The importance of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has gained national attention in recent years, with educators, policymakers, and others advocating for greater participation and enhanced performance in STEM in order to bolster the U.S. economy and provide greater national security. This brief summarizes several pieces of…

The Teacher Education and Development Study (TEDS-M) is the first crossnational study to examine the mathematics preparation of future teachers for both primary and secondary school levels. The study, conducted under the auspices of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), collected data from…

For-profit, or proprietary, colleges are the fastest growing postsecondary schools in the nation, enrolling a disproportionately high share of disadvantaged and minority students and those ill-prepared for college. Because these schools--many of them big national chains--derive most of their revenue from taxpayer-funded student financial aid, they…

The increasing importance of the competition in global university ranking has resulted in a paradigm shift in academic governance in East Asia. Many governments have introduced different strategies for benchmarking their leading universities to facilitate global competitiveness and international visibility. A major trend in the changing university…

Does the physical environment improve an institution's recruitment efforts? More specifically, could a facility such as a laboratory of the future attract the best and the brightest students and faculty? This issue has been the subject of at least two studies--first, "How Do Students Choose a College?" in 1986 by the Carnegie Foundation for the…

This article explores a university's Urban Teacher Education Program (UTEP) and its success not just in recruiting, preparing, retaining, and graduating its students, but in likewise leading to employment and retention as teachers in urban schools. It focuses on critical aspects of the program, including recruitment of diverse candidates,…

The graduation rates for Hispanic students in higher education are the lowest in the nation in comparison to any other subgroups, yet they are the fastest growing population in the nation. Lack of a rigorous curriculum in a K-12 setting and college readiness skills are factors. There needs to be a strong partnership among K-12 school districts and…

This is a quantitative, survey-based study of Iowa community college faculty members. The survey was administered in the spring of 2011 to all faculty members identified by their colleges as being employed full time. This study compares the demographics of math and science faculty members to faculty within the arts and sciences who do not teach…

This guide is primarily aimed at skills providers for unemployed adults, but will also be of interest to learning providers that wish to engage micro-businesses for the purpose of delivering other forms of provision such as apprenticeships and work-based learning through full cost recovery. The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Halfway Point: Obama Administration Approves Seven More States for NCLB Waivers Bringing Total to Twenty-Six; Iowa…

The crucial importance of the research university as a key asset in achieving economic prosperity and security is widely understood, as evidenced by the efforts that nations around the globe are making to create and sustain institutions of world-class quality. Yet, while America's research universities remain the strongest in the world, they are…

Student recruitment is an increasingly important topic for universities worldwide. But in order to develop sophisticated recruitment strategies, recruitment officers need to have a clear understanding of how and why students choose colleges. This review compares the German and US research concerning university choice models, choice criteria and…

A national survey of high school principals (N = 683) was used to assess the acceptability of job applicant qualifications that included degrees earned either online, partly online, or in a traditional-residential teacher-training program. The applicants with coursework taken in a traditional-residential setting were overwhelmingly preferred over…

In an era of financial constraint, this article gives attention to the role of "community college global counterparts" by comparing colleges of further education in the UK with community colleges in the US. It points to similarities between the two and the ways in which budgetary constraints impact on them--and, in particular, on access…

Teacher attrition is a cost to the community and, often, to the teachers concerned. One ready potential source of teachers is those having left the profession, particularly recently, and who may be willing to return. For this article, 22 former teachers were interviewed about their journey into and out of teaching. Understanding what made teachers…