This report presents, in tabular format, the following information: (1) FTE Enrollment, FY 2002 to FY 2006; (2) Cost of Instruction Per Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Student; (3) State Support (SSI) Per Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Student; (4) Average and Median Undergraduate Class Size in Fall 2005--Classes Meeting as Lectures; (5) Average and Median…

The process of changing U.S. higher education institutions along a corporate model has been going on for several decades. It consists of changes, some open, some obscured, on various fronts: the erosion of tenure by attrition; the simultaneous increase in the use of contingent faculty; the rise in tuition; the dramatic decrease in federal and…

The primary purpose of "National CrossTalk" is to stimulate informed discussion and debate of higher education issues. This issue contains the following articles: (1) The Celtic Tiger: Ireland Invests Heavily in Higher Education, and Benefits Mightily (Jon Marcus); (2) Western Classic: Nevada's James Rogers Is a Non-Traditional…

With a bachelor's degree fast becoming the standard requirement for achieving success in the modern economy, college enrollment is increasing rapidly nationwide. State funding for colleges and universities continues to subsidize the cost of educating state residents, but spiraling expenditures in other areas are straining the ability of states to…

In this testimony before the House Committee on Homeland Security, the Director of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) discusses the status of school districts' planning and preparedness for emergencies. According to the testimony, federal and state governments support emergency management in school districts with a range of resources…

Today, it is increasingly difficult for states to adequately satisfy the demand for well-funded and quality public services, such as K-12 education by relying exclusively on traditional, broad-based taxes for fiscal support. State sponsored lotteries are an increasingly popular, non-traditional revenue stream for public education. There is in many…

Higher education in New Jersey has arrived at a decisive moment. After twenty years of declining State funding and increased tuitions, the fortunes of citizens and the state hang in the balance. Student access to an affordable college education and the economic prosperity of the state are at stake. Increased funding is essential, but so too are…

New Jersey children and families begin this new decade with the state and nation in an economic downturn that has been marked by widespread job losses, an increased rate of child poverty and a growing number of households without enough to eat. These challenges are reflected in the measurements of child well-being in this report. "New Jersey…

In the last forty years, federal and state financial aid policy has fundamentally shifted the way in which students and families finance college costs. Whereas grants once served an important function in equalizing college opportunity, loans are now considered a key lever against escalating postsecondary costs (McPherson and Shapiro, 1998). This…

This article provides information on Maryland's state education finance and governance. The state provides a foundation funding program, which guarantees a minimum or foundation level of per-pupil expenditures for children in all the state's school systems; this is done through a combination of state aid and local revenue. In 2002, Maryland…

State and local governments spend billions of dollars annually on the construction, renovation, and maintenance of public school facilities, yet concerns persist about the condition of some school facilities, particularly in school districts serving students residing on Indian lands. The Department of Education's (Education) Impact Aid Program…

In a nation where education is funded largely by local property taxes, schools in wealthy communities have plenty of funds to spend on programs that get their kids ready for college. Schools in poor communities scrimp and save to get the job done--or hope that funding from the state will help fill in the gap. This article describes how students…

This study examines the Illinois General Assembly's role in state finance and focuses on how the legislature can best control the scope and limits of state finance. The report is divided into four sections. The first section introduces the language of the appropriations process and the techniques of control applied to that process. The second…

This is the second manual of a 4-part series on how to find, obtain, contract for and manage Federal money for children's services. This manual discusses how to put together a services concept, how to organize to obtain federal money and how to relate to the state's or county's planning, budgeting and appropriations cycle. Emphasis is on Title XX…

The first portion of this report deals with the sources and amounts of operating income for the Ohio schools during the past five years. The second part examines the past three Ohio General Assemblies' (109th through 111th) educational mandates by basic areas. The legislation cited has varying levels of cost impact from the very major to the…