Uses data from four cities (Chicago, Fort Worth, New York, and Rochester) to explore schools' budgetary and personnel discretion under school-based budgeting; how resource-allocation decisions are made; and factors influencing expenditure decisions. A school-based-budgeting process may increase stakeholder involvement and satisfaction without…

Increasingly, professional schools are addressing the issue of whether a financially successful program has a responsibility to support other, less financially successful programs, and how university fund raisers can assure donors that their gifts will benefit specific programs and not be siphoned into others. Law and business schools, often…

Although most public-school teachers have undergraduate degrees, only 68% to 76% possess at least a bachelor's degree in their area. Do advanced degrees enhance teacher productivity? A recent study of 8th- and 10th-graders' math and science achievement suggest that only advanced degrees specific to the subjects taught should be rewarded. (12…

Contrasts the reactions of Swarthmore College and Pennsylvania State University as the endowments at both institutions topped the billion dollar mark in 2000. Swarthmore uses its endowment to assure that financial need is never considered in admissions decisions, but does not touch the principal. At Pennsylvania State, tuition is more affordable,…

Issues in funding adult higher education in Britain include (1) complexity of methodology; (2) discrimination against part-time study; (3) reward for teaching quality; (4) need for guidance services; (5) resources for innovation; (6) funding for noncredit programs; and (7) open and flexible delivery. A funding model based on input, process, and…

A survey of 23 college and university coordinators who conduct assessment activities and report findings in connection with Tennessee's 15-year performance funding initiative reveals strengths and weaknesses associated with 10 indicators of institutional performance. Reasons for the program's longevity, designed to serve accountability and…

Visually impaired persons (n=871) with developmental disabilities, in 42 states, were surveyed to determine effects of separate state blindness-specific vocational rehabilitation agencies on the receipt of services. Results suggest that clients in states with specialized agencies were less likely to receive services, except when the agency in…

Educational media offer no unique benefits. Once research considers lesson content, instructional strategies, and overall resource allocation, student outcome differences will disappear. The multimedia "panacea" is no equalizer, as accessibility problems abound. Schools should invest in cheaper, less fashionable instructional strategies (field…

Discusses the need to start second-language learning in the primary grades and the budget constraints impeding implementation of early second-language education. The article advocates using the young children themselves to persuade school administrators and parents to support the teaching of second-language courses in the primary grades. (CK)

A discussion of new financing models for Spain's public universities first looks at recent institutional changes; the evolution of the university system over the last decade in terms of student, financial, and human resources; its situation within the international context; student demand; graduate output; and labor market demand for graduates.…

New methods of financing higher education used in Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom are summarized and compared. The paper concludes that while these approaches are designed to improve efficiency, realize specific outcomes, and leverage additional funds from other sources, they may have unanticipated, unintended, and, in some…

A survey of 34 Wyoming rural school districts examined how they make decisions regarding the allocation of resources for special education, particularly size of caseloads of special educators. In districts using only one service delivery model, the type of service delivery selected by the district appears to have the greatest impact on resource…

Decentralizing educational budgets allows the disbursement of funds aimed at maximizing student development. Three strategies for decentralizing budgets are program budgeting, which eliminates line-item budgeting and allows administrators to address questions regarding the relative value of educational programs; zero-based budgeting, which allows…

The need for programmatic cost information, data compatibility, and understanding input/output relationships are sparking efforts to improve standards for organizing and reporting educational-resource data. Unlike accountants, economists measure resources in real terms and organize information around service delivery, using a resource-cost model.…

Discusses changes in the state steering of universities and the impact of these changes on internal university management in Finland, where some unique university management procedures are in use. Of particular interest is the impact of the increase in external funding and the increasing competition for state funds. (SLD)