This biennial publication frames the most pressing challenges currently facing colleges and universities--those that demand the board's strategic oversight, vision, and accountability to advance excellence in governance and outcomes for students. The current competitive economic environment and polarized political climate present unique challenges…

There is a vast amount of research on what goes on in schools, but how can school leaders sort credible findings from dubious claims and use these to make informed decisions that benefit their schools? How can abstract ideas from research be translated into dynamic plans for action? This book is a practical guide to evidence-based school…

What models of governance are effective in complex education systems? In all systems an increasing number of stakeholders are involved in designing, delivering, and monitoring education. Like our societies, education systems are increasingly diverse regarding students, teachers, and communities, as well as the values and identities we expect…

The changing demands of the 21st century--and the students growing up in it--are generating fundamental challenges to historical assumptions about what education looks like. The challenge today is to provide a deeper level of personalized learning to each and every student so that all can achieve mastery of the Common Core standards and other…

Self-advocacy and self-determination include the abilities to select personal goals, plan steps toward goals, assess one's progress, make choices, and self-monitor and self-evaluate one's behaviors. These are important skills in both current and future environments. Unfortunately, youth with significant intellectual and developmental disabilities…

This is the first report from an ongoing study of four urban school districts (New York, New Orleans, Chicago, and the District of Columbia) that are experimenting with new school designs and new ways of holding schools accountable for performance. This report introduces the idea of a "portfolio school district," and shows how some leading school…

Presents a general framework for financial modeling in college planning, and applies the model to a representative, small, liberal arts college. The model allows administrators to explore the financial consequences of curriculum, staffing, workload, average class size, scholarship, and enrollment decisions in terms of both short- and long-term…

Outlines a model of factors critical to establishing and maintaining sustainable competitive advantage for education-services enterprises in international markets. The model, which combines industrial economics, management theory, and services marketing, seeks to explain the strategic decision-making environment in which the education exporter…

Principles of program evaluation and strategic planning are discussed and applied to a case example of the Anne Arundel County (Maryland) Infants and Toddlers Program. This program contended with issues of increased referrals and enrollment, evolution from a child-centered to a family-centered paradigm, and change to community-based provision and…

In colleges and universities, only an objective, comprehensive approach to financial planning and management can be expected to result in long-term financial equilibrium, strong investment performance, and success in achieving institutional objectives. A model integrating strategic financial management techniques and a five-step prudent investment…

To increase student achievement, a Massachusetts school district used Appreciative Inquiry, a strengths-based approach to problem solving for strategic planning. The process asks: What does this organization do well, and what is our vision for the future. Cites activities that helped schools reach goals set in the process. (MLF)

This workbook develops basic strategic planning models and presents a step-by-step guide for those involved in a college or university's strategic planning process. The model contains 10 steps, from inception of the plan through the activities of review and revision after the strategic planning committee has completed its planning exercise and…

This paper addresses the problem of shaping new strategies in the face of current enrollment declines at many colleges and universities. It describes an approach that applies a long term planning model that can incorporate the short-term realities of lower enrollments and budget constraints with projections for new strategic initiatives. The paper…

This book develops a schema of strategic planning that has proved effective and useful at a variety of colleges and universities. It looks at the general context and imperative for doing strategic planning and considers the historical and traditional antecedents that have led to the present-day need for strategic planning. The book reviews the…

This book examines concepts of institutional mission in the context of British further and higher education (F/HE), especially in incorporated further education and "mixed economy" F/HE establishments previously under local education authority control. It urges adoption of participative methods of mission establishment, procedures for…