooperation with higher vocational qualifications between two "new" universities that were formerly polytechnics: City University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and the University of Northumbria at Newcastle (UNN) in England. The higher vocational qualifications were the Higher Diploma (HD) from CUHK and the…

An assessment of the cost-effectiveness of an initiative to target 823,278 defaulted student loans in the Debt Collection Service (DCS) for consolidation into the Direct Loan Program concluded that it was not cost-effective. The study found that the Department of Education's cost to consolidate about 80,000 DCS borrowers into the program would be…

Beginning in the 1960s the interactive capabilities of computers were recognized as providing unprecedented opportunities for the development of computerized career guidance systems. Such systems offered individualized assistance in career decision making to large numbers of people at low cost. Recognizing that each user may present a unique…

This paper outlines reasons for the apparent discrepancy between public- and private-school cost per student. The paper compares one public and one private school system in Palm Beach, Florida--Palm Beach County Schools and Lake Worth Christian Schools. It argues that public schools are more expensive because of the many categories of student…

This paper describes ways in which the public school district can cut costs, similar to those utilized by the private sector in a shrinking economy. One strategy is to generate new revenue and protect old revenue from erosion through "ad valorem" taxation of real property. Between appraisal years, schools districts can actively seek out…

This report describes a study that surveyed the provision of engineering distance education worldwide and investigated specifically the views of major providers in the United Kingdom (UK). Three countries were selected for indepth investigation: Czech Republic, Sri Lanka, and Zimbabwe. Findings indicated the use of electronic media was growing…

This instructional module is designed to teach training managers how to calculate training costs, measure the effectiveness of training, and determine the cost effectiveness of training. It is organized in three parts. Part 1 points out why some training managers are reluctant to determine the cost effectiveness of training. It discusses the need…

A study was conducted to investigate the feasibility of using video as a method of beginning teacher observation. In addition, the study investigated whether or not trained observers (raters) could score beginner teacher performance videotapes reliably using a 4-point holistic scoring scale. To this end, the researcher collected 24 beginning…